Principal Systems Engineer

About the role

SAIC is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to support the Air Force’s next-generation Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) weapon system acquisition – the Sentinel Program. Our customer is the Sentinel Program Office located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. This is a rare opportunity to work on one of the Department of Defense’s most strategic and transformative acquisition programs while serving as a trusted technical advisor to senior decision-makers. This position demands a highly experienced systems engineering leader with a proven track record of guiding large-scale engineering initiatives, managing complex systems, and driving high-stakes program success.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical advisor to the U.S. Air Force on engineering and acquisition decisions for the Sentinel program.
• Develop and oversee the strategy for major technical milestone reviews (e.g., SRR, PDR, CDR), including the creation and delivery of key review materials.
• Perform extensive reviews of Prime contractor designs, mechanical drawings, and deliverables to ensure program compliance with technical requirements, Government policy, and safety standards.
• Provide expert-level oversight of requirements management and traceability, ensuring alignment with evolving technical baselines through tools like DOORS.
• Direct and oversee system verification and validation efforts for highly regulated systems with critical mission requirements.
• Serve as technical lead for complex issue resolution, risk management efforts, and mitigation strategies across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Act as a mentor and guide to systems engineers at all levels, contributing to team and organizational growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics with 9+ years of professional engineering experience
• Active U.S. Government Secret clearance
• Recognized expertise in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) processes and tools such as Cameo, Rhapsody, or other similar platforms
• Extensive experience in requirements management and traceability efforts using tools like DOORS
• Proven leadership in planning, preparing, and executing technical milestone reviews such as SRR, PDR, and CDR
• Advanced understanding of verification and validation processes for large-scale systems in a highly regulated environment (e.g., aerospace, defense)
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted advisor to Government customers, providing solutions to critical engineering and technical challenges

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license and/or INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP or ESEP)
• Mastery of systems engineering, Agile development tools, or advanced modeling tools such as MATLAB, DOORS, JIRA, and Confluence