Systems Section Lead - Space PNT

Job Description Navigate the Final Frontier.
At BAE Systems, our employees develop the world’s most critical electronics—from protecting pilots in contested airspace to ensuring precision and resilience in the harsh environment of space. We are seeking a visionary and motivated engineering leader to serve as the Space Systems Section Lead. This is a pivotal role designed for a leader who is excited by the challenge of building a team from the ground up to support a new and rapidly growing sector of our business.
In this role, you will operate as a "player-coach." You will serve as a functional manager, recruiting and mentoring a growing team of engineers and fostering a culture of technical excellence, while simultaneously acting as a technical leader influencing the design of our space-borne products. This is not just about oversight; it is about leveraging your expertise in systems engineering to guide the development of the next generation of PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) solutions for satellite and orbital platforms.
You and your team will lead the charge on cutting-edge navigation solutions, bridging the gap between our proven, world-class capabilities and the next generation of orbital technology. This role provides the opportunity to lead the evolution of these proven baselines to meet the extreme rigors of the space environment, while pioneering the expansion into new, exciting space-based systems and technologies. We are looking for a leader who is a master of systems engineering rigor and possesses the agility to enter a new market space, learn its unique constraints, and scale a high-performing team in alignment with business growth.
This is a unique opportunity to build a technical organization from the foundation up and influence the strategic technical direction of a critical, emerging product line.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Organizational Build-up: Lead the strategic growth of the Space Systems section, including defining the necessary skill sets, drafting hiring plans, and scaling the team to meet expanding business demands.
- People Leadership: Provide direct supervision, mentoring, and performance management for a growing team of systems engineers, focusing on career development and professional accountability.
- Digital Engineering Advocacy: Serve as the champion for Digital Engineering within the section. You will promote and guide the adoption of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to replace traditional document-centric workflows, ensuring a "single source of truth" for complex space architectures.
- AI Integration & Efficiency: Strategically identify and implement AI-driven tools and workflows to increase workforce productivity. You will look for ways for your team to leverage AI to automate routine tasks, optimize requirements analysis, and yield significant execution efficiencies.
- Talent Acquisition: Drive the recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding efforts to attract top-tier engineering talent—specifically looking for those with modern systems toolsets—and integrate them into the BAE Systems culture.
- Culture: Foster a safe, inclusive, and collaborative team culture that celebrates technical innovation, curiosity, and the courage to tackle the "hard problems" of space flight.
- Technical Execution: Actively engage in program execution to drive sound technical decision-making. You will ensure the team is "building the right thing" for the space domain within cost and schedule constraints.
- Environmental Rigor: Guide the team in navigating the complexities of space-qualified design, including radiation effects, thermal-vacuum requirements, and launch vibration profiles.
- Systems Rigor: Apply deep systems engineering rigor to the development of space GPS and PNT products, ensuring robust requirements decomposition, architecture design, and verification.
- Strategic Collaboration: Partner with Program Managers and Business Development to shape the space technical roadmap and ensure product competitiveness in a rapidly evolving commercial and defense space landscape.
Because this role requires a balance of collaborative team leadership and independent technical analysis, it will be performed in a hybrid work format (minimum 50% onsite). Required Education, Experience, & Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field (Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or Computer Science).
- 10+ years of experience in systems engineering with a proven track record of leading technical teams (either functionally or as a technical lead).
- Strong understanding of the full systems engineering lifecycle, from requirements definition through design, integration, and test.
- Demonstrated ability to master new technical domains, adapt to new market requirements, and lead teams through complex, unfamiliar challenges.
- Ability to obtain a DoW Secret security clearance.
- Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor junior-to-mid-level engineers toward high-performance standards.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical decisions to program leadership and customers.
Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills
- Digital Transformation Leadership : Proven experience guiding teams through the adoption of Digital Engineering practices and MBSE (e.g., Cameo, MagicDraw, or similar tools) to improve design quality and collaboration.
- AI Proficiency: A practical understanding of how to apply Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models (LLMs) to engineering workflows to drive execution efficiency and operational benefits.
- Space Domain Expertise: Experience with space-borne product requirements and the unique environmental constraints of operating in space (e.g., radiation hardening, thermal management, and vacuum operations).
- Organizational Growth: Prior experience building or scaling an engineering team, including workforce planning and recruiting.
- Domain Knowledge: Experience with military GPS, anti-jam (AJ) technology, or PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) solutions.
- Management Experience: Prior experience as a functional manager (performance reviews, staffing, and resource management).
- Clearance: Currently hold an active DoW Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
- Advanced Degree : Master’s degree in a STEM field.

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $136000 - $231200

Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.

Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.
About BAE Systems, Inc. BAE Systems, Inc. is a defense, aerospace, and security company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide. We serve, supply, and protect those who protect us. As one of the most geographically diverse international defense companies, we deliver a full range of products and services spanning air, land, maritime, space, and cyber, including advanced electronics, intelligence solutions, and dedicated customer support.

Our culture is performance-driven and values-led, built on curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Purpose isn't a tagline here. It's what drives us. We're developing breakthrough technologies that defend national security and make a lasting impact on our communities and our planet. When you join BAE Systems, you're not just building a career. You're contributing to a mission that truly matters.

This position will be posted for at least 5 calendar days. The posting will remain active until the position is filled, or a qualified pool of candidates is identified.