Principal Systems Engineer – Missile Defense

About the role

APEX TK is looking for a Principal Systems Engineer to provide engineering oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development. You will act as a trusted advisor to the program office, delivering critical assessments of prime contractor designs and ensuring successful delivery through major program milestones.

Key responsibilities

• Review and assess prime contractor designs, technical plans, reports, and procedures for payload and countermeasure systems.
• Provide technical evaluation and support during all major program milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, PAR) and lead multi‑disciplinary Technical Interchange Meetings.
• Collaborate with cost analysts and schedulers to align technical assessments with budget estimates and delivery schedules.

Required profile

• Active DoD Secret clearance.
• Master’s degree in a STEM field and at least 12 years of experience supporting missile‑defense or large‑scale DoD programs.
• Proven experience managing end‑to‑end program lifecycles, including development, testing, and fielding of complex systems.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% of the time.

Required skills

• Payload and countermeasure requirements development, analysis, design, qualification, and fielding.
• Instrumentation analysis, including physical layout evaluation and component selection.
• Understanding of IR/RCS signatures for flight objects and countermeasures.
• Knowledge of material properties and material property measurements.