Sr Systems Engineer - Satellite Ground Systems

Sierra Space Careers:

At Sierra Space, we build the missions and systems that keep our world secure in the domain above Earth.  Sierra Space team members share a spirit of innovation and collaboration and a belief that we can deliver on the boldest missions in space today. Together with our customers, we aim to safeguard our nation, sustain human presence in space, and secure the freedom of operations in low Earth orbit and beyond.  

Our success is measured by the trust of those who rely on what we build and deliver, and our technologies keep the United States and its allies mission-ready throughout space.

We are mission-driven, and together, we are an extraordinary team.

About the Role The Sr Systems Engineer contributes to the development and implementation of advanced ground system solutions supporting a national missile tracking satellite program, providing alignment, connection, and direction to the technical team throughout a fast-paced, mission-critical development lifecycle. The Sr Systems Engineer champions the viewpoint of the integrated whole during ground system development and works to glue segments and subsystems together via top-down decomposition of stakeholder requirements, traceability through development artifacts, and bottom-up validation and verification of the system, all in support of an aggressive schedule to get critical missile tracking capability on orbit quickly.

They shepherd the team through technical development milestones, track performance measures, and identify and retire technical risk rapidly to arrive at a compliant and cohesive ground system solution without sacrificing schedule velocity. The Sr Systems Engineer is a promoter of Systems Engineering principles and has expertise across the major systems engineering skills, including requirements management, system architecture development, concept of operations definition, system integration, and system verification, with a focus on ground system elements (e.g., command and control, mission operations, satellite tasking, sensor data processing, and network/communications infrastructure) that interface with the space segment.

The Sr Systems Engineer leads teams to execute systems engineering scope in a high-tempo environment and helps develop systems thinking in others, thriving on ambiguity and rapid iteration rather than requiring fully mature processes before contributing. In this role, you will lead the specification, architecting, and integration of complex ground system solutions while collaborating with cross-functional teams, government stakeholders, and subject matter experts to understand project requirements and objectives under compressed timelines.

You will oversee the derivation, decomposition, allocation, tracing, and management of ground system requirements and architectures, as well as define and document concepts of operation for ground-to-space mission support, including satellite command, control, and missile tracking data delivery. Leading development milestone reviews by creating artifacts and deliverables will be a key responsibility, alongside overseeing system integration and verification activities to ensure ground system functionality, performance, and readiness to support on-orbit operations.

You will identify and manage technical risks, develop and execute mitigation strategies quickly, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that keep pace with program velocity. Adhering to established engineering processes and standards, while pragmatically streamlining where appropriate, will be essential. You will communicate effectively and proactively with team members, customers, and stakeholders to ensure alignment and successful execution in support of this…