Systems Engineer, Lead - FAA

Position: Systems Engineer, Lead - FAA                     

Function: Systems Engineer

Location: Remote Site/Cobec Site - DC

Remote Work Option: Yes

Salary Range: $110- $200k

Security Requirements

Must be a US citizen or a legal resident for three of the past five years. Public Trust cannot be granted without meeting the residency requirement.
 
 Must meet eligibility requirements for a US Public Trust security clearance (moderate risk), including a soft credit check and criminal background check. Please refer to the criteria listed in 5 CFR 731.202 to understand the Public Trust suitability requirements. 

Culture 

Cobec is consistently breaking the current mold for delivering services to our government clients. What does that mean? That means believing in a “people first” mentality, building high performance teams and empowering people to make informed decisions without going through a large bureaucratic system. Cobec values the well-being of employees and bestows tremendous trust in those people to negotiate work and non-work obligations. Cobec is where someone can bring their whole self to work and be themselves, never having to compromise their authenticity just to fit in. Lastly, we believe in the work we do, the goals and missions of our customers and the interpersonal relationships we have with clients, stakeholders, and our people. 

Values and Expectations 

The successful candidate for this role embodies the same values as Cobec. We realize experience is important, however; Cobec believes a person’s abilities and skills that align with our values (Relationships, Leadership, Passion, Accountability, Integrity, Innovation, Quality, Teamwork, Diversity, Commitment, & Respect) are the most important drivers for success in this role. In addition to exhibiting our values, a successful candidate for this role is expected to be a high performer, organized, dynamic, and have a positive attitude. 

Job Summary

This position will provide technical leadership for a large-scale Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) program. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in systems engineering, requirements management, lifecycle planning, and integration for complex air traffic management and NAS systems. This role is ideal for an industry veteran who has led large FAA or aviation-related system development efforts and is adept at navigating technical and programmatic interfaces within the FAA environment.

Years of Relevant Experience

The position requires 20+ equivalent years of experience with systems engineering and leading large teams. Specific experience with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Aviation Industry is desired. Experience within Voice Switch, Automation and/or Surveillance programs at the FAA.

Essential Job Functions

The following duties are normal for this position.   The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from this position if the work is similar, related, and/or a logical assignment for this position.  Other duties may be required and assigned.

• Lead the end-to-end system architecture development process for FAA programs, from concept through deployment, ensuring alignment with NAS modernization objectives and FAA Enterprise Architecture.
• Serve as the principal systems engineering authority across the program, overseeing systems analysis, design, development, verification, and validation.
• Ensure all engineering processes align with FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS), FAA Systems Engineering Manual (SEM), and NAS Enterprise Architecture policies.
• Lead elicitation, development, decomposition, and traceability of system-level and sub-system requirements using tools like IBM DOORS or Jama.
• Define and manage system interfaces; coordinate system integration efforts across avionics, surveillance, weather, communications, and automation domains.
• Support all phases of the system lifecycle, from concept development and investment analysis through deployment and operations.
• Identify technical risks and mitigation strategies; lead and document engineering trade studies to support decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with FAA technical leads, program managers, contractors, and users to align engineering solutions with mission goals.
• Lead the development of key deliverables, including Systems Engineering Plans (SEPs), Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Verification & Validation Plans, and participate in milestone reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc.).

Education Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. Master’s degree is a plus. 

Preferred Skills

• Strong familiarity with FAA systems, standards, and governance frameworks, including AMS, NAS EA, and FAA SEM.
• Proven success in leading multidisciplinary engineering teams across complex programs.
• Experience with systems engineering tools and modeling environments (DOORS, Cameo/MagicDraw, Rhapsody, etc.).
• Working knowledge of FAA systems such as ERAM, STARS, SWIM, TBFM, TFDM, or NAS support systems.
• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and digital engineering practices.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity, safety risk management, and reliability analysis in aviation systems.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and technical writing skills.

Travel

Occasional travel required as needed by client/s and/or company

EEO

Cobec Consulting, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state and local law.

EEO is the Law