Systems Engineer (SE5) will provide systems engineering and other technical assistance to customer’s requirements development and planning for National SIGINT systems. The selected systems engineer will work closely with NSA, NRO, national-level customers, and military services to capture and document the requirements for the next generation systems. The effort requires participation in numerous meetings, working groups, and integrated product teams, product reviews, and status meetings to monitor the systems engineering plans, development, and deployment of space and ground processing systems. The Systems Engineer will work closely with government Systems Engineers to ensure NSA plans are effectively aligned with those developed by NRO engineers. The goal is seamless integration across both enterprises.  

In particular, the selected individual will provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support to the National Integrated Tactical RF Operations (NITRO) planning and execution of the SILENTSTORM project. This project will focus on an initial two-phased (“fail fast’’) approach, Phase 0 – Initial Feasibility Assessment and Phase 1 – Feasibility Verification and Validation Assessment. In Phase 0, the SE will provide and support commercial off-the-shelf engineering test hardware and software for supporting tests, model and simulate multiple waveform variants, define field-set functionality and performance needs to support concepts of operations (CONOPs), and conclude by performing limited validation testing of model and simulation results. To be effective at this task, the systems engineer must have a strong working knowledge of signal processing and signal propagation theory and practice. They should understand complex low probability of detection/intercept (LPD/LDI) signal modulation techniques (i.e. signal hopping and spread spectrum), signal bandwidth constraints, and antenna sensitivity patterns. In phase 1, they will expand commercial off-the-shelf engineering test hardware and software to support validation and verification and NSA Operational Test Authority (OTA) testing, expand the model 0 to include more channels and additional waveforms, and define infrastructure functionality and performance needs in support of collection and exploitation CONOPs.

The systems engineer will be a key member of the team charged with the production of solid documentation of the customers’ requirements and a mapping of where, when and how those requirements will be satisfied by capabilities to be deployed across the extended IC enterprise as the next generation collection and processing systems are fielded. The selected Systems Engineer will directly participate in structured analysis of alternatives (AoA) decision making processes as plans work through the appropriate decision gates. To be successful, the selected individual must be able to communicate with other program personnel, government overseers, and senior executives. They will be have responsibility for the technical integrity, quality, and completeness of work performed and deliverables.