Optical Project Engineer

Job ID: 2505005

Location: AURORA, CO, US

Date Posted: 2025-04-29

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: Yes, 10 % of the Time

Minimum Clearance Required: TS/SCI

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: TS/SCI with Poly

Potential for Remote Work: No

Description

SAIC is seeking an Optical Project Engineer to join the Space and Intelligence Business Group. You would work on a joint Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) crown jewel program providing highly specialized space/counter-space engineering, scientific, and analytical services from Aurora, Colorado. We support the Nation's leading-edge IC and DoD space programs and offer compelling, deep-technical work that has direct influence and impact on program development and operations. Our team has Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) across a variety of disciplines, including physics, math, RF, optics, space acquisition and operations, and intelligence collection and analysis.Clearance required to start is Top Secret/SCI and ability to obtain a Polygraph.

This Optical Project Engineer will work in a collaborative team-focused environment of U.S. Government civilians and contractors solving applied technical problems and developing usable solutions for multiple space-related capabilities and threats. The ideal candidate will:

• Have knowledge and experience with the performance of:
  • Ground or space-based optical or laser systems, the fields of photonics or optoelectronics, space object optical characterization, or optical data processing techniques.
  • Optical systems in Space Domain Awareness (SDA) applications.
• Be able to lead, track, and status projects for a small team of optical engineers focused on program-specific analysis, foreign threat capabilities and development, and phenomenology research.
• Be motivated by problem solving and developing a range of solutions, over system development.

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Lead a team of optical engineers and analysts in program-specific analyses, foreign threat capabilities and development, and optical and laser phenomenology research.
• Tasking, timelines, status, and deliverables for the optical team across the analysis, threat and phenomenology functions.
• Represent the Optical team and coordinate with cross-phenomenology project engineers and teams:
• Understand and negotiate needs for Optical team support and/or status tasks previously assigned to the Optical team.
• Request support, obtain status, negotiate needs from cross-phenomenology teams on projects led by the Optical team.
• Execute the above in the office workflow process, which includes team meetings, scrums, product peer reviews, and program-specific meetings.
• Maintain communications and schedule meetings with end-customer offices, coordinate information needs, product delivery timelines and status.
• Maintain the Optical team's JIRA elements (e.g. tasks, resources, schedule) and their digital notebook that contains internal/external team meeting notes, and trip reports.
• Provide status of Optical team projects, tasks, and deliverables to program and immediate government customer management at periodic reviews.
• Identify, remove, and/or escalate blockers to team tasks or deliverables.
• Participate in intelligence or cross-team product production meetings as required.
• Desired salary range is $120K to $160K.

Qualifications

Required Skills:

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Engineering or Math and 9 or more years (7 or more with a Masters) of direct experience.
• Active TS/SCI Clearance with Special Access eligibility and consent to a Counter Intelligence (CI) polygraph.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Experience with ground or space-based optical or laser systems, the fields of photonics or optoelectronics, space object optical characterization or data processing techniques.
• Experience with project or task technical leadership.
• Experience with JIRA project management tool and familiarity with Agile concepts.
• Understanding of fundamentals of astrodynamics and space systems.
• Knowledge of space system acquisitions or space technology developments.
• Demonstrated record of effective individual and group work behaviors, with abilities to proactively initiate and operate in dynamic and incompletely defined environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience conveying technical concepts, results, and summaries to internal customers, external customers, and stakeholders of diverse technical backgrounds.

Strongly Desired Skills:

• Master's Degree in Physics, Engineering, or Mathematics.
• Familiarity or experience with optical systems in Space Domain Awareness (SDA) applications.
• Familiarity with National Security Space architecture (IC and/or DoD).
• Familiarity with US Intelligence Community resources and products.

Target salary range: $120,001 - $160,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.

SAIC accepts applications on an ongoing basis and there is no deadline.

Covid Policy: SAIC does not require COVID-19 vaccinations or boosters. Customer site vaccination requirements must be followed when work is performed at a customer site.