Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer

LOCATION: Arlington, VA; Columbia, MD; Huntsville, AL; Denver, CO; or other major Astrion engineering location

JOB STATUS: Full-time

CLEARANCE: Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance; active TS/SCI preferred

TRAVEL: Up to 30%

SALARY RANGE: $228K - $345K (final compensation to be determined based on experience and location)

Astrion has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer in one of the major Astrion engineering locations listed above.

The future of national security will be defined by how quickly we can turn breakthrough technologies into operational capabilities. Modern defense systems are no longer built as isolated platforms. They're interconnected systems of sensors, autonomous vehicles, software, communications, artificial intelligence, command and control, and effectors operating across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.

Building these systems requires more than exceptional engineering within individual programs. It requires a common technical vision, disciplined systems engineering, open architectures, rapid experimentation, and the ability to integrate technologies across missions and operational environments.

Astrion is building that engineering capability.

This role will lead the technical direction, engineering excellence, and product development strategy across Astrion's enterprise.

This isn't a traditional chief engineer position focused on reviewing designs or approving technical documentation. This isn't an engineering governance role. This is a hands-on technical leadership position responsible for ensuring that Astrion builds the right technologies, makes the right engineering decisions, and consistently delivers differentiated capabilities that solve our customers' most difficult mission challenges.

You'll provide enterprise-wide technical leadership across Astrion's Platform organization and six Mission Segments, connecting the expertise of our engineers, scientists, architects, and technologists into a unified engineering capability.

You'll guide the development of Astrion's technology platforms, including CORE, Horizon, Meridian, and Tactical Edge, while ensuring those technologies integrate with mission-specific systems and products across the company.

You'll work alongside software architects, hardware engineers, systems engineers, AI researchers, product leaders, program managers, and operational experts to turn complex mission requirements into scalable, reusable technology solutions.

You'll establish the engineering standards, architecture principles, technical review processes, and development practices that allow Astrion to move faster without compromising quality, security, reliability, or mission performance.

You'll help determine what Astrion builds, what we integrate, where we partner, and which technologies will create lasting competitive advantage.

The systems you help develop won't simply demonstrate what's technically possible.

They'll deliver the operational capabilities our customers need to succeed.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS We're looking for a proven senior engineering leader with substantial experience delivering complex technologies and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.

The strongest candidates will typically bring:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
20+ years of progressive engineering experience, including significant technical leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience leading large, geographically distributed engineering organizations or providing enterprise technical leadership across multiple engineering teams.
Proven track record architecting, developing, integrating, and delivering complex hardware/software systems.
Experience guiding technology and product development across multiple programs or business units.
Deep understanding of modern systems engineering, open architectures, and engineering lifecycle management.
Ability to communicate complex technical issues clearly to executive leadership, customers, engineers, and nontechnical stakeholders.
U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS Master's degree or Ph.D. in an engineering or technical discipline.

Active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance.
Experience at a leading defense technology company, major aerospace and defense prime, advanced research organization, or commercial technology company developing mission-critical systems.
Prior experience serving as an enterprise Chief Engineer, Chief Systems Engineer, CTO, or equivalent technical executive.
Experience establishing reusable technology platforms and transitioning services-based engineering capabilities into commercializable products.
Experience leading major technical transformations involving MBSE, digital engineering, AI-enabled engineering, and open architecture adoption.
Experience with both defense hardware development and commercial software engineering practices.
Experience guiding technology investment decisions, technical due diligence, and strategic industry partnerships.

RESPONSIBILITIES

You'll define and lead Astrion's enterprise engineering vision, guiding technology development, product architecture, technical execution, and engineering excellence across the Platform organization and all Mission Segments.

You will:Enterprise Engineering Leadership Serve as Astrion's senior enterprise engineering authority, providing technical direction and oversight across the Platform organization and all six Mission Segments: Layered Defense, Autonomous Warfare, and Integrated Fires; Integrated Air and Missile Defense; Lifecycle Management and Cyber Warfare; Critical Infrastructure Protection; Space Warfighting; and Exploration and Lunar Presence.

Establish a unified engineering vision that connects Astrion's mission expertise, software capabilities, hardware development, systems engineering, and technology investments.
Define enterprise engineering principles, technical standards, architecture frameworks, and development methodologies that enable reuse, interoperability, scalability, and rapid technology delivery.
Guide engineering decisions across major programs, products, demonstrations, and technology investments, ensuring technical solutions align with customer requirements, business objectives, and long-term platform strategy.
Establish and lead an enterprise technical community connecting Chief Engineers, Systems Architects, Software Architects, Hardware Engineers, and technical subject matter experts across Astrion.
Develop and mentor Astrion's engineering leaders, raising the technical standard across the organization and building a culture of innovation, ownership, accountability, and disciplined execution.

Technology Platform & Product Development Guide the technical architecture and evolution of Astrion's Platform, including CORE, Horizon, Meridian, Tactical Edge, and future enterprise technology products.

Ensure Astrion's technology products share common architectural principles, interfaces, data standards, and reusable capabilities while supporting mission-specific requirements.
Lead the technical transition from program-specific engineering solutions and services into scalable hardware, software, and integrated technology products.
Partner with Platform product owners and Mission Segment leadership to develop technology roadmaps, define product requirements, evaluate technical tradeoffs, and prioritize engineering investments.
Establish engineering practices that accelerate the progression of technologies from concept and prototype through integration, testing, production, deployment, and sustainment.
Drive modular product architectures that enable Astrion to rapidly configure and deploy common technologies across defense, space, intelligence, and commercial applications.
Evaluate emerging technologies and determine where Astrion should develop proprietary capabilities, integrate commercial technologies, establish strategic partnerships, or acquire external capabilities.

Systems Engineering & Architecture Establish Astrion's enterprise systems engineering framework covering requirements development, system architecture, interface management, modeling and simulation, integration, verification, validation, and lifecycle management.

Lead the adoption of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), digital engineering, digital twins, simulation-driven development, and automated engineering workflows.
Drive adoption of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles and relevant open architecture standards, including SOSA, OMS/UCI, FACE, CMOSS, VICTORY, and emerging interoperability frameworks.
Ensure Astrion's systems are designed for interoperability across sensors, communications networks, command and control systems, autonomous platforms, mission applications, and effectors.
Establish common engineering approaches for enterprise cloud, tactical edge, embedded computing, real-time systems, autonomous platforms, and distributed mission architectures.
Guide architecture development for current and emerging Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2), integrated sensing and fires, autonomy, space operations, and multi-domain mission systems.
Lead critical technical trade studies and architecture decisions involving system performance, reliability, security, affordability, scalability, and operational effectiveness.

Hardware, Software & Integrated Systems Provide technical leadership across the full spectrum of engineering disciplines, including software, electronics, embedded computing, sensors, communications, mechanical systems, autonomy, AI/ML, and integrated mission systems.

Partner closely with the VP, Platform Software Lead Architect to ensure software architectures, development practices, and software factory capabilities align with enterprise systems engineering and product architecture.
Guide integration of software with enterprise infrastructure, tactical computing hardware, embedded processors, sensors, autonomous vehicles, and mission-specific platforms.
Establish engineering practices supporting both real-time and non-real-time systems, including latency-sensitive processing, distributed computing, resilient communications, and operation in disconnected or contested environments.
Drive integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, sensor fusion, optimization, predictive analytics, and decision-support technologies into operational systems.
Ensure hardware and software products are designed for manufacturability, testability, maintainability, cybersecurity, reliability, and long-term sustainment.

Technical Execution & Engineering Excellence Establish enterprise technical review standards and provide leadership for major milestones, including System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), and other critical engineering decisions.

Lead independent technical assessments of strategically important programs, emerging technologies, and high-risk engineering efforts.
Identify and resolve critical technical risks before they affect program cost, schedule, performance, or customer commitments.
Work directly with Program Managers and Mission Segment Chief Engineers to resolve difficult engineering challenges, recover technical performance, and accelerate delivery.
Establish engineering metrics that measure technical maturity, requirements stability, defect trends, integration readiness, test coverage, reliability, and product development velocity.
Drive continuous improvement in engineering productivity through automation, AI-enabled engineering tools, digital workflows, simulation, and modern development practices.
Promote disciplined experimentation, rapid prototyping, incremental capability delivery, and learning through testing.
Balance engineering rigor with speed, ensuring Astrion can deliver mission-critical capabilities against aggressive schedules.

Growth, Customers & Technology Strategy Partner with Strategy, Platform, Growth, and Mission Segment leadership to identify customer capability gaps and develop differentiated technical solutions.

Serve as a senior technical advisor during strategic captures, solution development, demonstrations, and major proposal efforts.
Lead technical assessments of potential partners, emerging technologies, strategic investments, and acquisition targets.
Engage directly with senior government customers, operational users, industry partners, research organizations, and technology companies to understand future mission requirements.
Translate operational challenges into enterprise technology roadmaps and product development priorities.
Represent Astrion as a senior technical leader in customer engagements, industry forums, technical exchanges, and strategic partnerships.
Help position Astrion as a company recognized for engineering excellence, innovative technology, and the ability to rapidly transition advanced capabilities into operational systems.

What We Value

We're looking for someone who has built complex systems, led exceptional engineering teams, and repeatedly delivered technologies that work in the real world.

The strongest candidates understand that great engineering isn't defined by the elegance of an architecture or the sophistication of an individual technology.

It's defined by whether the complete system works, solves the customer's problem, and delivers measurable operational advantage.

They've made difficult technical decisions.

They've integrated technologies that weren't originally designed to work together.

They've led engineers through aggressive schedules, evolving requirements, and demanding operational environments.

They know when to build, when to buy, when to partner, and when a technical approach needs to change.

Most importantly, they know how to turn engineering excellence into a repeatable enterprise capability.

We look for leaders who have experience with many of the following:

Engineering & Technical Leadership

Serving as a Chief Engineer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Systems Engineer, VP Engineering, Technical Fellow, or equivalent senior technical leader.
Leading multidisciplinary engineering organizations across software, hardware, systems engineering, electronics, embedded systems, AI/ML, and integrated mission systems.
Providing technical leadership across multiple programs, business units, or product portfolios.
Establishing enterprise engineering standards, architecture frameworks, technical governance, and engineering communities of practice.
Mentoring senior engineers, technical fellows, chief engineers, and emerging technical leaders.

Systems Engineering & Product Architecture

Architecting and delivering complex systems-of-systems operating in mission-critical or high-consequence environments.
Developing modular, scalable, open architecture systems that integrate multiple hardware and software technologies.
Leading systems engineering across requirements, architecture, integration, verification, validation, deployment, and sustainment.
Implementing MBSE, digital engineering, digital twins, modeling and simulation, and automated engineering workflows.
Applying MOSA principles and open architecture standards across defense systems.
Leading critical technical reviews, architecture trade studies, and independent engineering assessments.

Hardware, Software & Emerging Technologies

Developing integrated hardware and software products that operate across cloud, enterprise, embedded, and tactical edge environments.
Integrating sensors, communications, autonomous systems, command and control, mission software, and effectors.
Understanding modern software engineering, Agile development, DevSecOps, continuous integration, continuous deployment, and software product architectures.
Developing or integrating artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy, computer vision, sensor fusion, and advanced decision-support systems.
Designing resilient, secure, distributed systems that operate in contested, disconnected, or degraded environments.
Working across real-time computing, embedded processors, edge computing, cloud infrastructure, and high-performance computing.

Defense & Mission Systems

Developing technologies supporting one or more of the following mission domains:

Integrated Air and Missile Defense
Autonomous Warfare and Integrated Fires
Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Battle Management Command and Control
C5ISR and Multi-Domain Operations
Cyber Warfare and Critical Infrastructure Protection
Space Warfighting and Satellite Systems
Space Exploration and Lunar Infrastructure
Mission Engineering and Digital Engineering
Test, Evaluation, Integration, and Sustainment

Working with Department of Defense, NASA, Intelligence Community, or other national security customers.
Understanding defense acquisition, technology transition, operational testing, and the challenges of deploying emerging technologies into existing mission environments.

Product Development & Execution

Taking complex technologies from concept through prototype, demonstration, qualification, production, deployment, and sustainment.
Transforming custom engineering solutions into reusable, scalable hardware and software products.
Leading engineering teams through demanding schedules, technical uncertainty, and evolving customer requirements.
Making disciplined engineering tradeoffs involving performance, schedule, cost, reliability, security, and lifecycle affordability.
Building engineering cultures that combine innovation, technical rigor, rapid execution, and individual accountability.
Establishing measurable improvements in product quality, development velocity, technical performance, and engineering productivity.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means Astrion operates as one engineering enterprise, with shared technical standards, reusable architectures, common development practices, and engineering teams capable of solving problems across Mission Segments.

You'll help create an organization where:

Technology investments translate into differentiated products and operational capabilities.
Mission Segments leverage common Platform technologies rather than independently rebuilding similar solutions.
Engineering decisions are made with clear ownership, technical rigor, and an understanding of mission outcomes.
Hardware, software, and systems engineering operate as an integrated capability.
Technical risks are identified and resolved early.
Product development cycles become faster and more predictable.
Engineering talent and specialized expertise can be leveraged across the company.
Astrion consistently delivers technically excellent solutions on aggressive schedules.

We're looking for someone who doesn't simply oversee engineering.

We're looking for someone who helps define what Astrion builds next—and ensures we can deliver it.

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