Chief Engineer

Job overview

Chief Engineer, onsite, in Cardiff By The Sea, CA. Salary range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00 per year. This role focuses on the end-to-end development of prototype optical sensors, bridging the gap between TRL 4 and TRL 7 to ensure mission success in orbital environments.

What you'll do

• Serve as the primary technical authority for the design, integration, and testing of space-qualified optical sensor systems.
• Lead multi-disciplinary engineering teams, providing technical direction across mechanical, electrical, thermal, algorithm development, and software engineering workflows.
• Lead hardware maturation efforts to transition technologies from breadboard validation (TRL 4) through space-qualified prototyping and demonstration (TRL 7).
• Direct the integration of complex sensor processing algorithms into flight software architectures, ensuring real-time performance and data integrity.
• Conduct rigorous trade studies and design reviews (PDR, CDR) to ensure sensor performance meets stringent mission requirements for sensitivity, resolution, and SWaP-C.
• Oversee environmental testing protocols, including thermal vacuum (TVAC), vibration, and radiation hardening, to validate flight readiness.

What we're looking for

Education

Bachelor's degree

Experience

12+ years of applicable experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 10+ years with a Master's degree.

Skills & competencies

chief engineer

leidos

cardiff by the sea ca

full time

information technology/mis

secret clearance

space systems

eo/ir sensors

missile warning

missile defense

space domain awareness

prototype development

trl 4-7

secret security clearance

About the employer

Leidos is hiring for this role. Industry: Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (except Contractors). Sector: 31.