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Lead, Systems Engineer Space Vehicle

L3Harris


Job Location:

Palm Bay, FL - USA

Monthly Salary: Not provided by the employer
Posted: 18 September 2026 (19 hours ago)
Application Deadline: 16 December 2026
Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

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 vehiclelevel 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 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.

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:
Bachelors 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 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 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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Required Experience:

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At L3Harris, we anticipate and mitigate risk with agile end-to-end solutions that meet our customers' mission-critical needs across all domains.

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