EO/IR Systems Engineer

Job ID: 2613723

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-06-16

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes - 10% of the time

Minimum Clearance Required: TS.SCI_wPoly

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC seeks a senior EO/IR Systems Engineer providing programmatic and comprehensive technical support to government leadership in executing a mission portfolio focused on advanced electro-optical (EO)/infrared (IR) remote sensing development programs. The successful candidate will be a proactive Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) with strong communications skills and the ability to operate effectively across technical and programmatic domains. It is important that the candidate possess strong administrative/management skills as the position requires roughly two-thirds program management focus and one-third technical contribution.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Mission Support

• Identify, assess, and implement technical and programmatic needs necessary to execute the government lead's mission objectives across optical technology domains
• Develop technical strategies, analyses, recommendations, and technology roadmaps for advanced EO/IR sensor development
• Anticipate program challenges and independently develop solutions that align with mission goals and stakeholder requirements
• Requires self-initiated and proactive planning in support of GPOC objectives and direction
  
  

Program Management Support

• Directly support the government program manager throughout the research and development lifecycle for EO/IR remote sensing projects, including:
• Programmatic and technical support to customer leaders and staff as part of a SETA team
• Administrative support for the program office including budget profiles, tracking, spend planning, and financial analysis
• Authoring papers and briefings for internal and external audiences to address organizational business processes and information requirements
• Requires strong organizational skills and attention to detail
  
  

Acquisition and Contracting

• Support project acquisition planning and execution, including:
• Drafting acquisition documents (e.g., Broad Agency Announcements, Requests for Proposal, Statements of Work, specifications, Contract Data Requirements Lists)
• Supporting source selection activities (e.g. technical evaluations, proposal assessments)
• Assisting the IC customer with acquisition and oversight of technology development contracts
• Developing briefings for government acquisition processes and strong writing skills
• Requires understanding of government acquisition processes and strong writing skills
  
  

Technical Oversight and Review

• Provide technical oversight to ensure program success, including:
• Reviewing contractor engineering documents and procedures, requirements flowdown, verification methodologies, calibration plans, Concept of Operations (CONOPS), Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and test plans
• Participating in design reviews to uphold the customer's interests
• Identifying and assessing project or program technical and programmatic risks
• Requires systems-level thinking and ability to critically evaluate technical approaches
  
  

Stakeholder Communication and Coordination

• Develop and deliver briefings and documentation for diverse audiences, including:
• Office-level reviews (technical performance, spend planning, budget requests)
• Enterprise review boards and inter-agency working groups
• Departmental or Congressional inquiries
• Actively participate in intra- and inter- agency forums
• Collaborate with outside organizations such as other government agencies, laboratories, and universities
• Requires excellent communications skills and ability to build trusted relationships across organizational boundaries
  
  

Technology Assessment and Innovation

• Advance technology awareness and transition planning through:
• Surveying and documenting state-of-the-art technologies in EO/IR sensing domains
• Participating in or monitoring execution of studies or surveys by outside organizations
• Supporting project closeout and transition execution to system program offices for flight development
• Requires intellectual curiosity and commitment to staying current with emerging technologies.
  
  

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI with Poly.
• Bachelor's degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics or related discipline with 9 years related experience, -or- Master's degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics or related discipline 7 years related experience.
• Knowledge of the data processing chain for electro-optical (EO) remote sensing systems (aka tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination) is a discriminator but not required.
• Project management experience for research and development activities.
• Prepared to learn the mission including radiation effects on space-based EO components to the point you will be able to participate in technical discussions.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic and energetic environment.
• Good working knowledge of MS Office applications.
• Effective interpersonal skills and strong briefing and writing skills.
• Familiarity with defense and intelligence acquisition, budget planning and contracting
  
  

SAIC is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical, engineering, intelligence, and enterprise information technology markets. SAIC is Redefining Ingenuity through its deep customer and domain knowledge to enable the delivery of systems engineering and integration offerings for large, complex projects. SAIC's approximately 15,000 employees are driven by integrity and mission focus to serve customers in the U.S. federal government. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $4.5 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For information on the benefits SAIC offers, see .