Principal Aerospace Systems Architect / Engineer - Directed Energy

2w2 weeks ago

Boeing

Albuquerque, US · Full-time · $164,900 – $223,100

About this role

Boeing is seeking a Principal Aerospace Systems Architect/Engineer with deep domain expertise in directed energy (DE) weapon systems to provide technical leadership and strategic direction across multi-year, high-consequence programs in Albuquerque, NM. This senior role will own system architecture and engineering execution from concept maturation through fielding, driving cross-program technical decisions and mentoring engineering teams to deliver safe, effective, and affordable DE capabilities for the warfighter.

Day-to-day, you will act as the primary technical interface with senior customer stakeholders, program leadership, and external partners to translate operational needs into capability-level requirements and measurable success criteria. You will lead development of high-level concepts of operation, mission use cases, and architecture trade studies that balance lethality, throughput, range, power/energy budgets, survivability, and cost.

You will champion Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) adoption and governance across program portfolios, establishing modeling standards and integrating engineering toolchains to support program scalability and decision-making. You will lead cross-functional technical teams to produce physical decompositions and detailed design solutions, resolving architecture-level hardware/software partitioning and defining interfaces.

This role offers the opportunity to direct risk management and technical maturation plans for key DE uncertainties, including atmospheric propagation, scaling of power/thermal, beam control latency, and countermeasures. You will prepare technical content for major program milestones such as SRR, SDR, PDR, and CDR, and drive cost-, schedule-, and resource-informed engineering decisions that shape the future of directed energy systems.

Requirements

Deep domain expertise in directed energy (DE) weapon systems, including solid-state, fiber, slab, or other high-energy laser technologies
Demonstrable experience leading DE weapon system development through PDR/CDR to successful integration, test, and fielding
Extensive knowledge of beam control, optical propagation physics, atmospheric effects modeling, power/thermal subsystem scaling, and laser safety/regulatory regimes
Experience driving functional decomposition and requirements derivation for complex DE systems and subsystems
Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and resolve architecture-level hardware/software partitioning and interface definitions
Strong background in modeling and simulation and algorithm development for beam propagation, atmospheric effects, target interaction, and opto-electrical behavior
Experience with risk management and technical maturation planning for key DE uncertainties
Ability to prepare and present technical content for major program milestones such as SRR, SDR, PDR, and CDR

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and vision for directed energy system architectures, advancing technology roadmaps to meet near-term and future warfighter needs
Act as the primary technical interface with senior customer stakeholders, program leadership, and external partners to translate operational needs into capability-level requirements
Lead development of high-level concepts of operation, mission use cases, and architecture trade studies balancing lethality, throughput, range, power/energy budgets, survivability, and cost
Drive functional decomposition and requirements derivation for complex DE systems and subsystems including laser source, power electronics, energy storage, beam director, beam control, sensors, thermal management, and safety systems
Champion MBSE adoption and governance across program portfolios, establishing modeling standards, managing MBSE configuration, and integrating engineering toolchains
Own verification and validation strategy across programs, defining verification logic, acceptance criteria, test architectures, and demonstration plans for optical performance and safety
Direct risk management, technical maturation plans, and mitigation strategies for key DE uncertainties such as atmospheric propagation and beam control latency
Prepare technical content for SRR/SDR/PDR/CDR milestones, respond to review findings, and maintain configuration and documentation to support audits and program reviews

Benefits

Opportunity for professional growth in a collaborative and inclusive environment
Work on multi-year, high-consequence programs with direct impact on warfighter capabilities
Access to cutting-edge directed energy technology and systems engineering challenges
Technical leadership role with mentoring responsibilities and cross-program influence