Job Description
Davidson is distinguished in the aerospace and missile defense industry, in part, because of its excellence in hiring exceptional experts, engineers and software developers dedicated to delivering advanced, intelligent technology solutions in defense of our nation.
Davidson is seeking a Responsible Systems Engineer in Huntsville, AL.
The Responsible Systems Engineer (RSE) will support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) within the System Engineering & Integration (SE&I) organization, supporting the System Design and Requirements capability in Huntsville, Alabama. The RSE will lead and coordinate cross-functional Systems Engineering teams in the development, integration, and assessment of system-level technical solutions supporting the evolving Missile Defense System (MDS).
The RSE will apply Systems Engineering principles, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), architecture development, requirements analysis, interface definition, and technical trade studies to support the development of incremental MDS capabilities. The engineer will evaluate system-level impacts associated with current and emerging threats, including ballistic, aero-maneuvering, hypersonic/glide, and countermeasure-enabled threats.
The successful candidate will work across multiple engineering disciplines and MDS elements to develop system-of-systems architectures, requirements, interfaces, and technical solutions. The RSE will use the MBSE environment to evaluate functional behavior, architectural alternatives, system/component trades, and requirements relationships while maintaining traceability from system-level requirements through element-level implementation and verification.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate cross-functional Systems Engineering teams in the development of system-level technical solutions for MDA.
- Develop and evaluate system-of-systems architectures to support current and future MDS capabilities.
- Apply Systems Engineering principles to assess architectural alternatives and identify technical impacts, dependencies, and integration considerations.
- Utilize Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and methodologies to model system behavior, architecture, requirements, interfaces, and relationships.
- Perform functional and behavioral analysis to evaluate system responses to conventional and advanced threats.
- Support system-level analysis for threat classes including:
- Ballistic missile threats
- Aero-maneuvering threats
- Hypersonic/glide threats
- Advanced maneuvering threats
- Countermeasure and counter-countermeasure environments
- Other emerging or evolving threat capabilities
- Develop and analyze system-level requirements supporting incremental MDS capability development.
- Lead system/component trade studies and technical analyses to evaluate alternative approaches and determine impacts to system performance, architecture, interfaces, requirements, and integration.
- Develop, assess, and maintain system-level interfaces and interface definitions across MDS elements and components.
- Develop and maintain architectural models, functional models, requirements relationships, and system-level technical products within the MBSE environment.
- Lead the development of Change Notices (CNs) to MDA system specifications.
- Develop and update functional, interface, and performance requirements based on evolving system capabilities, architectures, operational concepts, and technical assessments.
- Establish and maintain traceability from system-level requirements through element-level requirements and verification activities.
- Identify requirements gaps, inconsistencies, conflicts, and architectural impacts and coordinate resolution across affected engineering organizations.
- Collaborate with MDA, Element Program Offices, Systems Engineering teams, test organizations, and other stakeholders to develop technically sound and executable system solutions.
- Assess the impact of proposed changes to system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and element capabilities.
- Support requirements decomposition and allocation from the system level to subordinate elements and components.
- Ensure system-level requirements and architecture are consistent with functional behavior, operational needs, technical constraints, and system interfaces.
- Develop and deliver technical products including technical briefings, architecture products, requirements products, trade studies, CNs, and engineering analyses.
- Present technical findings, recommendations, and proposed system changes during internal engineering and MDA stakeholder reviews.
- Facilitate technical discussions among multidisciplinary engineering teams and drive issues toward resolution.
- Support technical reviews, requirements reviews, architecture reviews, and other MDA Systems Engineering forums.
- Maintain awareness of emerging MDS technologies, threat developments, and engineering approaches that may affect system architecture and requirements.
- Work independently while effectively coordinating activities across a multi-disciplinary and geographically distributed engineering organization.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in systems engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
- Approximately 5-10 years of relevant Systems Engineering, architecture, requirements, integration, or defense-system engineering experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated experience applying Systems Engineering processes and methodologies to complex systems or system-of-systems environments.
- Experience developing, analyzing, allocating, and managing system-level requirements.
- Experience with system architecture development, functional analysis, interface definition, and requirements traceability.
- Experience performing technical trade studies and evaluating architectural or system-level alternatives.
- Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) concepts and practices.
- Experience using an MBSE/modeling environment to develop or analyze system architectures, functional behavior, requirements, or interfaces.
- Demonstrated ability to lead or coordinate cross-functional engineering teams.
- Strong technical writing and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex Systems Engineering concepts to technical and program stakeholders.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple technical assignments, and coordinate activities across geographically distributed teams.
- Ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) or other Department of Defense complex weapon systems.
- Experience with Missile Defense System (MDS) architecture, elements, interfaces, or operational concepts.
- Experience supporting system-of-systems engineering and integration.
- Experience developing or modifying formal system specifications.
- Experience developing Change Notices (CNs) or equivalent requirements/configuration-management products.
- Experience with requirements management and traceability tools.
- Experience with MBSE tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler / MagicDraw, Rhapsody, or equivalent platforms.
- Experience developing SysML-based architectures and functional models.
- Experience developing operational, functional, logical, and/or physical architectures.
- Experience with functional decomposition, functional allocation, behavioral modeling, and interface analysis.
- Experience supporting requirements verification and validation.
- Experience performing system/component trade studies and technical performance analyses.
- Knowledge of MDS sensor, command-and-control/battle management, interceptor, and engagement systems.
- Knowledge of ballistic, hypersonic/glide, aero-maneuvering, or other advanced missile threat environments.
- Experience working directly with MDA stakeholders, Element Program Offices, Warfighters, or major defense contractors.
Clearance Requirements:
- Currently hold active DoD Secret Clearance.
