Senior Principal Systems Engineer

Basic Qualifications

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, or a related Science, Engineering, Technology or Mathematics field. Also requires 10+ years of job-related experience, or a Master's degree plus 8 years of job-related experience. Agile experience preferred.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: Department of Defense TS/SCI with Polygraph security clearance is required at time of hire. Applicants selected will be subject to a U.S. Government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Due to the nature of work performed within our facilities, U.S. citizenship is required.

• Direct experience across the lifecycle of system design, integration, test, verification, deployment, and sustainment.
• Broad technical fluency across electrical engineering, electro-optics, embedded/software systems, mechanical or packaging interfaces, and test engineering, with direct experience in electro-optical or optical communications systems, cameras, lasers, fiber-optic systems, modems, or closely related systems.
• Experience defining and managing requirements, traceability, interfaces, technical baselines, and verification evidence, and developing or using MBSE/digital-engineering artifacts, including Cameo/MagicDraw concepts, SysML models, or equivalent tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead integration and troubleshooting across hardware, software, firmware, optical equipment, and test systems while coordinating multiple programs and engineering disciplines.
• Strong technical writing, customer engagement, and briefing skills for engineering teams, program management, senior leadership, and customers.
• Demonstrated initiative in identifying material risks, asking the questions that expose them, and taking ownership of resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to distinguish technical symptoms from root causes and drive cross-functional issues to evidence-based resolution.

Responsibilities for this Position

ROLE AND POSITION OBJECTIVES:

We are seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the technical definition, architecture, integration, verification, and sustainment of Free-Space Optical (FSO) communications systems and associated modem, test, and support equipment. This is a classical DoD/NASA Systems Engineering role, not an IT role.

The successful candidate will be a hands-on technical leader with sufficient breadth across electrical, electro-optical, software, hardware, and operational domains to augment or assume responsibility for a technical lead overseeing multiple engineering IPTs and programs.

What You Will Do

• Lead the systems-engineering lifecycle from customer engagement and concept development before development of the Performance Work Specification (PWS) through requirements, architecture, design, integration, verification, deployment, and sustainment.
• Elicit customer and user needs; distinguish operational needs from proposed solutions; and convert those needs into measurable, verifiable requirements with appropriate rationale, interfaces, acceptance criteria, and verification methods.
• Develop and maintain system architectures, operational concepts, requirements hierarchies, interfaces, technical baselines, verification strategies, and evidence.
• Lead technical integration of FSO communications systems involving cameras, lasers, optical paths, fiber-optic communications, modems, FPGAs, embedded software, GUIs, precision analog, power, networking, and automated test equipment.
• Apply digital-engineering and MBSE practices, including Cameo/MagicDraw and SysML concepts, to model the decisions, interfaces, behavior, risks, and traceability that need engineering control.
• Manage electrical, optical, mechanical, FPGA/firmware, software, test, customer, and supplier interfaces across airborne, land, sea, subsea, and space contexts, including the resulting environmental, operational, maintainability, integration, and verification implications.
• Plan and lead subsystem and system integration, qualification, verification, fielding, troubleshooting, and sustainment; identify and resolve design gaps, interface risks, unclear requirements, verification deficiencies, schedule threats, and programmatic dependencies.
• Lead technical, design, customer, and management reviews; brief technical status, decisions, risks, and recommendations at the level of detail appropriate to the audience.
• Support proposals, technical volumes, basis-of-estimate development, technical risk assessments, and customer technical exchanges.
• Mentor engineers, develop technical leaders, delegate responsibility intentionally, and distribute critical program knowledge across the team.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in Systems Engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience that demonstrates the technical breadth expected to lead complex hardware/software systems, with 8+ years of progressively responsible systems-engineering experience.
• Direct experience across the lifecycle of system design, integration, test, verification, deployment, and sustainment.
• Broad technical fluency across electrical engineering, electro-optics, embedded/software systems, mechanical or packaging interfaces, and test engineering, with direct experience in electro-optical or optical communications systems, cameras, lasers, fiber-optic systems, modems, or closely related systems.
• Experience defining and managing requirements, traceability, interfaces, technical baselines, and verification evidence, and developing or using MBSE/digital-engineering artifacts, including Cameo/MagicDraw concepts, SysML models, or equivalent tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead integration and troubleshooting across hardware, software, firmware, optical equipment, and test systems while coordinating multiple programs and engineering disciplines.
• Strong technical writing, customer engagement, and briefing skills for engineering teams, program management, senior leadership, and customers.
• Demonstrated initiative in identifying material risks, asking the questions that expose them, and taking ownership of resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to distinguish technical symptoms from root causes and drive cross-functional issues to evidence-based resolution.

Ideal Candidate

• Has the hands-on credibility to challenge a schematic, software architecture, FPGA interface, test plan, optical alignment approach, or requirements allocation when evidence warrants it.
• Translates customer mission discussions into executable system architectures without prematurely prescribing implementation.
• Treats integration and verification as early design activities and uses MBSE pragmatically to improve communication, traceability, and decision quality rather than merely producing models.
• Communicates the mission impact, decision, risk, and recommended action clearly to leadership and customers, with technical depth available when needed.
• Proactively identifies cross-program opportunities, staffing needs, technical dependencies, and developing risks; builds capable teams by mentoring, delegating, documenting decisions, and sharing context openly.
• Is personable, forward-leaning, technically rigorous, and comfortable engaging customers before the PWS is written.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with FSO communications, optical networking, satellite or space payloads, airborne systems, maritime/subsea systems, or multi-domain mission systems.
• Experience with mixed-signal electronics, FPGA-based systems, embedded software, modem development, or automated test equipment.
• Experience using Cameo/MagicDraw, DOORS, or comparable requirements and digital-engineering tools; leading formal systems, design, and test-readiness reviews; supporting DoD, NASA, aerospace, defense, or other mission-critical development programs; or serving as a systems-engineering IPT lead, chief engineer delegate, deputy engineering manager, or comparable cross-functional technical leader.

Our Commitment to You:

• An exciting career path with opportunities for continuous learning and development.
• Research oriented work, alongside award winning teams developing practical solutions for our nation’s security
• Flexible schedules with every other Friday off work, if desired (9/80 schedule)
• Competitive benefits, including 401k matching, flex time off, paid parental leave, healthcare benefits, health & wellness programs, employee resource and social groups, and more
• See more at gdmissionsystems.com/careers/why-work-for-us/benefits

Workplace Options: This position is fully on-site with Hybrid/Flex available.While on-site, you will be a part of theAnnapolis Junction Team.

Salary Note

Combined Salary Range

Company Overview

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans