Defense Systems Engineer

About the role

You will join a defense technology company that builds mission systems where failure is not an option, and where every requirement must trace cleanly from an operational need to a verified capability. The systems engineering team turns those needs into architectures that hardware, software, and integration teams can actually build, defining the interfaces and verification approach that keep a multi-supplier program coherent. In this role you own that connective tissue across the full lifecycle, from concept and requirements through integration, qualification, and fielding, and your rigor is what lets the program deliver on schedule with no late surprises.

What you will achieve

• Build and maintain a requirements baseline of 500 or more system requirements in DOORS, holding end-to-end traceability above 98 percent from operational need to verification event.
• Author SysML architecture models in Cameo that define system interfaces, data flows, and state behavior, reducing interface rework during integration by roughly a third.
• Lead verification planning for two subsystems, producing test matrices that map every requirement to inspection, analysis, demonstration, or test with clear pass criteria.
• Run the technical risk process for your work package, maintaining the top ten risks with mitigation burndown plans reviewed monthly with program leadership.
• Deliver interface control documents that let three or more suppliers build to a shared boundary, so system integration proceeds without late interface surprises.

What you will bring

Must-haves

• You bring 2 to 5 years of systems engineering experience on complex hardware and software programs, ideally in defense or aerospace.
• You are fluent with requirements management tools such as DOORS and with traceability practice across the full development V-model.
• You work comfortably in SysML and model-based systems engineering using Cameo or an equivalent modeling tool.
• You have written verification plans, requirements verification matrices, and acceptance criteria for real subsystems.
• You understand interface definition and ICD authorship, including integration across multiple suppliers.
• You write clearly and present trade studies and technical decisions to engineering and program stakeholders with confidence.
• You have supported requirements audits or verification reviews with customers, defending traceability and closure rationale under scrutiny.

Nice-to-haves

• You hold or are pursuing INCOSE certification at the ASEP or CSEP level.
• You have applied Agile or hybrid development methods to systems engineering work.
• You bring experience with FMECA, fault tree analysis, or reliability prediction.
• You are eligible for a U.S. security clearance.
• You bring familiarity with model-based verification or digital thread tooling that connects requirements to test artifacts.