Lead Systems Engineer - Product Owner

Lead Systems Engineer to serve as a Product Owner for next-generation air traffic and flight service systems in an Agile/SAFe environment supporting government programs.

Responsibilities

• Review FAA requirement documents, advisory circulars, and applicable regulations (including 14 CFR parts) to extract intent, constraints, and acceptance criteria
• Manage the product backlog for one or more Agile teams by prioritizing features based on stakeholder needs and ensuring the team builds the right functionality
• Collaborate with customer stakeholders to identify and refine use cases with focus on completeness, testability, operational workflow alignment, and readiness for validation trials
• Translate high-level regulatory requirements into specific, testable capability statements (Agile features) with clear acceptance criteria tied to FAA compliance outcomes (performance thresholds, safety margins, and required reporting formats)
• Capture and communicate design decisions, performance trade-offs, regulatory compliance rationales, and risk assessments for each release to support reviewer traceability and informed feedback
• Prepare and review technical documentation, including use cases, user interface specifications, and requirements traceability
• Participate in structured reviews and inspections

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field with 4-8 years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree with 2-6 years of experience
• Experience and familiarity with Agile methodology, principles, and tools
• Familiarity with the Agile Product Owner role, including owning and prioritizing the product backlog, defining complete backlog items (user stories), making timely scope decisions, and accepting completed work
• Strong understanding of disciplined engineering processes and attention to detail
• Practical exposure to writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining software or scripts
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication
• Experience designing cloud-based systems
• Experience engaging customers to understand needs, deliver solutions, manage expectations, and maintain an ongoing relationship
• Ability to obtain SF-85 Public Trust suitability determination
• US Citizenship

Technologies

• Agile, Agile/SAFe, DevSecOps, CI/CD
• Java, Python, React
• Claude Code, Codex
• CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira
• FAA, 14 CFR

Benefits

• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave
• Retirement

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Java, Python, React, and scripting languages
• Knowledge of AI-assisted development workflows and tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.)
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of air traffic control systems, general aviation, and/or flight services
• Practical knowledge of FAA/DoD systems, technical policies, standards, and orders
• Experience leveraging requirement-management tools (CAMEO, DOORS, Jama, Jira with traceability plugins, etc.) and documentation platforms that support linking, reviews, and exportable RTMs

Location and Employment Details

• Location: Gaithersburg, MD (onsite)
• Salary: USD 87,100 - 157,450 per year
• Posted: April 29, 2026
• Pay Range: $87,100.00 - $157,450.00