Chief Engineer for the Sentinel Weapon System

About

Step into a role of national significance and lead the engineering effort for one of the nation's most critical weapon system acquisitions. As the Chief Engineer for the Sentinel Weapon System, you will be the definitive technical authority guiding the modernization of the country's land-based nuclear deterrent. This is a generational opportunity to shape and lead a landmark program with a multi-decade impact on global security.

This position (348019) is an NH-801-04, which has a typical 2026 salary range of $125,776- $192,331.

*Recruitment, Relocation, Retention, and Student Loan Incentives may be authorized

This position is located in the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC), Sentinel Systems Directorate, at Hill Air Force Base, near Layton, Utah.

The purpose of this position is to serve as the Chief Engineer for the Sentinel Weapons System in the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.

The Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) System is the developmental strategic deterrent to nuclear attack against the United States. The Sentinel Systems Division ensures that the ground-based leg of America's nuclear triad is "Never Doubted - Always Feared."

This position is a Critical Engineering Position (CEP) and a Key Leadership Position (KLP) with delegated Operational Safety, Suitability, and Effectiveness (OSS&E) oversight and responsibility from the Sentinel System Program Manager, prospective employees must be able to meet CEP and KLP requirements to be considered for this position.

DUTIES OF NH-04 CEP CHIEF ENGINEER:

• Serves as a Chief Engineer in the Sentinel System Program Office in accordance with DoDI 5000.88, Engineering of Defense Systems, and DAFI20-101_63-101, Integrated Life Cycle Management.
• Serves as the technical expert on the Operational Safety, Suitability, and Effectiveness (OSS&E) program and ensures OSS&E for assigned weapon system is established, to include subsystems.
• Provides technical and engineering oversight and approval on all engineering activities.
• Manage multiple contractor efforts to meet program requirements.
• Provide guidance and leadership to 400+ engineers to ensure technical rigor in engineering processes.
• Supports development and evaluation of performance work statements and associated contracting actions.
• Provides specialized and expert technical advice to the ICBM Systems Directorate on all engineering activities i.e. research, development, test acquisition, sustainment, modifications, product improvements, etc., for the Sentinel System.
• Recommends new, and/or evaluates existing procedures, and employs innovative techniques/methods to set and achieve goals.
• Maintains a deep technical understanding of approaches in verifying performance of ICBM capabilities.
• Understands, scopes, and leads system qualification and verification/validation efforts.
• Advises leadership on technical designs, material development, should-cost, acquisition, test, and operational issues related to cost, schedule, performance, requirements and systems engineering.
• Engages in Digital Engineering concept planning; design and development; integration, testing and verification at the system, element or component level.
• Identifies and resolves highly complex problems crossing organizational boundaries.

SKILLS:

• Candidates must meet CEP and KLP requirements specified in the requirements section below, but those meeting most requirements and on track to meet the remainder will also be considered.
• Senior-level acquisition experience providing technical leadership for a major system-of-systems program, including guiding multi-disciplinary teams through the acquisition lifecycle, supported by comprehensive knowledge of professional engineering principles, logistics program management, acquisition policy, contracting procedures, and the planning, programming, and budgeting system.
• Demonstrated leadership across the entire product development lifecycle, guiding large-scale systems from initial concept and requirements analysis through design, validation, and successful fielding in a complex acquisition environment.
• Expertise in Prototyping and production management, leading the full technology maturation lifecycle from rapid, iterative design using digital engineering and agile frameworks to a sustainable, producible, and affordable full-rate production and fielding.
• Broad knowledge and experience in general engineering fields related to the development of weapons systems, with demonstrated competence in the areas of structures, electronics and/or mechanical systems, required to carry out the duties of the position is highly preferred.
• Ability to plan, organize and direct the functions and mentor, motivate, and appraise the staff of an organization through subordinate supervisors is highly valued.
• Proven experience orchestrating the end-to-end systems integration of complex hardware and software components from multiple government and contractor teams within large-scale acquisition programs; ensuring system-of-systems interoperability while guiding the technical maturation of the product from requirements analysis through successful deployment and maintaining a stable technical baseline.
• Ability to analyze, plan and adjust work operations of one or more organizational segments to meet program objectives and requirements within available resources is preferred.
• Strong background in systems engineering, qualification, test & production, as well as experience in ICBM plus.
• Develop and foster a collaborative relationship with the prime contractor and team to ensure joint successes.

REQUIREMENTS:

• U.S. CITIZENSHIP
• Employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance and will be required to handle and safeguard sensitive and/or classified information.
• To qualify as an engineer, employee must meet the education and specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards, Group Coverage Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf .
• This is a Critical Engineering Position (CEP). Candidates must meet the minimum core criteria at the Chief Engineer level per AFMC Instruction 62-202, Criteria for Critical Engineering Positions, 13 November 2023. These CEP requirements should be met prior to appointment, but those meeting most requirements and on-track to meet the remainder will also be considered.
• This is a Key Leadership Position (KLP). Candidates must meet the criteria for KLPs as provided by Air Force Instruction 36-1301, Management of Acquisition Key Leadership Positions. The following are the special position requirements for selection: a. Must be Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) Engineering and Technical Management Practitioner certified prior to assignment. b. Must possess a minimum of 8 years of Acquisition experience or equivalent demonstrated proficiency as determined by the selection authority. c. Must be compliant with the APDP continuous learning policy at time of appointment, which requires successful completion of 80 hours of continuous learning points (CLP) every two years.
• 5+ years of experience leading large, multifunctional teams (100+ persons) is required.
• Advanced education within industry or government is highly desired (e.g. Master's Degree in STEM, Senior Developmental Education, APDP certification)
• 5+ years of major acquisition program leadership is required (ACAT II or above or equivalent within industry).
• 5+ Management of contractors on large-scale, highly complex projects is required.
• 10+ years of Systems Engineering, Engineering Development and/or Transition into production is required.