Principal Systems Engineer

The Role We are seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to support the development, integration, and verification of the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) across the full product lifecycle. This role supports the overall system development of ATARS via requirements development and traceability, architecture definition, interface management, hardware/software integration, and conducting formal design milestone reviews. The Principal Systems Engineer will operate in a cross-functional environment supporting hardware, software, optics, test, and airworthiness teams to ensure technical performance, compliance, and mission readiness of complex integrated systems. Responsibilities - Develop, decompose, and manage system and subsystem requirements using approved requirements management tools. - Establish and maintain the Requirements Verification Traceability Matrix (RVTM), ensuring bidirectional traceability from system requirements through verification artifacts. - Develop and manage Interface Control Documents (ICDs) for internal and external system integrations (hardware, software, avionics, and platform interfaces). - Lead and support design milestone reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, and SVR. - Apply Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies (SysML) to develop system architectures, functional decompositions, use cases, and interface models. - Conduct trade studies and technical analysis to support design decisions and performance optimization. - Manage allocations of weight, power, and other system resources across components. - Coordinate and oversee system integration and verification activities in both lab and aircraft environments. - Identify and manage technical risks, ensuring mitigation plans are in place. - Serve as a technical point of contact across internal teams and with external partners to ensure alignment on system design and performance. Required Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related STEM field. - 8 to 12 years of experience in aerospace, defense, or mission-critical system development. - Firm grasp of the systems engineering development lifecycle. - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience in trade studies and technical decision support. - Proficiency with requirements management tools and products, including requirements development, decomposition, tracing, validation and verification. - Experience authoring and reviewing Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Concepts of Operation, Trade Studies, Documentation Trees, Engineering Management Plans, Engineering Change Packages or similar systems engineering artifacts. - Experience supporting or leading formal design milestone reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR). - Effective written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and cross-team coordination. - Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance. Preferred Qualifications - Master's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field. - INCOSE ASEP or CSEP Certification. - Experience with AR/VR technologies and head-mounted display systems. - Knowledge of MIL-STD documentation standards and defense acquisition lifecycle processes. - Familiarity with avionics systems, aircraft integration, or similar platforms. - Experience applying MBSE methodologies using SysML tools such as Cameo, MagicDraw, or Rhapsody. - Familiarity with airworthiness certification processes and safety-critical system development.