Lead Systems Engineer

Job ID: 2616276

Location: Reston, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-08-28

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes - 10% of the time

Minimum Clearance Required: TS.SCI

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking Lead Systems Engineer for a Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) Team supporting the Department of the Air Force Integrated Fires Command and Control (DIFC2) program of record. As the Lead Systems Engineer, you will provide oversight and expertise in the design, development, and integration of sophisticated systems to meet the requirements of a critical system of systems. This position will lead cross-functional engineering teams, partner with stakeholders, and ensure compliance with program goals and objectives.

The ideal candidate will bring technical depth, leadership skills, and a track record of developing solutions in classified systems and environments. The position requires an individual with strong technical project management skills. The successful candidate will have excellent communication, team leadership skills and DoD technical project management experience. They will be expected to continually balance and adjust work priorities to meet short deadlines. Position will be onsite in the Chantilly/Reston, VA area.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as the LSI technical lead for system design, integration, and testing efforts, ensuring alignment with operational and mission requirements. Lead and mentor multi-disciplinary engineering teams to deliver high-quality, scalable Command and Control (C2) and Weapons systems solutions. Oversee the entire systems engineering lifecycle, including requirements analysis, system design, development, testing, deployment, and sustainment. Perform trade studies, risk assessments, and modeling to support decision-making and identify optimal engineering approaches.

Collaborate with the customer's Chief Engineer and Program Manager, stakeholders, and government customers to define project objectives and ensure alignment with mission goals. Ensure compliance with established engineering processes, technical standards, configuration management and security requirements IAW with System Engineering Plan. Generate and deliver technical documentation, including design artifacts, interface control documents, and test plans. Act as the primary technical point of contact for government customers, vendors, and internal teams.

Experience working in an Agile team/framework is required
Mission Engineering Experience
Leading and executing design reviews including SRR, SFR, PDR, CDR. Experience in DoDAF, SysML and UML modeling, simulation, and analysis. Manage system performance requirements and ensure that all delivered solutions meet or exceed operational needs. Assess and mitigate program risks while developing innovative solutions to solve engineering challenges.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Active TS/SCI clearance or TS/SCI eligible. Bachelor's degree or higher in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline and 14 years of experience. Minimum of 10 years of hands-on systems engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role. Proven capability in designing, integrating, and delivering complex systems for classified/national security applications.

Proven experience with applying System Engineering V principles in large Agile programs (ACAT 1, II, III) experience
Experience with the full systems development lifecycle, including requirements derivation, system design, and verification/validation testing. Expertise in system architectures, MBSE modeling techniques, and system-of-systems integration. Demonstrated ability to work with senior leadership and government stakeholders in classified environments. Proficiency in engineering tools, frameworks, and modeling languages (e.g., DOORS, Cameo, MATLAB, SysML).

In-depth understanding of cybersecurity principles and compliance with security accreditation processes (e.g., RMF).

Preferred Qualifications

Master's degree in Systems Engineering or a related field.
Certifications such as INCOSE CSEP, PMP, DAWIA Systems Engineering Level III, or ITIL v4.
Experience with defense command and control (C2) systems (LMMT, GCCS, JRE)
Experience with Link 16, JREAP, and BLOS Architectures, SIPR, and JWICs Networks
Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience using Cameo Enterprise Architect, Rational Rhapsody, Sparx Enterprise Architect, or other comparable tools.
Experience with MATLAB, STK, AFSIM, Simulink, Model Center, or other comparable modeling and simulation tools.

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 .