Principal Systems Engineer – Integration & Test

Location: Tewksbury, MA

Duration: 12-month contract with strong extension or conversion potential

Pay Rate: $90–101/hr

Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Travel: ~10% domestic and occasional international travel

Security Clearance: Interim or Active Secret required for submittal

Citizenship: U.S. Citizen required

Position Overview

The Principal Systems Engineer – Integration & Test provides senior technical leadership for system integration, verification, and validation activities supporting advanced defense electronics and mission systems.

This role is responsible for leading integration and test activities, guiding system-level verification strategies, and supporting complex software and hardware integration efforts within a laboratory and field-test environment.

You will lead integration efforts, support major verification events, analyze system performance, and help resolve complex technical issues discovered during testing.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, requiring deep experience in Linux environments, system integration, and verification testing. This is not a documentation-focused systems engineering position.

Core Responsibilities

Integration Leadership

• Lead system integration and test planning activities
• Lead verification and validation test events
• Guide integration planning and readiness efforts
• Coordinate integration activities across engineering teams
• Support integration milestone execution
• Provide technical leadership during integration events
• Support anomaly resolution and corrective actions

Integration and Test Execution

• Execute complex integration and test activities
• Validate system performance against requirements
• Support major verification events
• Document technical observations and anomalies
• Support technical issue resolution
• Lead retest activities following corrective actions

Software and System Integration

• Install and configure system software builds
• Integrate software releases into operational test systems
• Support regression testing
• Maintain configuration control integrity
• Verify test configurations prior to execution

Typical activities include:

• Linux system configuration
• Software installation
• Script execution
• System validation

System Performance Analysis

• Analyze system performance data
• Evaluate performance against specifications
• Identify integration issues
• Lead root cause investigations
• Support system optimization

Typical activities include:

• MATLAB analysis
• Python scripting
• Signal analysis
• Performance evaluation

Test Strategy and Procedure Development

• Lead development of:
• Integration test plans
• Test procedures
• Test scripts
• Integration documentation
• Lead participation in:
• Test readiness reviews
• Peer reviews
• Gate reviews

Laboratory Integration Activities

• Lead configuration of integration environments
• Integrate hardware subsystems
• Configure network equipment
• Support test equipment setup

Typical lab components include:

• Linux servers
• Network switches
• Embedded electronics
• Signal processing hardware

Cross-Team Leadership

• Work with:
• Systems engineering teams
• Software engineering teams
• Test engineering teams
• Program leadership
• Coordinate integration activities across teams
• Guide integration approaches
• Support technical decision-making

Compliance and Export Controls

• Ensure compliance with established engineering procedures
• Maintain configuration control documentation
• Support export control compliance
• Support Department of Defense technology release processes
• Support foreign military sales integration testing

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related STEM discipline
• 10+ years of integration or test experience
• Experience with at least one programming language:
• Python
• MATLAB
• C/C++
• Perl
• Experience with Linux or Unix systems
• Experience with:
• Systems engineering
• Integration
• Networking
• Verification and validation
• System testing

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in defense or aerospace programs
• Experience configuring Linux Red Hat environments
• Experience with:
• MATLAB
• Python
• Shell scripting
• Network configuration
• CompTIA Network+ or Security+ certifications
• Experience with:
• Software installation
• Configuration control
• Regression testing
• System troubleshooting
• Experience working in Agile or DevSecOps environments
• Experience with:
• JIRA
• Confluence
• Sprint cycles
• Program Increment planning

Technical Environment

Typical technologies include:

• Linux Red Hat
• Unix systems
• MATLAB
• Python
• Shell scripting
• C/C++
• Network routers and switches

Work Environment

Work is performed primarily in:

• Integration laboratories
• Engineering test environments
• System validation facilities

Work includes:

• Hands-on integration
• Software installation
• Hardware configuration
• Test execution