C4ISR Advanced RF (ARF) Chief Engineer

About the role

Within the Electronic Systems sector of BAE Systems, Inc., the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) business area develops the critical systems that sense, control, exploit, and disseminate actionable information to the warfighter. The Advanced RF (ARF) product line is seeking an experienced and energetic Chief Engineer (CE) to support the product area. The portfolio is diverse spanning a highly diverse portfolio of commercial and defense products – from open-architecture hardware and software and emerging RF technologies to signals intelligence, signal exploitation, and weapon data link capabilities. A key element of this role is maturing and transitioning capabilities from Fast Labs and other advanced development organizations through integration, demonstration, testing, certification, production, and ultimately fielded systems.

BAE Systems, Inc. is a defense, aerospace, and security company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide. We serve, supply, and protect those who protect us. As one of the most geographically diverse international defense companies, we deliver a full range of products and services spanning air, land, maritime, space, and cyber, including advanced electronics, intelligence solutions, and dedicated customer support. Our culture is performance-driven and values-led, built on curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Purpose isn't a tagline here. It's what drives us. We're developing breakthrough technologies that defend national security and make a lasting impact on our communities and our planet. When you join BAE Systems, you're not just building a career. You're contributing to a mission that truly matters.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Technical Leadership: Serve as the primary technical advocate across a diverse portfolio; translate complex customer mission needs into scalable solutions that drive strategic business growth.
• Architecture & Optimization: Lead system architecture design and optimization, overseeing trades and analyses to ensure technical rigor, interoperability, and maximum mission effectiveness.
• Technical Execution: Guarantee that system design and implementation align with technical requirements and customer needs while remaining within allocated engineering cost and schedule constraints.
• Executive Interface: Act as the primary technical liaison to the Customer, PMO, and executive leadership, converting emerging threats and evolving requirements into actionable technical strategies and product roadmaps.
• Technical Leverage & Reuse: Drive the adoption of common architectures and shared processing capabilities to maximize reuse across products, improving overall affordability and execution speed.
• Operational Excellence: Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on engineering process maturity, design standardization, and cross-product collaboration to accelerate the transition from development to production.
• Mentoring & Talent Development: Partner with functional disciplines to mentor IV&V engineers, Software Architects, and Hardware SEMs, strengthening the technical pipeline and expanding organizational capability.

Requirements

• Active Secret DoD clearance with the ability to obtain Top Secret and SAP/SAR.