Senior Systems Engineer

Join to apply for the Senior Systems Engineer role at Sherpa 6, Inc.

Location:

Springfield, VA or Spring Lake, VA preferred, Remote considered.
Job Type: Full Time, 40 hours.
Security Clearance:
Active Secret Required.
Travel: up to 35%.

Sherpa 6 is seeking a motivated, senior‑level Cross‑Functional Systems Engineer to support systems engineering processes, program governance, and administrative coordination across proposal development and program execution efforts. This position is intentionally process, procedure, and staff coordination focused, with some hands‑on technical engineering products required. It is well‑suited for an experienced systems engineer who is looking to transition from direct technical execution coordination, engineering oversight, resource allocation, requirements identification, tracking, and resolution, and cross‑functional coordination.

The scope of the work includes coordination of everything from new technology integration to software developers, hardware and software integrators, and program strategy and execution.

• Document requirements and trace them to efforts and capabilities.
• Identify, track, and mitigate program risk.
• Identify and actively manage scope creep.
• Ensure technical architecture and documentation consistency.
• Build and brief products to support decision making at the leadership and program staff level.
• Support Program Office Leadership, Program Execution teams, military, civilian, and contractor personnel by shaping technical approaches, compliance matrices, and requirements traceability, with an emphasis on documentation accuracy, product building, and process rigor.
• Provide staff‑level systems engineering leadership project execution, including requirements management and traceability, Operational View (OV) development and maintenance, Interface Control Document (ICD) development, control, and change management, risk, configuration, and verification/validation process oversight.
• Develop, maintain, and control system architecture artifacts, engineering documentation, and program baselines to support governance and decision‑making.
• Act as a liaison between technical teams, program management, and leadership, ensuring clarity of scope, assumptions, risks, and dependencies.
• Support technical reviews, milestone events, and customer engagements from a process, documentation, and compliance perspective.
• Monitor and support adherence to systems engineering processes, standards, and best practices across programs.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to process improvement and standardization initiatives across the organization.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong emphasis on clear documentation and staff coordination.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field with a minimum of 10 years of experience in systems engineering, software engineering, or a related discipline. OR a Master’s degree in engineering or a related technical field with a minimum of 5 years of experience in systems engineering, software engineering, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience applying systems engineering processes in a governance, oversight, or staff capacity.
• Strong background in software‑oriented systems engineering with demonstrated experience evaluating designs, managing risks, and making recommendations based on trade‑off analyses.
• Familiarity with Army systems and operational environments (e.g., Nett Warrior, Tactical Networks, ancillary system integration, MDMP, sustainment, and training).
• Experience with requirements management and program support tools (e.g., Jira, Jama, risk registers, and related PM processes).
• Experience coordinating with DoD or federal customers, particularly in a staff coordination and decision support role.
• Ability to translate user needs and technical discussions into structured documentation and actionable program artifacts.
• Must be a US citizen.
• Must pass a background check and drug screening.

• Experience supporting defense acquisition programs (ACAT II/III) from a systems engineering staff or program support perspective.
• Experience working…