Sr. Mission Management Project Leader

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space—delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers.

About the role

The National Systems Group serves as the technical advisor to the Intelligence Community and its mission partners involved in the collection and distribution of national and tactical intelligence, including electronics programs, advanced technologies, ground and communications, imagery programs, and systems engineering and launch. We are seeking a Sr. Mission Management Project Leader (Senior Project Leader – Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) to be part of the National Reconnaissance Office’s SIGINT Ground Systems Program Office (SGSPO) within the Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED). This customer is responsible for the development and delivery of a SIGINT baseline ground portfolio and guiding the evolution of those systems to a fully integrated and resilient enterprise.

In this position, you will guide the development of the US Government’s next-generation SIGINT Ground Mission Management systems architecture. You will lead an Aerospace team to assess current and potential future SIGINT ground architectures and facilitate the evolution of SIGINT ground capabilities to meet the needs of the evolving mission enterprise. These efforts will include migration of the evolving systems and transitioning mission management to cloud-based solutions. This is a full-time position based at Westfields in Chantilly, Virginia, which requires 100% onsite work.

Responsibilities

• Integrate and represent Aerospace contributions to US Government leadership to build acquisition strategies that realize best-value solutions from industry
• Coordinate across ground and mission enterprise segments to ensure user needs are understood and satisfied for multi-phase acquisition efforts
• Build and lead Aerospace subject matter expert teams to develop enhanced mission management technologies and concepts
• Integrate new mission systems and sensors into a flexible and resilient mission management architecture
• Proactively identify opportunities to leverage AI/ML, augmentation, and automation for improved mission management and orchestration capabilities
• Budget and prioritize Aerospace activities to maximize impact aligned with strategic customer efforts

Requirements

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences or a related technical field
• 10 or more years of ground or space systems acquisition engineering experience
• Experience building and leading high-performing teams of engineering professionals
• Experience in one or more of the following domains:
  • AI/ML
  • Space mission management systems
  • Constellation tasking and optimization
  • Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT)
  • Signals intelligence (SIGINT)
  • US Government acquisitions and/or systems engineering
  • Agile software development
• Willing to travel domestically approximately 30% to support customer activities and foster collaboration
• This position requires a current and active TS/SBI/SCI security clearance and polygraph, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

Qualifications

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Advanced degree in computer science/engineering, systems engineering, electrical engineering, or a related engineering or scientific field
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Expertise in the application of AI/ML automation or augmentation to task remote sensing payloads or SIGINT mission management architectures
• Knowledge or experience with the management of proliferated or hybrid satellite architectures
• Certification in Kubernetes administration or application development, OpenJS/Node.js services development, Cloud Native or Cloud Foundry development
• Experience in agile software development at scale, agile IV&V testing for federal contracts, commercial cloud environments, and DevOps pipeline implementation with frequent operational deployments
• Experience with Enterprise level testing and integration of complex systems using Hardware-In-the-Development-Loop (HIDL) and Hardware-Out-of-the-Development-Loop (HODL)

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Pay

The grade-based pay range for this job is $171,400.00 - $257,100.00 annually. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, and skills.

Benefits

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits. Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect