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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Mission Engineer - Software SME - **Company:** Space Dynamics Laboratory - **Location:** Chantilly, VA, United States - **Experience:** Experienced - **Salary:** $133,000.0 - $226,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Systems Analysis, Systems Development Life Cycle, Software Engineering - **Published:** June 6, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d2e9ce9f07180d71 ## About the Role Do you have experience in Verification (System development task)?, * Must be a U.S. citizen with an active, or previously held, U.S. Government security clearance * Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field and 10+ years of combined software engineering and systems engineering experience * Systems engineering experience with familiarity with satellite bus architectures * Ability to lead and communicate effectively to interdisciplinary technical teams in proposal and design efforts for small- to mid-sized programs * Ability to provide mitigation strategies to minimize risk * Ability to interpret customer-driven requirements to determine areas of risk from a technical, cost, and schedule perspective * Ability to provide leadership and mentoring to junior engineers * Ability to respond resourcefully to new demands and challenges * Proficiency in managing and prioritizing requirements development and verification, risks, interfaces, configurations, and trade studies on medium to large complexity programs * Proficiency in providing technical oversight and leadership as the Lead Systems Engineer on small- to medium-sized programs * Proven organization and planning skills * Strong verbal and written communication skills * Ability to work effectively both individually and within a team environment * Strong attention to detail while still having a system-level perspective * Ability to anticipate software development risks and develop contingency plans to manage them * Proficiency in all phases of a software development lifecycle * Ability to relate well with outside customers and maintain good relationships under challenging circumstances * Ability to abstract the progress of a software development project and present appropriate status to senior leadership (may include remote presentations, white papers, and/or personal communications) * Moderate travel to support SDA (approximately 6-9 weeks a year) ## Description * Supports program managers and lead systems engineers on a program in technical management of projects through tracking, risks, requirements, interfaces, configurations, and related tasks * Has technical responsibility for planning and conducting technical projects or phases of projects * Designs and coordinates complex systems that involve interdisciplinary engineering such as software, hardware, thermal, structural, optical, and electrical * Defines and develops interfaces between development teams * Ensures common understanding between teams throughout development and is responsible for coordinating the work of many engineers, each of whom is an expert in one part of a system * Gathers all the necessary information about what is needed in a system, selects several possible ways of designing the system, and uses systems analysis to break down the possible solutions into smaller parts * Creates and maintains programmatic and technical documentation to ensure efficient planning and execution * Coordinates system development tasks to include design, integration, and formal testing * Oversees software development activities of SDA contractors to ensure appropriate processes and procedures are followed * Operates as a subject matter expert on behalf of SDA to influence mature software development practices across the organization * Operates as a technical point of contact for SDA upper management ## Related Videos - [Model Based Systems Engineering in an Agile Product Development Process](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/68-model-based-systems-engineering-in-an-agile-product-development-process) - [The Avengers Initiative (Practical Ethics for Software Engineers)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2070-the-avengers-initiative-practical-ethics-for-software-engineers) - [Data Science in Retail](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/586-data-science-in-retail) - [From Space to Software: Reliability Lessons 40 Years After Challenger](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100283-from-space-to-software-reliability-lessons-40-years-after-challenger) - [The Software Engineer 2030: From Coder To AI Orchestrator? - Patrick Schnell](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1825-the-software-engineer-2030-from-coder-to-ai-orchestrator-patrick-schnell) - [Automated Driving - Why is it so hard to introduce](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/628-automated-driving-why-is-it-so-hard-to-introduce) ## Related Articles - [What is Software Engineering?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/289-what-is-software-engineering) - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [The 12 Best Jobs for Software Engineers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/401-the-12-best-jobs-for-software-engineers) - [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard) - [What Jobs Can You Get with a Software Engineering Degree?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/398-what-jobs-can-you-get-with-a-software-engineering-degree) - [Software Engineer Career: Things You Should Know](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/143-software-engineer-career-things-you-should-know)