Overview Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer LOCATION: Arlington, VA; Columbia, MD; Huntsville, AL; Denver, CO; or other major Astrion engineering location JOB STATUS: Full-time CLEARANCE: Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance; active TS/SCI preferred TRAVEL: Up to 30% SALARY RANGE: $228K - $345K (final compensation to be determined based on experience and location) Astrion has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer in one of the major Astrion engineering locations listed above. The future of national security will be defined by how quickly we can turn breakthrough technologies into operational capabilities. Modern defense systems are no longer built as isolated platforms. They're interconnected systems of sensors, autonomous vehicles, software, communications, artificial intelligence, command and control, and effectors operating across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. Building these systems requires more than exceptional engineering within individual programs. It requires a common technical vision, disciplined systems engineering, open architectures, rapid experimentation, and the ability to integrate technologies across missions and operational environments. Astrion is building that engineering capability. This role will lead the technical direction, engineering excellence, and product development strategy across Astrion's enterprise. This isn't a traditional chief engineer position focused on reviewing designs or approving technical documentation. This isn't an engineering governance role. This is a hands-on technical leadership position responsible for ensuring that Astrion builds the right technologies, makes the right engineering decisions, and consistently delivers differentiated capabilities that solve our customers' most difficult mission challenges. You'll provide enterprise-wide technical leadership across Astrion's Platform organization and six Mission Segments, connecting the expertise of our engineers, scientists, architects, and technologists into a unified engineering capability. You'll guide the development of Astrion's technology platforms, including CORE, Horizon, Meridian, and Tactical Edge, while ensuring those technologies integrate with mission-specific systems and products across the company. You'll work alongside software architects, hardware engineers, systems engineers, AI researchers, product leaders, program managers, and operational experts to turn complex mission requirements into scalable, reusable technology solutions. You'll establish the engineering standards, architecture principles, technical review processes, and development practices that allow Astrion to move faster without compromising quality, security, reliability, or mission performance. You'll help determine what Astrion builds, what we integrate, where we partner, and which technologies will create lasting competitive advantage. The systems you help develop won't simply demonstrate what's technically possible. They'll deliver the operational capabilities our customers need to succeed. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS We're looking for a proven senior engineering leader with substantial experience delivering complex technologies and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams. The strongest candidates will typically bring: - Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical discipline. - 20+ years of progressive engineering experience, including significant technical leadership responsibility. - Demonstrated experience leading large, geographically distributed engineering organizations or providing enterprise technical leadership across multiple engineering teams. - Proven track record architecting, developing, integrating, and delivering complex hardware/software systems. - Experience gui ing technology and product development across multiple programs or business units. - Deep understanding of modern systems engineering, open architectures, and engineering lifecycle management. - Ability to communicate complex technical issues clearly to executive leadership, customers, engineers, and nontechnical stakeholders. - U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS - Master's degree or Ph.D. in an engineering or technical discipline. - Active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance. - Experience at a leading defense technology company, major aerospace and defense prime, advanced research organization, or commercial technology company developing mission-critical systems. - Prior experience serving as an enterprise Chief Engineer, Chief Systems Engineer, CTO, or equivalent technical executive. - Experience establishing reusable technology platforms and transitioning services-based engineering capabilities into commercializable products. - Experience leading major technical transformations involving MBSE, digital engineering, AI-enabled engineering, and open architecture adoption. - Experience with both defense hardware development and commercial software engineering practices. - Experience guiding technology investment decisions, technical due diligence, and strategic industry partnerships. RESPONSIBILITIES You'll define and lead Astrion's enterprise engineering vision, guiding technology development, product architecture, technical execution, and engineering excellence across the Platform organization and all Mission Segments. You will: Enterprise Engineering Leadership - Serve as Astrion's senior enterprise engineering authority, providing technical direction and oversight across the Platform organization and all six Mission Segments: Layered Defense, Autonomous Warfare, and Integrated Fires; Integrated Air and Missile Defense; Lifecycle Management and Cyber Warfare; Critical Infrastructure Protection; Space Warfighting; and Exploration and Lunar Presence. - Establish a unified engineering vision that connects Astrion's mission expertise, software capabilities, hardware development, systems engineering, and technology investments. - Define enterprise engineering principles, technical standards, architecture frameworks, and development methodologies that enable reuse, interoperability, scalability, and rapid technology delivery. - Guide engineering decisions across major programs, products, demonstrations, and technology investments, ensuring technical solutions align with customer requirements, business objectives, and long-term platform strategy. - Establish and lead an enterprise technical community connecting Chief Engineers, Systems Architects, Software Architects, Hardware Engineers, and technical subject matter experts across Astrion. - Develop and mentor Astrion's engineering leaders, raising the technical standard across the organization and building a culture of innovation, ownership, accountability, and disciplined execution. Technology Platform & Product Development - Guide the technical architecture and evolution of Astrion's Platform, including CORE, Horizon, Meridian, Tactical Edge, and future enterprise technology products. - Ensure Astrion's technology products share common architectural principles, interfaces, data standards, and reusable capabilities while supporting mission-specific requirements. - Lead the technical transition from program-specific engineering solutions and services into scalable hardware, software, and integrated technology products. - Partner with Platform product owners and Mission Segment leadership to develop technology roadmaps, define product requirements, evaluate technical tradeoffs, and prioritize engineering investments. - Establish engineering practices that accelerate the progression of techno