Manager, Systems Engineer (Spacecraft Bus Group Lead)

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Job Title: Manager, Systems Engineering (Spacecraft Bus Group Lead)

Job Code: 32987

Job Location: Fort Wayne, IN; Rochester, NY; Palm Bay, FL

Job Description:

L3Harris' Space and Airborne Systems Space Sector is seeking a highly motivated, team oriented group lead to join an engineering organization that works with a variety of external bus suppliers to deliver tested spacecraft buses for integration into the space vehicle. As a technical team leader of the staff, the successful candidate will be expected to possess a thorough understanding of technical and programmatic challenges associated with spacecraft bus delivery and systems integration to ensure all team members are successful with their assigned programs. The team leader will spend part of their time managing the team of spacecraft bus lead engineers as well as working with programs and suppliers for spacecraft bus deliveries to ensure that the spacecraft bus meets all technical, performance, and schedule requirements.

Program Spacecraft Bus Lead Engineers are responsible for overseeing the design, development, integration, and testing of the spacecraft bus at the bus supplier. After spacecraft bus delivery to the program the spacecraft bus engineer will serve as a Subject Matter Expert and support space vehicle integration of the spacecraft bus with mission and/or communication payloads. This role includes support across the full program lifecycle: program pursuit, proposal, execution and operations. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing diverse technical teams, spacecraft bus systems, strong organizational skills, and the ability to coordinate and communicate effectively with diverse teams.

Essential Functions:

• Functional management of a small group of spacecraft bus lead engineers
• Manage staffing allocations against defined engineering resource demands
• Support organizational development through recruiting, mentoring, career development, talent assessments and performance reviews of staff to ensure engineering skill sets and resource capacity to meet organization demands.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance for the design, development, and integration of the spacecraft bus, ensuring compliance with mission requirements and industry standards.
• Collaborate with internal program teams, including systems engineering, payload engineering, and mission operations, to ensure seamless integration of the spacecraft bus with other subsystems and payloads.
• Work closely with external bus suppliers to oversee and review the development and delivery of the spacecraft bus and engineering work products, ensuring that all technical specifications, performance criteria, and schedule milestones are met.
• Lead and participate in design reviews, including Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), and Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), to ensure the spacecraft bus design meets all requirements and is ready for production and testing.
• Oversee the integration and testing of the spacecraft bus, including environmental testing (vibration, thermal vacuum, EMC) and functional testing, to validate performance and reliability.
• Lead and/or participate in failure investigations associated with the spacecraft bus, driving to root cause and implementation of corrective and preventative action
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks associated with the spacecraft bus, and develop contingency plans to address potential issues.
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including design specifications, interface control documents, test plans, and test reports, to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Ensure engineering excellence on executing programs through consistent and repeatable bus systems engineering activities and work products
• Ability to obtain TS/SCI security clearance

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree and minimum 9 years of prior relevant experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.
• Experience working at or with a spacecraft bus supplier
• Experience leading teams of 5+ engineers, managing their efforts including budget and scheduling of activities
• Experience with Hardware/Software integration, testing, and troubleshooting both flight systems and flatsats/simulators
• Experience executing all phases of a spacecraft bus program and major design reviews

Preferred Additional Skills:

• Highly motivated, a self starter, and able to operate with little supervision in diverse environments
• A successful track record of planning and directing the activities of small groups of engineers, including development, mentorship, and training of spacecraft bus engineers
• Ability to effectively work with geographically diverse teams, both internal and external
• Experience evaluating, managing, and leveraging technical, cost and schedule requirements
• Knowledge of spacecraft bus systems such as power, thermal, structures, avionics, propulsion, GNC, C&DH, TT&C, fault management and/or FSW
• Experience with spacecraft bus requirements verification including allocation, flowdown, analysis, testing, & demonstration
• Experience with spacecraft bus analyses and budgets such as thermal, structural, jitter, pointing, mass, power, propellant, processor utilization, etc
• Familiarity with Digital Engineering and MBSE tools such as DOORs, CAMEO, CREO, JIRA
• Familiarity with bus level qualification and acceptance test programs both at ambient and environments
• Strong project management skills with experience in planning, scheduling, and executing complex engineering project
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical information to diverse audiences, including engineers, suppliers, program managers and Customers
• Accustomed to leading technical engagements with internal and external multi-disciplinary teams in formal presentations as well as informal table-top discussions

In compliance with pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, and the Greater D.C, Denver, or NYC areas is $125,000 - $232,000. The salary range for this role in Colorado state, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York state, and Vermont is $108,500 - $201,500. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location. L3Harris also offers a variety of benefits, including health and disability insurance, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, EAP, education assistance, parental leave, paid time off, and company-paid holidays. The specific programs and options available to an employee may vary depending on date of hire, schedule type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements. The application window for this requisition is anticipated to close October 30, 2025.

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. L3Harris is committed to treating all employees and applicants for employment with respect and dignity and maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, characteristic or membership in any other group protected by federal, state or local laws. L3Harris maintains a drug-free workplace and performs pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where permitted by law.

Please be aware many of our positions require the ability to obtain a security clearance. Security clearances may only be granted to U.S. citizens. In addition, applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment may be subject to government security investigation(s) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

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