Lead, Systems Engineer - Space Vehicle

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L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Job Title: Lead, Systems Engineer – Space Vehicle Job Code: 44454 Job Location: Palm Bay, Florida Job Schedule: 9/80 (Every Other Friday Off!)

Job Description

The L3Harris Spectral Solutions division is seeking a Lead Systems Engineer to support space vehicle–level development for missile warning and missile defense missions. This role leads the technical planning, requirements development, integration, verification, and lifecycle execution of advanced space-based systems supporting national security objectives. The Lead Systems Engineer works across multidisciplinary teams to ensure that payload, bus, software, ground, and mission interfaces are defined, allocated, and managed in alignment with program goals and customer expectations. This position is responsible for guiding system architecture trades, assessing technical risk, and driving balanced solutions that meet performance, schedule, cost, and mission assurance requirements. The role supports the decomposition of mission needs into actionable system and subsystem requirements and ensures traceability throughout design, integration, and test activities. The Lead Systems Engineer also serves as a key technical interface with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders, representing system-level priorities, issues, and recommendations. In addition, this position helps coordinate verification and validation efforts, anomaly resolution, configuration management, and readiness reviews across the space vehicle lifecycle. The ideal candidate brings strong leadership, systems thinking, and technical communication skills, along with experience supporting complex aerospace or defense programs in a collaborative engineering environment. This position is in Palm Bay: https://careers.l3harris.com/en/florida

Essential Functions

• Lead space vehicle-level systems engineering for satellite programs from concept development through design, integration, test, launch, and mission operations support.
• Own the development, decomposition, allocation, and management of spacecraft system requirements to subsystem and component levels.
• Coordinate cross-functional technical efforts among systems, payload, avionics, flight software, mechanical, thermal, power, propulsion, guidance and control, integration and test, and mission operations teams.
• Lead development and maintenance of the space vehicle architecture, technical baseline, and interface definitions to ensure system compatibility and mission success.
• Manage system-level trades, performance analyses, and design decisions affecting spacecraft capability, cost, schedule, reliability, and risk.
• Lead system integration, verification, validation, and test planning to ensure compliance with program requirements and mission objectives.
• Support major technical reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR, and post-launch readiness activities, and present technical status to internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks and opportunities associated with spacecraft design, manufacturing, integration, environmental test, and launch vehicle interfaces.
• Collaborate with program management, production, quality, supply chain, and subcontractor teams to ensure successful execution of the space vehicle build and delivery.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to systems engineers and cross-disciplinary engineering teams while fostering disciplined engineering execution and continuous improvement.
• Job is onsite in Palm Bay, FL

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related STEM discipline and a minimum of 9 years of relevant experience; or a Graduate degree and a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience. In lieu of a degree, a minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.
• Ability to obtain a DoD Secret security clearance

Preferred Additional Skills

• Experience leading space vehicle systems engineering on government, civil, or commercial satellite programs.
• Experience supporting spacecraft integration and test, environmental qualification, launch site operations, or on-orbit anomaly resolution.
• Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), requirements management tools, and configuration management processes.
• Familiarity with System-level performance analysis (e.g., image analysis, thermal analysis, structural analysis, end-to-end performance, reliability analysis)
• Strong understanding in space vehicle design considerations in various orbital regimes: radiation, space charging, thermal, telecom, power, propulsion, disposal, etc.
• Familiarity with top level mission analysis and trades such as conops, DITL, coverage maps, revisit rates, etc. in support of mission formulation
• Well versed in functions, responsibilities and interconnectivities between Space Segment, Ground Segment and Launch Segment
• Active security clearance
• Experience in spacecraft, satellite, or other complex aerospace system development with demonstrated responsibility at the system or vehicle level.
• Experience with requirements management, interface control, system integration, verification and validation, and technical baseline management across the product lifecycle.
• Ability to lead cross-functional engineering teams, communicate technical issues clearly to leadership and customers, and support execution in a multi-site development environment.

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Please be aware many of our positions require the ability to obtain a security clearance. Security clearances may only be granted to U.S. citizens. In addition, applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment may be subject to government security investigation(s) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

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