Lead Systems Engineer

About the role

Lead Systems Engineer position at Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions in Santa Clarita, CA, providing technical guidance and expertise to engineering team, leading efforts to fulfill customer requirements for deployed military vehicle applications.

Responsibilities

• Represent the company as the technical solutions and systems engineering expert to customers, suppliers, and CW management.
• Provide technical guidance to cross‑functional program teams.
• Establish a disciplined approach to requirements management, including flow down, decomposition, verification, and documentation.
• Manage requirements changes, discerning scope and advising business leadership on programmatic/contractual decisions.
• Develop comprehensive technical documentation that communicates CW’s solution to customers and the engineering team.
• Report technical status and way forward to varied audiences, including team members and internal/external leadership.
• Identify systems engineering knowledge gaps and advise functional leadership on training/development needs.
• Plan training to enhance team development.
• Convert requirements into solutions that minimize risk while meeting objectives.
• Lead engineering teams to successfully meet customer requirements.

Requirements

• Minimum 7–10 years of experience at US DoD primes or companies directly supporting them.
• Expert knowledge of integrated system hardware/software development, integration, and test for deployed military vehicle applications.
• Experience leading and closing major design reviews such as PDR and CDR.
• Expert knowledge of systems engineering tools DOORS and Cameo.
• Working knowledge of engineering development tools like ClearQuest, JIRA, and Rational Development Tools.
• Ability to operate and debug Linux and VxWorks based computing systems.
• Solid understanding of SOSA and VPX system design standards.
• Solid understanding of serial communication protocols: MIL‑STD‑1553, RS‑422, RS‑485, RS‑232, 10G/100G Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe, USB.
• Solid understanding of the latest processing and graphics solutions.
• Ability to drive clarity to ambiguous requests or requirements.
• Ability to work well in a fast‑paced professional office environment.

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Electrical Engineering preferred.
• Experience conducting System Safety Assessment, Functional Hazard Assessment, and Failure Mode