Staff Systems Engineer

Provide staff-level systems engineering leadership for complex quantum computing programs supporting government and national security customers. Lead systems engineering activities throughout the full development lifecycle, including requirements definition, architecture, integration, verification, validation, and delivery. Translate contract requirements, statements of work, customer objectives, and mission needs into clear technical and system-level requirements. Develop and maintain requirements traceability, ensuring that design decisions, test activities, and verification results are linked to applicable customer and system requirements. Build and manage Requirements Verification Traceability Matrices, including verification methods, test evidence, acceptance criteria, ownership, and closure status. Establish and maintain program risk registers, including risk identification, probability and impact assessments, mitigation plans, controls, triggers, owners, and residual-risk tracking. Partner with engineering and program leadership to identify technical, schedule, integration, manufacturing, and performance risks before they affect program delivery. Define verification and validation strategies for complex hardware, software, firmware, and integrated systems. Review test plans, procedures, results, and technical data to determine whether system and contractual requirements have been satisfied. Create clear narratives that explain what was tested, why it was tested, what the results demonstrate, and how those results connect to program requirements and customer objectives. Present technical status, testing outcomes, risk posture, requirements compliance, and program recommendations to government customers and executive stakeholders. Communicate complex technical information in a concise, credible, and audience-appropriate manner. Serve as a systems-level connector across quantum scientists, electrical engineers, hardware engineers, firmware engineers, software engineers, test teams, manufacturing teams, program managers, and customers. Facilitate technical reviews, requirements reviews, design reviews, test-readiness reviews, risk reviews, and customer-facing program meetings. Provide technical leadership without losing sight of broader program goals, contractual commitments, schedule constraints, and customer expectations. Mentor engineers and help strengthen systems engineering processes, documentation standards, and technical governance across the organization.

Typically 10+ years of relevant engineering experience, including significant systems-level responsibility. Staff, Principal, Lead, or equivalent experience supporting technically complex hardware or integrated engineering programs. Experience supporting large government contracts or federally funded programs for organizations such as DARPA, DoD, DOE, national laboratories, or other federal agencies. Demonstrated experience translating contractual and customer requirements into executable engineering plans and verification activities. Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, including: Requirements development and decomposition Requirements traceability System architecture Interface definition and management Integration planning Verification and validation Configuration and change management Experience developing and maintaining a Requirements Verification Traceability Matrix, verification cross-reference matrix, or similar compliance framework. Experience creating and managing technical and programmatic risk registers, including mitigation strategies, controls, ownership, and closure criteria. Demonstrated ability to connect testing results and technical evidence directly to system, contract, and customer requirements. Experience presenting technical information, program status, risks, and test findings directly to customers. Strong technical storytelling skills, with the ability to turn complex engineering data into a clear and persuasive customer narrative. Experience leading multidisciplinary teams or serving as a Technical Lead, Systems Lead, or Technical Program Manager. Broad systems-level perspective with the ability to understand dependencies across hardware, software, firmware, testing, manufacturing, and program execution. Strong written communication, technical documentation, presentation, and executive-briefing skills. Ability to work effectively in an evolving, research-oriented, and highly technical environment.