Photonics Engineer

**Description** Join a winning team!! SAIC's Space and Intelligence Business Group is currently hiring to advance capabilities supporting our Department of Defense (DOD) and Intelligence Community customers. Ten miles from the SAIC headquarters, our Chantilly, VA team supports systems development, targeting & intelligence analysis, systems engineering & integration and more. This position is for a Photonics Engineer for a large contract supporting a cutting-edge and innovative DoD program. The Photonics Engineer oversees developer progress in designing, developing, and integrating complex photonics payloads into complete mission systems. This position provides support to the customer's execution of the Program with responsibilities that may include, but are not limited to the following: **Role Responsibilities:** + Serve as the Program Office technical lead for design, development and integration of state-of-the art photonics payloads. + Collaborate with customers to develop and implement systems by providing technical oversight throughout the project lifecycle to ensure alignment with mission objectives and timelines. + Translate mission requirements into detailed technical specifications and perform system- and element-level trade studies to optimize performance, cost, and risk. + Oversee prime contractors' development and develop productive relationships with development contractor counterparts to ensure systems meet customer requirements, risk tolerance, budget, and schedule. + Provide technical and cost assessment of vendor proposals, review technical reports, design artifacts and program plans. + Evaluate prime contractor performance at milestone reviews by analyzing compliance with technical requirements, and quality of deliverables. Offer recommendations to improve project outcomes and likelihood of success. + Develop advocacy and outreach briefings for Air Force and DoD senior leadership. + Track and report progress at multiple levels of Contractor and Government leadership. + Create models, simulations, and analysis tools to model system performance and mission effectiveness. **Qualifications** + Must possess an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph. + BS or MS degree in Engineering, 18 years w/Bachelors; 16 years with Masters + Effective communication, coordination, and customer engagement skills, including ability to communicate to a diverse audience of senior decision makers with varying levels of programmatic and technical expertise. + Experience with the Intelligence Community and/or the Department of Defense Program Office best practices. + Technical proficiency in physics, optics and engineering principles, including a subset of the following: 1. 2. Expertise with free-space, optical fiber and integrated optical/photonics devices 3. 4. Knowledge of electromagnetic theory, basic spectroscopy, and non-linear optics 5. 6. Understanding of radiometry and light interaction with materials 7. 8. Practical experience in handling and operating photonics systems 9. 10. Analytical and problem-solving abilities to troubleshoot and optimize performance 11. 12. Experience with environmental qualification of photonics assemblies and components + Effective interpersonal skills (across multiple groups, offices, and organizations) and strong briefing and writing skills. + Ability to work in a fast paced, dynamic, and team environment with no supervision. + **Desired Qualifications:** + Government or Commercial experience as a COTR, PM, PEM or acquisition leader. + Experience supporting multiple DoD resiliency programs. REQNUMBER: 2511498 SAIC is a premier technology integrator, solving our nation's most complex modernization and systems engineering challenges across the defense, space, federal civilian, and intelligence markets. Our robust portfolio of offerings includes high-end solutions in systems engineering and integration; enterprise IT, including cloud services; cyber; software; advanced analytics and simulation; and training. We are a team of 23,000 strong driven by mission, united purpose, and inspired by opportunity. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $6.5 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For information on the benefits SAIC offers, see Working at SAIC. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability