Senior Principal Systems Engineer

Job ID 2615948 Location Chantilly, VA, USDate Posted 2026-08-20 Category Engineering and Sciences Subcategory Systems Engineer Schedule Full-TimeShift Day JobTravel Yes - 10% of the time Minimum Clearance Required TS.SCI_wPolyClearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain None Potential for Remote Work ORA_ON_SITEDescriptionSAIC is seeking a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to fill a critical position supporting a large SETA program supporting the NRO's Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED) in Chantilly, VA. The job requires the ability to flexibly manage task execution, provide technical/professional expertise on a variety of Systems Engineering topics, and advise the government on program activities. All candidates must have an active TS/SCI clearance with CI Polygraph. A successful candidate in this position will bring a record of application of systems engineering and creative thought-leadership to mature and develop revolutionary multi-intelligence solutions. Responsibilities include but are not limited toProvide technical leadership in planning capabilities needed to better support mission operations (e.g. automation, resiliency, situational awareness, etc.)Analyze user needs, develop concepts of operation, and high-level systems architectures, and define capability needs and system requirements Work with government and contractor points of contact across multiple Agencies, Directorates and Offices to refine future ground system capabilities Identify and communicate key architecture and system level trades, system engineering risks, issues, opportunities, and dependencies Support integration of architectures with other components of the technical baseline Collaborate with SETA team members, engineers from various contractor and government organizations, and mission users Develop assessments and briefings to a variety of audiences to convey information in crisp, articulate manner QualificationsRequired Education and Experience Bachelors and fourteen (14) years or more experience; Masters and twelve (12) years or more experience. Ability to obtain a Top Secret/SCI clearance with polygraph Proven experience in core systems engineering and analysis disciplines and processes Demonstrated ability to work in a fast paced, dynamic, and energetic environment Demonstrated ability to work as a team player requiring collaboration and open communication Strong oral and written communication skills Desired Education and Experience Advanced degree in STEM (science, technical, engineering, math) or related discipline Engineering, computer science, or information systems background Ability to build, integrate and analyze MBSE architectural representations Domain and tool knowledge in Agile software development practices (e.g. Scrum, DevOps, JIRA, Kanban) Prior experience with data management services and cloud software architecture Prior US military and/or IC customer experience Target salary range $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.