Communications Systems Engineer (Optical/Quantum)

Job ID: 2615281

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-08-06

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 Communications Systems Engineer with strong optical and quantum communications engineering experience to support specialized analysis, engineering, design, and operations for Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of War (DoW) customers. We support development of next-generation and far-future national security systems across land, sea, air, and space domains.

We are hiring a Communications Systems Engineer to provide systems engineering and technical advisory (SETA) support to an IC Research & Development (R&D) customer developing advanced hardware, software, and architectural solutions for mission-critical optical and quantum communication systems. Responsibilities
Perform technical reviews, assessments, and risk evaluations of optical and quantum communication system development efforts at the component, subsystem, system, and architecture levels.

Evaluate designs and technologies including optical terminals, free-space optical links, photonic components, entanglement-based communication architectures, and quantum-enhanced optical subsystems. Assess emerging technologies and identify gaps related to high-bandwidth space links, advanced modulation formats, pointing/tracking systems, link budgets, networking performance, and secure quantum-enabled transport architectures. Support development of technology roadmaps, requirements, specifications, verification approaches, and transition strategies for optical and quantum system modernization.

Conduct technical outreach with mission users to capture needs and evaluate applicability of emerging optical and quantum capabilities. Prepare system engineering documentation, technical analyses, and program-level briefings to communicate findings and strategic recommendations. Provide support to programmatic and acquisition activities, including source selections, lifecycle documentation, and system integration planning.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related discipline and nine (9) years or more experience; Masters and seven (7) years or more experience ; PhD or JD and four (4) years or more experience
Experience with USG program management and acquisition lifecycle processes and documentation. Strong interpersonal, verbal, and technical writing communication skills. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams. Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools.

Desired Qualifications
Master's degree in engineering, physics, or related discipline.
12+ years of relevant experience, including at least 4 years in optical or quantum communication systems.
1+ year of experience supporting USG R&D acquisition processes and documentation. Experience with space-based optical terminals, quantum optical payloads, photonic systems, or advanced quantum-enhanced communication architectures

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 .