Senior Principal Systems Engineer - Lead Systems Engineer (Onsite)

Date Posted: 2026-09-18

Country: United States of America

Location: US-NC-MORRISVILLE-907 ~ 951 Aviation Pkwy ~ 907 BLDG

Position Role Type: Onsite

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements: Active and transferable U.S. government issued security clearance is required prior to start date. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance

Security Clearance Type: Secret - Current

Security Clearance Status: Active and existing security clearance required on day 1

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

The Secure Subsystems Engineering team seeks a Senior Principal Systems Engineer - Lead Systems Engineer with a passion for innovation and the drive to see new technology and capability matured into fielded solutions. This role ensures the Team is focused on developing talent for cryptography, driving capabilities and architect the crypto system. This is a technical leader embedded within the Scrum Teams to provide technical guidance, influence work backlog, and collaborates with Product Management to plan and deliver solutions. This role will contribute to a team responsible for systems and cyber security engineering tasks related to our next-generation security-enabled mission computing, crypto, and cross-domain technologies, maturing products from low TRL through a program of record accreditation and factory production.

What You Will Do

• Lead and mentor a Systems Engineering Scrum Team through Design and Development and integration and test efforts
• Communicate with multiple levels of management, team members, Software, firmware and hardware leads and customers
• Interface with multiple Hardware and Software Scrum Teams to work through dependencies and technical challenges
• Work with the systems product owners, system leads to help drive priorities to keep budget and schedule at a strategic level
• Meet with the project team regularly to identify blockers, remove blockers and mentor individual contributors for technical guidance
• Help conduct critical path analysis and works closely with the program leadership to manage tasks and workflow
• Monitor and assess project issues, escalates when necessary, and develops resolutions to meet productivity, quality, and customer-satisfaction goals and objectives
• Provide support for proposal and bids, and using estimation tools.

SIGN ON BONUS ELIGIBLE Qualifications You Must Have

• Experience with leading and being an systems architect for programs over $30-50 million, multiple projects with full lifecycle of certification process with the NSA for cryptography.
• Experience operating as a Product Owner in an Agile Environment
• Experience with Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) concepts and tools.
• Experience capturing customer requirements, design concept development, and deriving and tracing system and sub-system level requirements.
• Experience with peer review processes, configuration and change management.
• Familiarity with bidding and project/task estimation tools.
• Active and transferable SECRET clearance is required prior to start date
• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance
• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 10 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 7 years of experience

Qualifications We Prefer

• Exceptionally strong communication skills, experience presenting technical data to program management.

What We Offer

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees
• Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution, including a Lifetime Income Strategy option
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Student Loan Repayment Program
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Optional coverages you can buy pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection
• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits
• Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning
• Adoption Assistance
• Autism Benefit
• Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions
• Healthy You Incentives, wellness rewards program
• Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits
• Bright Horizons, child and elder care services
• Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program
• This position is eligible for relocation assistance
• And more!

Learn More & Apply Now! Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches across the world, and even beyond? At Collins Aerospace, our Mission Systems team helps civilian, military and government customers complete their most complex missions — whatever and wherever they may be. Our customers depend on us for intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft and collaborative space solutions. By joining our team, you’ll have your own critical part to play in ensuring our customers succeed today while anticipating their needs for tomorrow. Are you up for the challenge? Join our mission today.

• Please ensure the role type (defined below) is appropriate for your needs before applying to this role.

ONSITE: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products. Apply now and be part of the team that’s redefining aerospace, every day.

Employee Referral Eligible As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attend select steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote. The salary range for this role is 132,400 USD - 251,600 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.

Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.

RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. Privacy Policy and Terms: Click on this link to read the Policy and Terms