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About the job

About us

At Viasat, the work you do helps people stay connected in ways that matter, from everyday moments to critical missions across air, land, sea, and space.

We’re a place for people who are curious, bold, and motivated by meaningful work. Here, you'll have the opportunity to make an impact, explore new possibilities, and grow your career in ways that align with your interests and goals. When you're ready to take on something new, you'll find leaders who support your development and help you turn your ambition into action.

What you'll do

As a Chief Engineer at Viasat, you will serve as the technical authority for mission-critical government communications and antenna system programs supporting national security customers. You will lead the technical execution of complex sustainment and modernization efforts involving advanced RF antenna systems, ground communications infrastructure, cybersecurity, software, networking, and integrated mission systems.

The day-to-day

Ensure system performance, availability, modernization, and mission success throughout the program lifecycle while providing technical leadership across geographically distributed teams to ensure that these critical systems remain reliable, secure, supportable, and operationally effective in support of government missions.

Serve as the primary technical authority across complex sustainment and modernization programs.

Lead systems engineering activities supporting advanced antenna systems, RF communications systems, network infrastructure, software applications, and supporting mission architectures.

Provide strategic technical leadership for system sustainment, modernization, cybersecurity, reliability, maintainability, and lifecycle support initiatives.

Lead technical decision making for system modifications, upgrades, engineering changes, and architecture evolution.

Chair and participate in technical reviews including System Requirements Reviews, design reviews, Configuration Control Boards, technical interchange meetings, and customer reviews.

Lead technical risk identification, mitigation planning, and execution throughout the program lifecycle.

Direct cross-functional engineering teams including systems, software, RF, hardware, cybersecurity, test, field engineering, and logistics personnel.

Act as the senior technical interface with government customers, large Prime contractors, subcontractors, and operational users.

Support integration, verification, validation, and operational test activities for new capabilities and system enhancements.

Evaluate field performance issues and provide technical leadership during fault investigations, corrective actions, and mission-impacting events.

Guide reliability, maintainability, availability, DMSMS, and obsolescence management strategies.

Ensure technical baseline integrity through disciplined requirements management and configuration management practices.

Support capture and business development activities related to sustainment and modernization opportunities.

Mentor engineering teams and foster technical excellence across the organization.

What you'll need

10+ years of systems engineering, architecture, chief engineering, or technical leadership experience supporting complex defense systems

Demonstrated experience serving as a Chief Engineer, Lead Systems Engineer or Technical Director

Strong knowledge of systems engineering processes and lifecycle development methodologies

Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams

Validated experience with requirements development, technical baselines, configuration management, and engineering change processes

Experience leading technical reviews and customer-facing engineering engagements

Strong understanding of integration and evaluation processes for complex hardware and software systems

Demonstrated experience managing technical risk and resolution of complex operational issues

Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills

Bachelors degree in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science or equivalent technical experience

US Government position. US Citizenship required

Active DoD TS/SCI Clearance

Ability to travel up to 25%

What will help you on the job

Passion for solving challenging technical problems in support of critical national security missions

Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline

Strong customer engagement skills and an ability to communicate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders

Experience supporting SIGINT, SATCOM, ISR, Space, or other National Security missions

Experience with large RF antenna systems, ground terminals, telemetry systems, or satellite communications infrastructure

Knowledge of systems sustainment, logistics support, operational availability, and lifecycle engineering practices

Experience supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, or other national security customers

Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks, RMF, ATO processes, and secure system design

Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

Familiarity with DMSMS and obsolescence management

Experience with software-intensive systems and DevSecOps methodologies

Knowledge of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) analysis and sustainment engineering

Salary range

$180,500.00 - $285,000.00 / annually. For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $224,500.00- $336,500.00/ annually

At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat’s comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits. EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here .