Principal Engineer Systems Safety with Security Clearance

Principal Systems Safety Engineer Mid-Level | $90,000 - $112,000 | Colorado Springs, CO | Onsite | Travel Up to 10% | Active Secret Clearance Required Support the development of next-generation defense and radar systems by ensuring mission-critical hardware and software are designed, tested, and operated safely throughout the system lifecycle. Join a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for applying system safety engineering principles to identify hazards, mitigate operational risk, and ensure compliance with military safety standards supporting advanced defense programs. A Day in the Life - What youll do * Perform comprehensive system safety analyses throughout the system development lifecycle, ensuring hardware, software, and operational concepts comply with military system safety standards. * Evaluate system designs, engineering documentation, operational procedures, and support equipment to identify hazards and develop effective risk mitigation strategies. * Apply MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to analyze hazards, assign risk levels, and drive safety requirements into system architecture, software, hardware, and operational procedures. * Develop and maintain System Safety Program Plans (SSPPs), System Safety Assessment Reports (SARs), Software Safety Analyses, hazard analyses, and other required safety documentation supporting customer and range certification requirements. * Maintain and manage Hazard Tracking System (HTS) records, ensuring hazards are documented, mitigated, verified, and closed through a disciplined lifecycle process. * Participate in system design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and engineering peer reviews to ensure safety is incorporated early in the design process. * Collaborate daily with systems engineers, software developers, hardware engineers, integration teams, and program leadership to resolve safety concerns and implement corrective actions. * Perform operational safety audits and assessments to evaluate program compliance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. * Support accident and incident investigations by identifying root causes, documenting findings, and recommending corrective and preventive actions. * Verify compliance with applicable military, customer, and regulatory safety standards while balancing technical performance, mission requirements, schedule, and program cost. * Support requirements development, system verification, validation, and test activities by ensuring safety requirements are fully traceable throughout the engineering lifecycle. * Support occasional travel (up to 10%) for customer meetings, engineering reviews, and program activities. Required Qualifications * Bachelors degree in Safety Engineering or a related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related experience; OR * Masters degree and 3 years of related experience; OR * PhD and 1 year of related experience. * Four additional years of relevant experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree. * Active in-scope DoD Secret security clearance required at time of application. * Experience applying MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to identify, assess, mitigate, and eliminate system hazards. * Familiarity with MIL-STD-1472H, applicable AFMAN guidance, and military safety compliance requirements. * Experience developing and maintaining Hazard Tracking System (HTS) documentation. * Experience developing system safety artifacts including: * System Safety Program Plans (SSPP) * System Safety Assessment Reports (SAR) * Software Safety Analyses * Hazard Analyses * Understanding of systems engineering lifecycle processes, including requirements development, system architecture, software development, integration, testing, verification, and validation. * Experience developing, reviewing, and approving system safety requirements and engineering documentation. * Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), program leadership, customers, and external stakeholders. * Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project). * Ability to travel up to 10%. * Ability to work onsite full-time in Colorado Springs under a 9/80 work schedule. Preferred Qualifications * Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using Cameo Enterprise Architecture. * Familiarity with radar systems, radar operations, or sensor-based defense systems. * Experience working within Agile development environments using Scrum or Kanban methodologies. * Experience using Atlassian collaboration tools including Jira and Confluence. * Experience supporting SharePoint-based engineering documentation. * Experience working in fast-paced, multidisciplinary defense engineering environments. * Experience with systems engineering tools such as IBM DOORS. * Experience using system modeling tools including CORE, Rhapsody, PTC Integrity Modeler, or Cameo. * Working knowledge of military and industry safety standards including: * MIL-STD-882 * MIL-STD-1472 * ASTM * ANSI * OSHA * PESHE * NFPA * FCC Who is Caribou Thunder? Caribou Thunder is a HUBZone-certified small business providing advanced technical and engineering services to the U.S. Department of War and its mission partners. 35+ states and 20+ countries. Weve delivered trusted solutions for over two decades-strengthening national readiness across missions on land, undersea, in the air, and throughout LEO, MEO, GEO, and deep space. Why Caribou Thunder? TEAM THUNDER - Mission Focused. Delivery Proven. Ready to Serve. * Employee Advocacy * Mission Proven * Global Reach * Skilled Teams * Modern Tools * Empowering Culture Our engineers and innovators ensure capability from sea floor to space frontier-delivering on time, maintaining compliance, and performing with precision in high-consequence environments. We specialize in Engineering Services, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Modeling & Simulation, Digital Engineering, System Safety, and Artificial Intelligence-disciplines powering the nations most complex technical missions. Employee Advocacy + Benefits Our people are the heart of Caribou Thunder. We invest in their growth, flexibility, and well-being-knowing their success drives ours. Benefits include: * Premium Health, Dental & Vision Insurance * 401(k) with 6% Company Match * Flexible PTO & Work Schedule * Education & Certification Reimbursement * Support for Military Leave * Work-Life Balance & Traditional Family Values Your future, your flexibility, your well-being-we invest in you. Apply and lets connect.