Innovation Campaign & Acceleration Lead/ Sr Principal Systems Engineer

Date Posted:

2026-01-20

Country:

United States of America

Location:

US-CO-REMOTE

Position Role Type:

Remote

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements:

This job requires a U.S. Person. A U.S. Person is a lawful permanent resident as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or who is a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, or individuals granted refugee or asylee status in the U.S. are considered U.S. persons. For a complete definition of “U.S. Person” go here. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.62

Security Clearance Type:

None/Not Required

Security Clearance Status:

Not Required

At Raytheon, the foundation of everything we do is rooted in our values and a higher calling to help our nation and allies defend freedoms and deter aggression. We bring the strength of more than 100 years of experience and renowned engineering expertise to meet the needs of today’s mission and stay ahead of tomorrow’s threat. Our team solves tough, meaningful problems that create a safer, more secure world.

Raytheon’s Technology organization is seeking a passionate and experienced Principal Systems Engineer to perform in the role of Innovation Campaign & Acceleration Lead. This role will serve as the primary campaign owner for our Spark platform and a technical catalyst partner for our innovators, helping to bridge the gap between concepts and viable prototypes. You will lead targeted technical campaigns to address our organization's strategically aligned capability gaps, partner with idea authors to accelerate their projects, and provide guidance to shape technical direction early. As a technical leader in this space, you will oversee strategic aspects of our innovation management tools, mentor employee innovators, help decompose complex problems into solvable challenges, and champion the advancement of early-stage technologies as they move from ideation through proof-of-concept.

What You Will Do

• Own and execute strategic innovation campaigns through Spark, driving the decomposition of high-level business problems into specific, solvable engineering challenges with clear constraints and evaluation criteria.

• Provide strategic oversight of Spark and innovation management platforms, focusing on campaign design, configuration, and process architecture to enable rapid ideation.

• Act as a technical catalyst to accelerate project realization, helping innovators build and translate high-level Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) into executable Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) with a clear path to a functional demo, proof-of-concept (PoC), or model/sim.

• Lead technical reviews of campaign submissions, applying engineering rigor to evaluate feasibility and potential impact.

• Maintain awareness of the enterprise R&D landscape, connecting idea authors with existing SMEs, labs, and resources to avoid reinventing the wheel.

• Track and report on innovation campaign effectiveness, acceleration metrics, and transition successes to demonstrate impact.

• Build relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support a strong culture of innovation.

Qualifications You Must Have

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and a minimum of 10 years of prior relevant experience

• Experience as a Principal Investigator (PI), Technical Lead, Systems Architect or System Design.

• Experience using standard data languages and tools (Python, R, Excel VBA, PowerBI, etc.)

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Qualifications We Prefer

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Technology Management, or other related field.

• Experience with "Challenge Driven Innovation" methodologies.

• Experience with innovation management platforms: QMarkets, Ideanote, Brightidea, Itonics, Wazoku and/or IdeaScale  

• Experience translating business needs into specific, actionable technical initiatives or innovation campaigns.

• Experience leading innovation-focused workshops, hackathons, or ideation challenges.

• Familiarity with stage-gate innovation processes or similar methodologies.

• Experience with agile hardware or software prototyping (e.g., 3D printing/additive manufacturing, agile software methods, MVP software development)

•  Experience with grassroots innovation initiatives or employee engagement programs.

• Ability to facilitate collaboration across cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.

• Excel