Director, Systems Engineering, Integration & Test (SEIT)

Position Title:Director Systems Engineering Integration & Test (SEIT)
Requisition ID: 1827
Position Location:Fairfax VA
Position Reports To:VP of Engineering
Supervises Others:Yes

At Trident Systems Space Electronic Systems (SES) division we believe in the power of using strong engineering principles to drive innovation and solve complex problems. We foster a culture of rigorous engineering and continuous improvement leveraging the full knowledge of our organization through collaborative product development processes that include design and peer reviews. We combine our expertise in space electronics with right-sized development processes to create innovative high-performance space-based electronic systems that meet our customers evolving needs.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD Intelligence Community and Civil space customers. We develop complex radiation effects mitigated designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Director of Systems Engineering Integration & Test (SEIT) to serve as the discipline lead for Systems Engineering across programs and products spanning requirements definition and flow-down architecture and interface management verification and validation planning and hardware integration test and qualification. This is a working leadership role: the majority of time will be spent as direct labor across the systems engineering lifecycle with a strong emphasis on executing space hardware including design driving qualification programs and solving hardware issues. The role also includes building and leading a new Systems Engineering organization standing up System Integration and Test (SI&T) Control Account Management (CAM) and Project Engineering (PE) capabilities from the ground up as well as leading the established Assembly Integration and Test (AI&T) organization.

This role is ideal for an engineer-leader who wants to build a discipline spanning the full systems engineering lifecycle mentor a growing team and stay technically embedded in delivering flight hardware not a purely administrative management position.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical and organizational lead for Systems Engineering with direct ownership of requirements definition and flow-down system architecture interface management and verification and validation (V&V) planning across programs.
• Stand up a new Systems Engineering organization with SI&T as a foundational capability: define processes verification/test procedures workmanship standards staffing plans and tooling/facility requirements.
• Establish and lead a Control Account Management (CAM) / Production Engineering (PE) function integrating cost schedule and technical performance reporting into program execution.
• Provide strategic leadership for rootcause and correctiveaction disciplines ensuring organizational adherence to robust processes and driving comprehensive longterm solutions to process escapes test anomalies and hardware failures.
• Interface directly with Program Management Design Engineering Quality and Manufacturing to ensure test readiness and hardware qualification milestones are met.
• Hire mentor and grow a team of SEIT engineers and technicians as the organization scales; key focus areas are space effects survivability component engineering cyber security and aerospace worst case analysis.
• Champion continuous improvement in system engineering test infrastructure tooling and processes to improve throughput and quality.
• Ability to support travel or off-site work as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Mechanical Electrical Engineering or related technical field (or equivalent experience).
• 15 years of experience in systems integration and test with direct hands-on experience delivering and qualifying flight hardware for space or similarly rigorous programs (e.g. defense aviation).
• Demonstrated experience taking hardware through full qualification campaigns (environmental functional performance testing) including worst case analysis.
• Working knowledge of integration and test standards and practices for space hardware (e.g. NASA GEVS NASA-STD SMC-S-016 or equivalent internal standards).
• Proven ability to work as direct hands-on labor this role is not purely managerial.
• Prior people-leadership experience standing up or significantly building out a new team process or organizational capability from limited existing infrastructure.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills for hardware/test anomalies.
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills with experience interfacing across engineering program management quality and manufacturing.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters or doctoral degree in Mechanical Electrical System Engineering or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Experience with Agile hardware development methodologies (e.g. Scrum/Kanban adapted for hardware rapid iteration/build-test-fix cycles).
• Prior experience establishing or operating within a Control Account Management (CAM) / Earned Value Management (EVM) framework.
• Experience in a low-to-mid rate production environment (as opposed to single-unit/prototype only).
• Familiarity with MBSE tools and digital engineering environments.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $155000 - $280000

Please Note: Actual compensation offered will be determined based on several factors including but not limited to relevant experience skills education certifications internal equity business considerations and geographic location where applicable.

Benefits

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits including but not limited to:

• Health benefits
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Basic life with AD&D
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability
  • Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D accident critical illness hospital and pet)
  • Spending accounts (HSA FSA and DCFSA)
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• 401(k) (including company match)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Leaves (Parental maternity and military)
• Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)

Trident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Trident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process please contact.

Pay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about discussed or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge (b) in furtherance of an investigation proceeding hearing or action including an investigation conducted by the employer or (c) consistent with the contractors legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)