MDR is seeking a highly skilled Principal Engineer to provide engineering oversight for target system payloads and countermeasure development. In this role, you will act as a trusted advisor to the program office, delivering critical assessments of prime contractor designs, technical plans, and target instrumentation layouts. You will serve as a technical anchor during major program milestones-from System Requirements through Product Acceptance-while seamlessly collaborating across multiple organizations, modeling teams, cost analysts, and schedulers to ensure items are delivered accurately and on time. What You'll Be Doing: Engineering Oversight & Design Assessment • Expert Advisory: Serve as the technical expert on payload and countermeasure requirements development, analysis, design, qualification, and fielding. • Independent Evaluation: Review and provide assessments of prime contractor designs, plans, reports, and technical procedures. • Instrumentation Analysis: Evaluate target instrumentation requirements, physical layouts, component selection, and testing methodologies Program Milestone & Lifecycle Support • Milestone Reviews: Provide technical evaluation and engineering support during all major program milestones (including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRB, MRB, and PAR). • Cross-Agency Coordination: Answer technical inquiries from external MDA organizations and lead multi-disciplinary Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs). Program Management & Operations Collaboration • Cost Estimation: Provide technical assessments to the cost analysis team to ensure accurate program management budget estimates. • Schedule Alignment: Partner with the program scheduler to track delivery deadlines and proactively keep leadership advised of status. What Required Skills You'll Bring: • Security Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance • Education & Experience: Master's degree in STEM and 12+ years supporting missile defense or large-scale, complex DoD programs. • Program Execution: Experience managing end-to-end program lifecycles, including the development, testing, and fielding of complex systems. • Adaptability: Thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities change quickly. • Multitasking: Handle multiple urgent tasks at once without losing focus. • Travel: Able to support travel request up to 20% of the time. What Desired Skills You'll Bring: • Understanding of IR/RCS signatures for flight objects and countermeasures. • Experience with material properties and material property measurements. • Knowledge of real-world threat systems and how they impact target designs. • Have an understanding of MDA flight test requirements and apply that to the payload hardware development. • Technical proposal development and evaluation. Position Requirements • Clearance Required • Secret • Position Level • Principal • FT/PT • Full Time • Years Related Work Experience • 12 • Education Level Required • Master's Mission Driven Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. If you are interested in applying for employment with Mission Driven Research and need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website, please contact us by email ([email protected]) or by phone by calling (256) 299-9288. When contacting us, please provide your contact information and state the nature of your accessibility issue.