Senior Systems Engineer – Requirements & Engineering Governance
Arcfield
Chantilly, VA · Posted November 5, 2026
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Where Chantilly, VA ranks
Where Chantilly, VA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for pay after cost of living in the Mid-Atlantic$192k · of 37
- #1Best cities for pay after cost of living in the Southeast$192k · of 33
- #1Best cities for pay after cost of living in Virginia$192k · of 15
- #2Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Mid-Atlantic78 / 100 · of 37
- #4Best cities for mid-career professionals66% · of 100
- #5Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living$198k · of 94
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 178 open senior systems engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $133,000 to $168,500 and the median is $133,000.
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About the job
Responsibilities
The Mission At Arcfield , we provide foundational systems engineering and integration solutions that protect and advance the nation’s most critical space and ground missions. We are currently seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to provide expert-level Systems Engineering Technical Advisor (SETA) support within the Ground Enterprise Directorate.
The Role In this role, you will act as a senior technical advisor to the Government, serving as the linchpin for enterprise requirements, Requests for Change (RFCs), and technical governance. You will maintain disciplined engineering rigor across a highly complex , system-of-systems environment, ensuring that proposed changes are thoroughly understood, de-conflicted, and evaluated before decisions are made.
The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker who excels at identifying hidden dependencies, facilitating high-stakes technical discussions, and translating complex engineering impacts into actionable advice for Government leaders.
Key Responsibilities
Requirements Lifecycle Management: Drive the development, decomposition, refinement, and traceability of enterprise and system-level requirements. Rigorously assess requirements for completeness, consistency, feasibility, and testability.
Change Management & RFC Evaluation: Lead the technical review of proposed RFCs and engineering changes. Evaluate submissions for technical merit, architecture alignment, interface dependencies, mission risk, and schedule impact.
Engineering Governance & ERBs: Lead and facilitate Engineering Review Boards (ERBs). Ensure issues are comprehensively analyzed, debated, and documented to support sound Government decision-making and baseline management.
Cross-System Impact Analysis: Look beyond individual systems to identify cross-program dependencies and evaluate how proposed engineering changes will impact the broader enterprise architecture and downstream mission capabilities.
Stakeholder Alignment & De-confliction: Coordinate assessments across diverse technical teams (systems engineers, architects, software developers, cybersecurity, and integrators). Actively resolve or elevate conflicting requirements and technical positions.
Strategic Advisory & Leadership: Develop executive-level decision packages, technical assessments, and briefings. Advise Government leadership on technical tradeoffs and recommended courses of action, while mentoring junior and mid-level engineers in governance best practices.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Clearance: Must possess and be able to maintain a TS/SCI with Poly
Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 10-12 years of relevant experience; OR a Master’s degree with 8-10 years of experience; PhD with 5-7 years of experience OR equivalent relevant professional experience.
Systems Engineering Expertise: Extensive background supporting complex, highly integrated systems or system-of-systems environments.
Requirements & Change Management: Proven track record in requirements development/traceability and engineering change processes (RFCs, configuration management).
Governance Leadership: Demonstrated experience facilitating technical reviews, ERBs, or Configuration Control Boards (CCBs), with the ability to evaluate complex cross-system dependencies.
Soft Skills: Exceptional technical leadership, facilitation, writing, and briefing skills. Must possess the confidence and diplomacy required to provide independent advice to senior Government stakeholders.
Desired Qualifications
Experience supporting Intelligence Community (IC) or DoD ground systems and architectures.
Hands-on experience with industry-standard requirements and configuration management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow).
Experience with interface management, enterprise integration, and system modernization efforts.
Familiarity with modern engineering and development environments, including Agile, Digital Engineering, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), or DevSecOps .
Equal Pay Act
This is the projected compensation range for this position. There are differentiating factors that can impact a final salary/hourly rate, including, but not limited to, Contract Wage Determination, relevant work experience, skills and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location (For Remote Opportunities), education and certifications as well as Federal Government Contract Labor categories. In addition, Arcfield invests in its employees beyond just compensation. Arcfield ’s benefits offerings include, dependent upon position, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, Short Term and Long-Term Disability, Retirement and Savings, Learning and Development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections.
Min: $135,035.83 Max: $234,801.11 EEO Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer and federal government contractor. We do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment as protected by law.
The Mission At Arcfield , we provide foundational systems engineering and integration solutions that protect and advance the nation’s most critical space and ground missions. We are currently seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to provide expert-level Systems Engineering Technical Advisor (SETA) support within the Ground Enterprise Directorate.
The Role In this role, you will act as a senior technical advisor to the Government, serving as the linchpin for enterprise requirements, Requests for Change (RFCs), and technical governance. You will maintain disciplined engineering rigor across a highly complex , system-of-systems environment, ensuring that proposed changes are thoroughly understood, de-conflicted, and evaluated before decisions are made.
The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker who excels at identifying hidden dependencies, facilitating high-stakes technical discussions, and translating complex engineering impacts into actionable advice for Government leaders.
Key Responsibilities
Requirements Lifecycle Management: Drive the development, decomposition, refinement, and traceability of enterprise and system-level requirements. Rigorously assess requirements for completeness, consistency, feasibility, and testability.
Change Management & RFC Evaluation: Lead the technical review of proposed RFCs and engineering changes. Evaluate submissions for technical merit, architecture alignment, interface dependencies, mission risk, and schedule impact.
Engineering Governance & ERBs: Lead and facilitate Engineering Review Boards (ERBs). Ensure issues are comprehensively analyzed, debated, and documented to support sound Government decision-making and baseline management.
Cross-System Impact Analysis: Look beyond individual systems to identify cross-program dependencies and evaluate how proposed engineering changes will impact the broader enterprise architecture and downstream mission capabilities.
Stakeholder Alignment & De-confliction: Coordinate assessments across diverse technical teams (systems engineers, architects, software developers, cybersecurity, and integrators). Actively resolve or elevate conflicting requirements and technical positions.
Strategic Advisory & Leadership: Develop executive-level decision packages, technical assessments, and briefings. Advise Government leadership on technical tradeoffs and recommended courses of action, while mentoring junior and mid-level engineers in governance best practices.
Required Qualifications
Clearance: Must possess and be able to maintain a TS/SCI with Poly
Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 10-12 years of relevant experience; OR a Master’s degree with 8-10 years of experience; PhD with 5-7 years of experience OR equivalent relevant professional experience.
Systems Engineering Expertise: Extensive background supporting complex, highly integrated systems or system-of-systems environments.
Requirements & Change Management: Proven track record in requirements development/traceability and engineering change processes (RFCs, configuration management).
Governance Leadership: Demonstrated experience facilitating technical reviews, ERBs, or Configuration Control Boards (CCBs), with the ability to evaluate complex cross-system dependencies.
Soft Skills: Exceptional technical leadership, facilitation, writing, and briefing skills. Must possess the confidence and diplomacy required to provide independent advice to senior Government stakeholders.
Desired Qualifications
Experience supporting Intelligence Community (IC) or DoD ground systems and architectures.
Hands-on experience with industry-standard requirements and configuration management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow).
Experience with interface management, enterprise integration, and system modernization efforts.
Familiarity with modern engineering and development environments, including Agile, Digital Engineering, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), or DevSecOps .