NRO Payload Engineer

Job ID: 2612570

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-05-14

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 Subject Matter Expert to support the NRO GEOINT Directorate. This is a Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support position to assist in acquiring a new satellite and payloads for the future GEOINT space architecture. The candidate will support acquisition activities and provide space vehicle and payload design expertise for protection capabilities. Qualified candidates must possess demonstrated satellite/payload technical expertise and be able to work both independently and in a team-based environment.

Key duties/responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
Assist with the execution of satellite and payload design trade studies. Evaluate system and payload designs, as necessary, to determine if the proposed design and supporting protection capabilities are adequate to meet required performance thresholds.
Assess protection capabilities technical performance and modeling and simulation results.
Assess Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and identify risks to program plans and schedules, and support development of acquisition plans.
Assist in managing requirements development, flow-down and traceability. Assist with ensuring compliance to interfaces and design standards.
Support the development of requirement documents and acquisition plans.
Participate as a technical advisor during Government source selections to evaluate development contractor proposals and provide down-selection recommendations to source selection authorities.
Following selection of a development contractor, participate in monitoring and evaluating payload design constraints as the payload matures through its phases. Identify technical design risks and potential impacts to program plans.
Expect Travel within the U.S. approximately 10% of the time.

Qualifications

B.S. Engineering with 14 years or more experience; Masters and 12 years or more experience; PhD and 9 years or more experience.

Qualifications:
Remote sensing satellite acquisition experience, specifically writing and evaluating requirements, and assessing development contractor performance.
Expertise with imaging sensor functionality and performance.
Demonstrated ability to conduct analysis and evaluations - able to synthesize large amounts of data/information concisely.
Ability to apply technical expertise and summarize information/findings for presentation to Government leadership.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, with an ability to be flexible to adjust to dynamic technical guidance.

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. 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 .