Chief Engineer

Job#: 3052018

Candidates must be U.S. citizens able to obtain and/or maintain a Department of Defense security clearance as a condition and continuation of employment.

Apex Systems is hiring for a Chief Engineer with a large aerospace and defense client, in support of the US Space Force, on-site in Boulder, CO!

Position requires a currently active, DoD-issued Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance.

The Chief Engineer is a self‑motivated, creative, detail‑oriented, and driven technical leader who owns the Ground Entry Point architecture and overall technical baseline. This role is accountable for translating high‑level capability needs into a feasible, affordable, and verifiable ground system solution in an environment where explicit requirements may be incomplete or evolving.

The Chief Engineer leads architecture development, requirements definition, design, integration, and verification activities, and serves as the primary technical interface to the customer and internal stakeholders.

• Lead the development and ownership of the end‑to‑end Ground Entry Point / ground station architecture, including RF, baseband, mission processing, networking, cyber, facilities, and external interfaces.
• Operate effectively in environments with incomplete or ambiguous requirements; derive, decompose, and document system and subsystem requirements from capability needs, operational concepts, and user stories.
• Develop and maintain key architectural products (CONOPS, system block diagrams, sequence diagrams, interface control documents (ICDs), data flows, and performance budgets).
• Evaluate and select design approaches, technologies, and COTS/GOTS components to meet performance, resiliency, and affordability objectives.

• Apply a deep understanding of ground station architectures and associated complexities, including:
• Antenna/RF front‑end, modems/baseband processing, timing, and frequency control.
• Mission data processing, storage, and distribution.
• Secure IP networking, routing, and interfaces to external mission systems and users.
• Assess and communicate the benefits and challenges of existing Space Force–owned ground stations and enterprise ground solutions (e.g., integration complexity, legacy constraints, interoperability, cybersecurity, sustainment).
• Develop technical recommendations for leveraging or interfacing with existing Space Force ground assets versus deploying new capabilities.

• Serve as the technical lead for capture and proposal activities related to Ground Entry Point opportunities.
• Shape technical solution strategies in partnership with capture and business teams, including trades, discriminators, and win themes.
• Develop technical volumes, engineering sections of management and past performance volumes, and basis‑of‑estimate (BOE) inputs.
• Build, lead, and present internal and external technical reviews (e.g., solution concept reviews, color team briefings, customer technical interchange meetings (TIMs), and proposal orals).
• Provide rapid technical analysis and responses to RFI/RFP questions.

• Engage directly with customer technical counterparts through TIMs, demonstrations, on‑site visits, and reviews.
• Elicit, understand, and document customer needs, wants, and concerns, and translate them into…