About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Engineering.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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What You’ll Do

Careertakes is assisting a Confidential Client (Engineering) to hire an early-career Software Systems Engineer to support mission-critical space and ground systems. As a junior member of a multidisciplinary engineering team you will:

• Support analysis of stakeholder and system requirements and help derive software and interface requirements
• Assist in developing and maintaining software architecture artifacts and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Help perform requirements decomposition, allocation, verification, and validation under senior engineer guidance
• Support system integration activities with flight software, ground software, hardware engineering, and cybersecurity teams
• Participate in technical reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, ORR) and prepare related materials
• Maintain traceability between mission objectives, system requirements, and software specifications
• Assist with software integration, test planning and execution, anomaly documentation, and readiness activities
• Support basic system modeling, performance analysis, and engineering trade studies
• Contribute to configuration management, change control, and release documentation
• Help identify risks and mitigation steps and support resolution of technical issues
• Participate in mission operations, anomaly investigations, software upgrades, and sustainment tasks as needed
• Ensure adherence to applicable aerospace, cybersecurity, mission assurance, and quality standards

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Qualifications

Required (minimum):

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or closely related technical field AND two (2) years of related experience; OR Master’s degree with 0 years related experience. Relevant experience may be substituted for degree.
• Active Top Secret / SCI with Polygraph
• Approximately 1–4 years of experience in software engineering, systems engineering, integration, or relevant internships/projects
• Foundational understanding of the systems engineering lifecycle (requirements, design, integration, test, V&V)
• Familiarity with modern software development practices (Agile, DevSecOps, or waterfall)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively on multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to learn and operate within complex aerospace, defense, intelligence, or space-system environments

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Preferred Qualifications

• Academic or internship experience with spacecraft, satellites, launch vehicles, or ground control systems
• Exposure to flight software concepts or command-and-control architectures
• Familiarity with MBSE, SysML, or other modeling tools
• Experience with software integration labs, simulations, or hardware-in-the-loop environments
• Awareness of cybersecurity principles for software or embedded systems
• Interest in digital engineering and modern software pipeline environments

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Location & Clearance

• Location: Chantilly, VA (on-site or as required by program)
• Clearance: Active Top Secret/SCI with Polygraph required at time of hire

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Compensation

• Target salary range: $80,001 - $120,000 (range reflects experience and other factors)
• Additional compensation, benefits, and exact pay may vary depending on experience, qualifications, and the Confidential Client’s policies.

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Why Join

• Work on space and ground software that supports mission-critical vehicle operations
• Grow technical depth while collaborating with experienced engineers, mission operators, and cybersecurity specialists
• Gain exposure to systems engineering lifecycle activities and industry best practices (integration, test, V&V)
• Opportunity to contribute to engineering artifacts, technical reviews, and sustainment for real missions

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.