Principal Engineer - Target Systems (Eng IV) with Security Clearance

Join a missile defense targets program office team as its principal target systems engineer. You will provide engineering oversight for target payloads and countermeasure development, assess prime contractor designs, plans and instrumentation layouts, and anchor major milestones from System Requirements through Product Acceptance. Strong candidates with less tenure may be considered if they bring specific targets work or detailed IR/RCS signature and threat analysis knowledge.

What You Will Do • Serve as technical expert on payload and countermeasure requirements, analysis, design, qualification and fielding • Review what prime contractors deliver: designs, plans, reports and procedures • Evaluate target instrumentation requirements, layouts, component selection and test methods • Weigh in technically at each milestone (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, MRB, FRB, PAR) • Answer technical questions from outside organizations and lead multidisciplinary Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs) • Give the cost team technical input for accurate budget estimates • Work with the program scheduler to track deliveries and keep leadership informed Required Qualifications • 12+ years supporting missile defense or other large, complex DoD programs • End-to-end program lifecycle work on complex systems: development, test and fielding • Thrives in a fast-paced setting with shifting priorities • Handles several urgent tasks at once without losing focus • Able to travel up to 20% • Master's degree in a STEM field • Active DoD Secret clearance • Onsite in Huntsville, AL Preferred Qualifications • IR/RCS signatures for flight objects and countermeasures • Material properties and material property measurement • Real-world threat systems and how they shape target design • Flight test requirements and how they drive payload hardware development • Writing and evaluating technical proposals