Senior Principal Systems Engineer - C4ISR

Job Description
Thank you for your interest in BAE Systems! This opening is included as part of our September 2026 Defense Electronics Engineering Hiring Event. While we encourage all interested professionals to apply, please note that this is a selection-based interview event for candidates whose skills and experience match our hiring needs. If your background and skill set match these needs, we will reach out with next steps. If selected for an interview, specific opportunities based on your interests, experience, and skill set will be discussed with the hiring team. For candidates not local to the northern New Jersey area, virtual interviews will be accommodated.
What it's like to be a Senior Principal Systems Engineer advancing your career within BAE Systems? Rewarding. As part of our Systems Engineering team, you will be designing and testing the world's most advanced communication systems for the United States DoD and international customers.
This career opportunity is available for a System Engineer to lead a team on a variety of technical, planning and financial assignments. Tasks range from architectural concepts and test execution to cost estimation and schedule planning and monitoring. Reports and presentations to our Executive Staff is a key requirement of this job. The candidate should have familiarity in requirements development, test and qualification planning and execution including use of defect tracking data bases.
Candidate should also have experience in Cost Accounting Management including budget control, estimations to complete, and the relationships between the customer Statement of Work and Work Breakdown Structures. Motivated and positive minded engineering leaders must hold an active United States security clearance and skilled in areas needed for cross-functional, multi-disciplinary teams.
The candidate should have the appropriate educational experience as well as past development and integration experience. The ability to derive a workflow from technical requirements is a necessity. Knowledge and exposure to computer architectures, networking, and wireless technology will ensure a candidate will be successful. An outside the box thinker is desirable to break from the status-quo, thinking of efficient process improvements reducing time to market. Motivated and open-minded engineers should have the ability to obtain a United States security clearance and be skilled in areas needed for cross-functional, multi-disciplinary teams.
This position will require you to be onsite in Wayne NJ. Because of the need for consistent, in-person collaboration and/or the requirement to perform all work onsite due to the nature of this particular role, it will be performed full-time on site. This means work will be conducted on location at a BAE Systems facility 100% of the time.
We welcome all those who have big ideas, crave innovation, want to drive fielding velocity and have the passion to bring the warfighter home safe. With a 9/80 schedule, and every other Friday off, our flexible work environment provides you a chance to change the world without giving up your personal life. We put our customers first - exemplified by our mission: "We Protect Those Who Protect Us®." Sound like a team you want to be a part of? Come build your career with BAE Systems.
BAE Systems offers competitive pay, benefits, and important work-life balance initiatives including every other Friday Off, Flextime, and Telecommuting. BAE also believes in a culture of recognition for the extraordinary contributions of our skilled employees.
Our engineers are the lifeblood of our company and we're more than 5,000 strong. With our robust offering of educational and career development opportunities, your chances to grow are limitless.
Required Education, Experience, & Skills

• Bachelor's Degree in Systems, Electrical, Computer, Aerospace Engineering with 8+ years' experience with Emphasis on Digital Signal Processing and Communications Systems
• Ability to hold a DoD Secret level security clearance is required
• Experience with Communications Systems Link Budgets for Satellite Systems Receivers
• Experience in both performing and managing integration, test and qualification programs
• Experience in developing test plans and procedures that include verification and validation of system requirements
• Proficiency with DoD qualification programs
• Exposure to requirement derivation and management (DOORS, JAMA, etc)

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• TS Clearance
• Master's Degree in Engineering with 8 years experience
• 5+ years integration and test management of sophisticated DoD communications systems
• Experience with Matlab and Matlab Simulink
• Experience with Communications Systems Design and Modeling at the Physical Layer
• Experience with Fixed Point Signal Processing Design for FPGAs at the Systems Level and Flow Down of Models, Requirements and Guidance to FPGA Engineers
• Experience Communicating and Reporting Systems Performance Results and Lab Test Results for Management in High-Level Powerpoint Reports
• Experience with Lab Troubleshooting with FPGA and Software Engineers to Determine Root-cause of Problems and Characterize End-to-End Systems Performance
• Knowledge of Radio analog and RF hardware designs
• MBSE with SysML in MagicDraw or equivalent
• Agile development and problem tracking in JIRA or equivalent
• Knowledge of DOORS or JAMA as relates to test plans, procedures and reports
• Knowledge of Open System architectures and standards
• EVMS/CAM Experience

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $145049 - $246584
Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.
Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.
About BAE Systems Electronic Systems
BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. Improving the future and protecting lives is an ambitious mission, but it's what we do at BAE Systems. Working here means using your passion and ingenuity where it counts - defending national security with breakthrough technology, superior products, and intelligence solutions. As you develop the latest technology and defend national security, you will continually hone your skills on a team-making a big impact on a global scale. At BAE Systems, you'll find a rewarding career that truly makes a difference. Electronic Systems (ES) is the global innovator behind BAE Systems' game-changing defense and commercial electronics. Exploiting every electron, we push the limits of what is possible, giving our customers the edge and our employees opportunities to change the world. Our products and capabilities can be found everywhere - from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of space. At our core are more than 14,000 highly talented Electronic Systems employees with the brightest minds in the industry, we make an impact - for our customers and the communities we serve.
This position will be posted for at least 5 calendar days. The posting will remain active until the position is filled, or a qualified pool of candidates is identified.