Systems Lead, Systems Engineer, Engineering

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space—delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators.

Join us and take your place in space.

The National Systems Group serves as the technical advisor to the Intelligence Community and its mission partners involved in the collection and distribution of national and tactical intelligence, including electronics programs, advanced technologies, ground and communications, imagery programs, and systems engineering and launch.

The Imagery Programs Division’s (IPD) Reconnaissance Systems (RS) Office is seeking a Senior Project Leader to lead Aerospace support to future radar systems, to include technology development, demonstration missions, space system and enterprise requirements development, architectural studies, acquisition planning and industry engagement. The Futures Lead will oversee contributions from a large pool of diverse technical SMEs in support of these activities as well as engage deeply with government and contractor radar SMEs from across the enterprise, external agencies and the user community.

It is a dynamic and exciting time in RS with systems at various lifecycle stages, and the Futures Lead will have the opportunity to shape the future of a critical space capability.

This position requires 100% on site work in Chantilly, VA

• Provide technical leadership to shape the future system vision, technology development roadmap, requirements, architecture, and associated demonstration missions while applying lessons learned from heritage missions
• Lead a diverse team of technical SMEs to support these activities in a timely and responsive fashion to help define the acquisition trade space and inform customer decision‑making
• Define and lead the development of a potential Aerospace payload prototype or testbed as well as any independent lab or range testing, analysis, modeling and simulation, advanced processing or AI/ML, or any other capabilities needed to reduce risk, solve contractor problems or advance mission capabilities
• Identify and develop R&D investment opportunities, both within and external to Aerospace, to help the customer advance the state of technology in the future system
• Provide on‑site Aerospace support to the government customer, including facilitating any requested technical training or technology deep dives, and collaborate closely with the customer team (SETA contractors, other Aerospace personnel) and development contractors to bring future systems to fruition

Minimum Requirements for the Senior Project Leader – Synthetic Aperture Radar:

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, physics, engineering or related technical discipline
• Twelve or more years of professional engineering or technical management experience, working across boundaries to develop an integrated system
• Experience with the development and test of RF or SAR space systems or payloads
• Experience with requirements development, verification or systems architecting
• Strong customer‑oriented attitude, ability to cultivate strong relationships across organizations, and demonstrated aptitude for coordinating exchanges between technical SMEs and customers
• Ability to distill complex technical information into key findings and communicate those findings efficiently and credibly to the customer team at the appropriate level of technical depth
• Willing to provide occasional backup support to other team members and flex with program office needs as the mission evolves
• Willing to support frequent travel (typically 1 trip per month)
• This position requires a current and active TS/SSBI/SCI security clearance and polygraph, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.