Payload Systems Engineer Chief

Job ID: 2616307

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-08-31

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes - 10% of the time

Minimum Clearance Required: TS.SCI_wPoly

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking a Payload Systems Engineer Chief to provide onsite systems engineering and technical advisory (SETA) services in support of an SAIC Prime Program at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in Chantilly, VA.

As the Payload Systems Engineer Chief, you will play a critical role in the development, acquisition, and execution of multiple satellite payload systems-both on-orbit and in development. You will support the Payload Division SETA team in advising the government on technical, programmatic, and acquisition activities across EO and SAR payload portfolios. This role requires familiarity with NRO mission structures, acquisition processes, and satellite system lifecycles.

Job Responsibilities to include:

• Advise the PROSPO Payload Division Chief on all aspects of payload development and acquisition.
• Support the SPO in planning, execution, monitoring, and oversight of multiple EO and SAR payload systems in development and acquisition.
• Assist the Government in developing CONOPS and employment approaches for EO and SAR systems.
• Assist the Government in developing requirement documents, statements of work (SOWs), and other contract documents during program acquisition and contract action preparation.
• Provide oversight of acquisitions to ensure end-to-end system closure and satisfaction of mission need.
• Draft technical evaluations and serve as a technical advisor during source selections.
• Provide technical and programmatic assessments of contractor designs at major milestone reviews to evaluate progress, risks, issues, and ability to meet mission requirements.
• Participate in program reviews and technical interchange meetings between developers and the COTR.
• Review CDRL deliverables for technical accuracy, completeness, and sufficiency to meet program objectives.
• Provide technical support to Government customer activities and programmatic processes.
• Develop documents and briefings to communicate study results, technical findings, and program status to Government and industry stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelors and eighteen (18) years or more experience; Masters and sixteen (16) years or more experience; PhD or JD and fifteen years or more experience.
• Active Top Secret/SCI with current Polygraph.
• Experience with satellite and/or satellite payload system requirement development, design, manufacturing, and test.
• Demonstrated experience supporting satellite and/or payload design reviews, including SRR, SDR, PDR, CDR, TRR, MRR, PSR, and related milestone reviews.
• Experience supporting the acquisition of multiple payload systems.
• Experience developing requirement documents, statements of work, and other contract documents for major acquisition programs.
• Proven ability to assess contractor designs, identify risks, and evaluate technical performance against mission requirements.
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, team-building, and problem-solving skills with demonstrated effectiveness in a government/contractor environment.
• Working knowledge of the NRO organization, major acquisition processes, and satellite systems.

Target salary range: $200,001 - $240,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.


SAIC is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical, engineering, intelligence, and enterprise information technology markets. SAIC is Redefining Ingenuity through its deep customer and domain knowledge to enable the delivery of systems engineering and integration offerings for large, complex projects. SAIC's approximately 15,000 employees are driven by integrity and mission focus to serve customers in the U.S. federal government. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $4.5 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For information on the benefits SAIC offers, see .