Project Engineer I

About the role

Joint Task Force Sierra (JTF Sierra) is SNC’s rapid-innovation, defense startup-minded cell within IAS, focused on scouting technology gaps, rapidly developing minimum-viable prototypes, demonstrating early operational relevance, and transitioning successful concepts to IAS business units for scaling and delivering to market.

Responsibilities

• Project Coordination & Planning
• Assist in developing, maintaining, and adapting project plans, sprint boards, prototype roadmaps, schedules, and budgets alongside Project Managers and the Senior Project Engineer
• Support definition of requirements, definition of success, and prototype objectives as they evolve through rapid development cycles
• Carefully coordinate parallel tasking across diverse technical domains and ensure alignment with JTF leadership direction
• Technical Execution & Support
• Provide hands-on technical support across multiple prototype efforts, even outside your core discipline
• Aid in evaluating technical solution options (make/buy/partner) and gather data needed for technology gap analyses and development roadmaps
• Help turn high-level mission or business objectives into concrete engineering requirements & tasking
• Rapid Prototyping & Demonstration
• Support fast, iterative builds of minimum-viable prototypes, favoring learning and early customer insight over perfection
• Work closely with engineering staff to develop prototypes, data, and plans for internal and external demonstrations
• Help document lessons learned, iteration needs, and next steps following demos and/or technical showcases
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Work daily with Program Management, Senior Project Engineer, Business Development, Technology Directors, product SMEs, and external partners to drive project success
• Support identification and coordination of “borrowed” internal resources and external partners to maintain prototype momentum
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, quality, IT/Cyber, and lab staff to remove blocks and keep work moving
• Documentation, Reporting, and Compliance
• Maintain accurate and disciplined project documentation – design notes, technical decisions & trade studies, requirements, risks, test & demo plans, sprint planning & updates, and meeting minutes
• Provide succinct, informative status updates highlighting achievements, blockers, risks, and resource needs to internal leadership stakeholders
• Work within JTF’s compliance-aware environments, establishing & documenting required exceptions required for prototyping with Cyber/Lab/IT teams
• Maintain technical task traceability in JIRA (or similar tools), ensuring task ownership, updates, and archiving are consistently performed
• Risk & Issue Management
• Identify technical and programmatic risks early, document potential impacts, and assist with mitigation planning
• Surface blockers quickly and creatively help unblock progress, even with incomplete information
• Stakeholder & Partner Engagement
• Communicate clearly and appropriately for varied audiences – including technical teams, non-technical stakeholders, executives, and external collaborators
• Synthesize data from diverse sources into actionable insights for JTF leadership
• Help build and maintain relationships across SNC business units and with external partners

Qualifications

• You Must Have
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field
• 8+ years' experience in engineering roles
• Higher level relevant degree may substitute for experience
• Knowledge of engineering principles and practice
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary design and development team
• Basic understanding of requirements management, system design, and integration
• Ability to communicate clearly with technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, ambiguous, multi-effort environment
• Ability to work in office with occasional travel to customer or field sites
• Ability to obtain/maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance is required
• We Prefer
• 2-4 years of relevant technical or project engineering experience
• Demonstrated experience in rapid prototyping environments, agile development, or innovation cells
• Familiarity with project management tools such as MS Project or JIRA
• Experience coordinating cross-functional engineering teams or technical SMEs
• Experience preparing project estimates, technical proposals, or contributing to program cost/schedule/staffing evaluations
• Experience interpreting technical drawings, schematics, part lists, and test procedures
• Prior experience leading or coordinating small technical teams, even informally
• Systems engineering familiarity or INCOSE certification
• Aerospace and/or Defense background