Software Systems Engineer Technical Advisor

Job ID: 2615945

Location: Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted: 2026-08-20

Category: Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory: Systems Engineer

Schedule: Full-Time

Shift: Day Job

Travel: No

Minimum Clearance Required: TS.SCI_wPoly

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: None

Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking a Software Systems Engineer Technical Advisor to fill a critical position on the MERIGOLD program in Chantilly, VA. MERIGOLD is a large SETA contract, supporting the NRO’s Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED), responsible for the acquisition of systems over the complete end-to-end life cycle.

All candidates must have an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.

This position will provide specialized engineering expertise supporting the acquisition of multi-intelligence (multi-INT) software services focused on collection orchestration. SAIC’s client is tasked with leading the integration of mission focused tools to foster increased efficiency, automation and information sharing. The qualified candidate will assist and advise Government managers responsible for the complete end-to-end life cycle of the customer's Ground Enterprise.

Job Responsibilities to include:

• Lead technical and programmatic interchanges; identify and resolve issues; and provide engineering and technical advice to the customer to achieve innovative capabilities for automated multi-INT machine learning analytics
• Provide program management and technical engineering support to the Government customer to manage multi-INT machine learning analytics programs; evaluate cost, performance, schedule and risks throughout the program life-cycle
• Apply systems analysis and design methodology assessments to identify technical debt, architectural runway and efficiency trade-offs against current and proposed/desired cloud-based software system design
• Provide software system design and requirements expertise to support the planning of future systems and architectures, and oversight of development contractors
• Develop briefings and documentation material for Program / Project Manager’s engagements, including developing technical roadmaps and the acquisition strategies/documentation to implement them.
• Lead agile process evolution across Government teams, development contractors, user engagement teams, and stakeholders
• Work side-by-side with the other MERIGOLD staff comprised of world class System Engineers, Acquisition Engineers and Domain Experts to lead the customer in acquiring modern processing applications.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor degree in business, engineering, science, or related discipline and 9 years total experience (or a MS degree + 7 years or a PhD + 4 years). Relevant experience to be substituted in lieu of degree.
• Active Top Secret Clearance with Polygraph
• 2+ years of experience supporting system architecture, design or development in a cloud environment
• Demonstrated experience in managing technical, cost and schedule performance of software development programs
• Demonstrated understanding of federal acquisition processes.
• Strong engineering background with knowledge of software architectures and spacecraft ground systems
• Domain knowledge in Agile software development practices
• Demonstrated capability and success working in and leading teams
• Strong oral and written communications to support interaction with government, SETA, FFRDC, external stakeholders, and development contractors at all levels on significant technical matters often requiring coordination between all organizations within a high-tempo environment
• Good working knowledge of MS Office applications

Desired Education and Experience:

• Expertise and experience with the IC acquisition cycle, requirements processes, budgetary practices, and acquisition documentation
• Knowledge related to managing technical, cost and schedule performance of software development programs
• Experience monitoring developer progress via agile metrics, identifying risks, discrepancies, and performance issues
• Experience in Dev/Sec/Ops delivery of software capabilities for cloud optimized environments
• Certification in agile software development methods (Scrum, SAFe)
• Background with cyclical and continual prioritization of Solution-level Kanban / Backlog across programs/teams
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification
• Experience working in the Intelligence Community (IC) or with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) a PLUS!

Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.