Space System Architecture Capability Lead

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospace’s strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The division leverages a broad array of engineering disciplines against a wide-ranging and dynamic portfolio of programs, customers, and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities.  

The Architecture Concepts Department (ArCon) provides expertise in architecture methods, processes, and tools to an extremely broad range of customers, including National Space Security (NSS) and other defense programs, NASA, NOAA, NNSA, DHS, and others.  ArCon staff participate in and lead architecture trade studies, architecture conceptualization studies, architecture modeling tasks, and program assessment analyses at multiple levels of complexity, ranging from prototype systems to full scale acquisition systems in the space, ground, communications, and network domains.  ArCon applies disciplined system architecting principles and leads cross-functional teams to provide impactful guidance to assist our customers in making key acquisition and operations decisions.  

Work Model: This position will follow an in-person work model at one of Aerospace’s campuses in Chantilly, VA, Colorado Springs, CO, or El Segundo, CA. 

What You’ll Be Doing  

• Direct complex technical activities, organize multi-disciplinary project teams, and execute a variety of space architecture conceptualization, assessment, and modeling activities and provide decision support expertise to Aerospace program offices as a technical subject matter expert and project leader  

• Steer and implement strategy in space system architectures for the department, and seek, identify, and pursue opportunities for additional, expanded, and new business and assist higher management in the evaluation and pursuit of new opportunities  

• Lead efforts to identify and incorporate emerging technologies, commercial capabilities, interoperable solutions, and industry best practices into space system architectures 

• Campaign to establish new partnerships with a wide range of departments across the Engineering and Technology Group and program offices, serving as the subdivision focal point for leading high-impact space architecture design and evaluation, trade studies, analysis of alternatives, programmatic assessments, and investigating urgent technical problems 

• Expand scope of ArCon relationship with program offices and customer bases, such as SSIO, SWAC, SSDP, and the IC, and leverage department staff and expertise from across ETG to solve complex customer problems.  

• Facilitate outreach and education of ETG, program offices, customers, and industry on Aerospace space system architecture capabilities 

• Initiate new program office relationships to collaboratively define new tasking, utilizing system architecting problem framing principles to enable program offices to define the problem space, create implementation plans, and identify appropriate personnel to perform the work based on your knowledge of resources and expertise across the company  

• Mentor early career and experienced staff, serving as a role model and technical advisor to an exceptionally talented and highly motivated cadre of architects, analysts, and modelers to develop department capabilities and meet emerging demand for department expertise.  

What you Need To Be Successful (Minimum Requirements for Sr. Project Lead – Enterprise Systems Engineering) 

• Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, or a related technical field 

• At least 12 years of increasingly responsible professional engineering/scientific experience, including multi-disciplinary systems engineering and/or program management environments, with a strong command of systems engineering principles 

• Leadership experience in system or enterprise architecting, systems engineering, concept design, and/or model-based systems engineering 

• Demonstrated ability to identify problem space, assess trade options, and independently formulate courses of action 

• Experience initiating and leading cross-functional, cross-organizational teams to plan and execute projects or studies 

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present methods and results effectively in leadership briefings, formal reports, and informal communications 

• Exceptional time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and schedule commitments 

• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with employees, customers, acquisition program offices, and contractors 

• Exhibit exceptionally high level of innovation, creativeness, and initiative 

• Available and willing to travel domestically and/or internationally approx. 5-10%  

• A current and active Top Secret/SCI security clearance issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance  

How You Can Stand Out  

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) from an accredited program in a relevant engineering discipline  

• Demonstrated initiative to innovate, shape, drive, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tasks, projects, or organizations 

• Experience in training, mentoring and inspiring staff  

• Experience working in partnership with multiple Aerospace program offices and customers  

• Strong interpersonal networks with Aerospace and customer organizations that can be leveraged to establish collaborations and obtain sponsorship for projects  

• Experience in methods and processes for early life cycle systems engineering, system architecting, and US government system acquisition  

• Experience with Intelligence Community systems engineering and programmatic processes, methods, tools, and personnel  

• Experience with space architectures at the system level inclusive of satellites, constellations, ground systems, networks, user terminals, and external interfaces 

• Experience with space system architecture conceptual design, analysis, and concurrent engineering techniques  

• Experience with architecture modeling and/or descriptive system modeling for MBSE  

• Experience with architecture frameworks such as the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) or the Unified Architecture Framework (UAF)