Principal Program Lead- Alexandria, VA

About the role

Serco is seeking a Principal Program Lead for Mission Engineering & Strategic Integration to coordinate a dynamic team supporting major systems acquisition, research, and engineering for the Office of the Secretary of War at the Pentagon and Mark Center offices in Alexandria, VA. This senior-level executive contract position establishes, directs, and governs the overarching Mission Engineering & Integration Activity (MEIA) portfolio, delivering system-of-systems insights to justify multi-billion-dollar technology and capability investments within the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting Execution (PPBE) process.

Responsibilities

• Establish, govern, and manage the portfolio of discrete mission engineering and analysis study tasks.
• Define the overarching methodology, study design standards, and strategic boundary conditions to address top-level Joint Operational Problems.
• Align the mission engineering pipeline directly with the National Defense/War Strategy and future Joint Warfighting Concepts, ensuring all analytical efforts justify future technology transitions.
• Guide the strategic integration of validated adversary capability trajectories, intelligence products, and threat forecasting into the core architecture of all simulated environments.
• Direct and steer elite, cross-functional teams of program managers, chief systems engineers, senior military operators, intelligence analysts, and data scientists across Joint and Service components.
• Oversee the creation of highly complex mission threads, joint kill webs, and operational architectures utilizing enterprise frameworks (e.g., SysML, UAF) to ensure interoperability across the joint force.
• Provide executive oversight for the implementation, validation, and deployment of advanced Modeling & Simulation (M&S) suites (such as AFSIM or ITASE) to evaluate System-of-Systems (SoS) efficacy.
• Synthesize complex, quantitative simulation outputs with qualitative Subject Matter Expert (SME) findings into high-level, strategic assessments for the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)).
• Serve as the principal liaison to the Office of the Secretary of War (OSW), Joint Staff, Combatant Commanders (CCMDs), and Service leadership to validate operational constraints and establish strategic study buy-in.
• Translate exhaustive analytical study results into actionable, high-level investment recommendations, acquisition pathways, and funding strategies within the PPBE process.
• Author authoritative executive reports and deliver decisive briefings directly to Flag/General Officers (FO/GO), Senior Executive Service (SES) members, and senior DoW policy makers.

Requirements

• Active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI Eligibility.
• U.S. Citizenship.
• Master's degree (or higher) in Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Aerospace Engineering, Data Science, or a related STEM discipline (or appropriate work experience).
• 20+ years in Engineering, with a focus on Systems Engineering and Operational Analysis and time supporting any Department of War organization.
• Proven experience managing large, multi-disciplinary analysis teams.
• Experience working with Military Services and Combatant Commands to address operational problems.
• Track record of developing and leading study teams and producing executive-level products resulting in acquisition decisions.
• Ability to travel up to 10%.

Skills

• Enterprise Mission-Level Analysis Governance: Proven executive leadership (10+ years) in establishing, managing, and governing portfolios of mission engineering, operations research, or campaign-level analyses within the Department of War. Demonstrated capability in structuring multi-study pipelines that directly inform PPBE investment decisions.
• System-of-Systems (SoS) Strategic Engineering: Master-level command of System-of-Systems (SoS) engineering principles, enterprise-level integration, and modern architectural modeling frameworks (e.g., UAF, SysML). Proven track record of steering complex, multi-domain digital engineering and joint kill-web architecture designs.
• Modeling & Simulation (M&S) Portfolio Direction: Executive oversight experience managing complex MS&A environments. Strong strategic familiarity with the deployment, capabilities, and validation of Department-standard tools (e.g., AFSIM, ITASE) to ensure simulation environments produce defensible, high-integrity data.
• Joint Warfighting Concept Mastery: Comprehensive, strategic understanding of Joint Operational Concepts, Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), and future force employment strategies. Ability to align study parameters directly with the National Defense/War Strategy.
• PPBE & Adaptive Acquisition Strategy: Advanced acumen in the Department of War acquisition lifecycle, specifically mapping analytical study timelines to the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting Execution (PPBE) cycle and navigating the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF) to transition emerging capabilities.
• Enterprise-Scale Matrix Leadership: Exceptional capability to lead, influence, and drive strategic consensus across highly diverse, cross-organizational joint technical teams (civilian, military, and contractor) and coordinate complex efforts across OSW, Joint Staff, and Combatant Commands without direct supervisory authority.
• Flag-Level Executive Communication: Outstanding, proven record of distilling highly complex, multi-variant technical and simulation data into concise, strategic BLUF briefings and formal decision memos tailored specifically for Flag/General Officers (FO/GO), SES-level executives, and Congressional stakeholders.
• Threat Trajectory Integration: High-level ability to synthesize raw and finished Intelligence Community (IC) products and threat trajectories, translating them into robust, threat-informed operational vignettes to ensure all studies are resilient against future peer adversary capabilities.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Robust vacation and sick leave benefits, and flexible work arrangements where permitted by role or contract.
• 401(k) plan with employer matching funds.
• Tuition reimbursement program.
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Optional coverages including pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, and ID theft protection.
• Birth, adoption, and parental leave benefits.
• Employee Assistance Plan.

Pay

The salary range for this position is provided as a general guideline and represents a good faith estimate across all experience levels. Actual base salary will be determined by factors including scope of the role, relevant experience, job-related knowledge, education and training, key skills, and geographic market considerations. For roles available in multiple states, the range may vary to reflect differences in local labor markets. Eligible positions may also include annual bonuses or long-term incentive opportunities.