Demo

Senior Principal Staff Systems Engineer

TCS
Huntsville, AL Full Time
POSTED ON 5/8/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 6/8/2026

Clearances Required: Active DoD Secret

Location: Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Job Description

TCS is searching for a Senior Principal Staff Systems Engineer to join our strong team of Engineers supporting our Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) customer in Huntsville, AL. The GMD program is a portion of the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) system to protect the US and our allies from ballistic missile attacks. The selected candidate will use modern tools to further the development and sustainment of the GMD system.

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This is an in-office position. Remote work is not available.

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Essential Functions:

The selected Senior Principal Staff Systems Engineer will work as a member of an Agile Scrum team performing Algorithm development and Analysis for the GMD Weapon System (GWS) Fire Control (GFC) product, you will be part of the team that develops new algorithms, improves old algorithms, and assesses the effectiveness and performance of them in the context of the GFC software (currently ~1.5 million lines of code) that controls the missile defense system that protects the United States from intercontinental ballistic missile attack.

  • Work in a collaborative team environment to understand, implement, and assess new capabilities and algorithms.
  • Perform algorithm development and analysis which are mathematics and physics based complex solutions that are critical to the performance of Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) mission.
  • The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative/teams comprised of all experience levels.

Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 12 years of related work experience, or a Master's Degree in STEM and 10 years of related work experience, or 8 years of related work experience with a PhD in STEM.
  • Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: data analysis, performance analysis, and physics/Mathematics-based algorithm development
  • Ability to communicate technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical personnel
  • High proficiency in technical problem-solving
  • Knowledge of MATLAB, Python or similar engineering tools used in prototyping complex algorithms
  • Excellent interpersonal and team collaboration skills
  • Proven track record of successfully integrating problem solutions into a larger system
  • Extensive background in at least one of the following: Ballistic Missile Defense, midcourse missile defense, battle management, threat processing, weapon target assignment, target object map population
  • Capable of performing assigned tasks with very little or no direction
  • Well-developed skills in critical thinking and paying attention to detail
  • Proven experience in developing, prototyping and evaluating complex algorithms
  • Must be able to support an in-person / closed-area work environment
  • Ability and willingness to travel up to 10% of the time to support business needs.
  • Applicants must have a current active in-scope DoD-issued Secret security clearance at the time of application, which is required to start

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with the MDA GMD program.
  • Advanced degree in Mathematics or Physics
  • General understanding of any or all of the following algorithm domains: track processing, track reporting, discrimination, sensor resource management, resource utilization optimization, battlespace analysis
  • Unix/Linux Operating System Experience
  • Experience with optimization algorithms
  • Experience with planning/scheduling algorithms
  • Experience with sensor modeling, communication modeling, and/or missile modeling
  • Battle Management or Fire Control experience
  • Experienced with Linux, scripting, and operations

Benefits:

  • Highlights of our benefits include BC/BS Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k) match, Profit Sharing, Flexible Time Off, STD/LTD/Life Insurance, Referral Bonuses, professional development reimbursement, vacation, sick leave, and maternity/paternity leave.

Apply online or visit us at www.tcs-inc.com/careers

TCS, Inc. is an EEO Employer.

Salary.com Estimation for Senior Principal Staff Systems Engineer in Huntsville, AL
$127,801 to $154,924
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