Senior Principal Test Engineer - 18224

Description

The company builds revolutionary systems that affect people's lives, and this role sits in Advanced Programs at the company Defense Systems in Huntsville, AL.

The team is hiring a Senior Principal Test Engineer to plan and run test work across the program, from Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction through Phase 2 and later phases.

Relocation assistance may be available.

Clearance is required to start. The clearance type is Secret.

Travel is 10% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and manage facilities, labs, HWIL/SWIL test environments and supporting infrastructure, covering planning, procurement, builds and readiness, for Phase 2 and future phases.
• Turn customer contract requirements into complete system-level test solutions that balance performance, schedule and cost.
• Build, lead and carry out integrated test plans, procedures and schedules for subsystem, system-level and environmental tests, including In-Air and Underwater Eject Tests.
• Keep test requirements complete and traceable by contributing to and maintaining the Integrated Test Plan (ITP) and related verification and validation records.
• Coordinate test work across internal engineering, lab operations, range organizations and external suppliers so the campaigns hang together.
• Analyze test results and system performance, write system-level evaluation reports, and recommend data-driven changes that reduce design and program risk.
• Review and oversee supplier test work, including their requirements, plans, procedures, verification and validation of delivered components, and test data.
• Design and run proof-of-concept and risk-reduction test methods and demonstrations to find and reduce early program risks during Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction.
• Manage test data acquisition, configuration control, analysis, metrics and documentation with tools such as DOORS, Atlassian and data analytics to support technical reviews and decisions.
• Act as the main technical contact for test matters with customers, contractors and senior stakeholders, and ensure safety, security and export-control rules are followed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline from an accredited university plus 8 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 6 years of relevant experience, or a PhD plus 4 years of relevant experience.
• You must be a US citizen holding an active DoD Secret clearance at the time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date in the last 6 years.
• You must be able to obtain and keep a Top Secret clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a timeframe the company considers reasonable for its business needs.
• 3+ years developing and running integrated test plans and procedures for complex defense or aerospace systems, including requirements traceability in a systems engineering framework such as DOORS or an equivalent.
• 3+ years planning and running hardware-in-the-loop and/or system-level hardware tests, coordinating across multiple disciplines in a fast-moving setting.
• 3+ years building innovative test automation solutions.
• 3+ years documenting test requirements and methods in a requirements management system.
• 3+ years assessing anomalies and proposing fixes to documented procedures with Test and Quality Engineering.
• 3+ years tracking test requirement status, managing schedules and writing reports, and selecting and supervising technicians during testing.
• Preferred: active DoD Top Secret clearance.
• Preferred: experience writing ITPs, test procedures and test reports, including functional checkout, for major DoD acquisition programs, ideally in strategic deterrence or missile systems.
• Preferred: experience leading test work across several teams, covering schedule, risk, performance metrics and customer or peer technical reviews such as program reviews.
• Preferred: experience with test toolsets such as DOORS or equivalent, Atlassian tools (Confluence, Jira) and data analytics or visualization such as Tableau, for requirements, test planning and metrics.
• Preferred: experience working with or managing suppliers on test work, such as drafting or running Statements of Work for test activities or coordinating hardware procurement and supply chain for test assets.
• Preferred: CompTIA Security+ certification or an equivalent DoD 8570 certification.
• Preferred: experience with IBM Jazz to support automated test execution.

Conditions

This is a full-time role with a standard 9/80 schedule: nine-hour days Monday through Thursday, with every other Friday off.

The application window is estimated at 20 days from the posting date, and may be shortened or extended based on business needs and candidate availability.

The base salary range is $123,400.00 to $185,000.00. The company sets pay based on the scope of the role and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

The company is an equal opportunity employer.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage.
• 401k.
• Educational assistance.
• Life insurance.
• Employee assistance programs and work/life solutions.
• Paid time off.
• Health and wellness resources.
• Employee discounts.
• Depending on the role, possible overtime, shift differential and a discretionary annual bonus.
• Long-term incentives may be available for Vice President and Director roles.
• Life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays and PTO for vacation or personal business.