Principal Engineers / Aviation Specialists

About Noblis

Noblis and our wholly owned subsidiaries, Noblis ESI and Noblis MSD, take on some of the nation’s toughest challenges, delivering advanced solutions to our customers’ most critical missions. We bring together leading scientific, engineering, and management expertise in a culture grounded in objectivity and collaboration, ensuring our work creates lasting impact across federal missions.

We work with a broad range of government agencies in the defense, intelligence, and federal civilian sectors. Learn more and find opportunities at careers.noblis.org

Why Work at Noblis

At Noblis, we share a passion for excellence and innovation, and we create an environment where people can do meaningful work while maintaining the balance that keeps them energized and fulfilled. We seek out individuals with a natural curiosity and desire to collaborate and learn. We believe our people are our greatest strength, and we consistently seek exceptionally skilled, mission‑driven professionals who care deeply about doing work that enriches lives and makes our nation safer.

Noblis has earned numerous workplace awards for our culture, our commitment to employee well‑being, and our dedication to meaningful, impactful work. We also maintain a drug‑free workplace.

Remote/hybrid status is subject to change based on Noblis and/or government requirements.

Description

Noblis is seeking Principal Engineers / Aviation Specialists to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Systems and Surveillance Services directorates within the Program Management Organization (PMO). Employees will perform complex tasks related to defining and proposing performance requirements, design, and optimization of systems and services supporting air traffic management and operations. Employees will also provide senior level technical or supervisory leadership for Contractor employees in areas supported.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a Senior Advisor, providing technical or domain knowledge of the FAA or Federal government.
• Apply expertise in FAA processes, specialized applications, diverse operational environments, and geo-political contexts.
• Lead and manage complex projects related to the design, development, and implementation of air traffic management systems and surveillance technologies.
• Provide expert technical guidance and strategic direction for the transition from current Air Traffic Control (ATC) capabilities to NextGen capabilities.
• Conduct system-wide reviews and analyses of all aspects of the National Airspace System (NAS) development life cycle, focusing on ATC automation, communications, navigation, and surveillance elements.
• Develop and validate technical standards, surveillance-automation interfaces, and aircraft separation standards.
• Formulate and implement system safety and risk management plans, and establish system configuration baselines.
• Lead the development of enterprise architecture products, functional and performance system specifications, and concepts of system operation.
• Create and maintain requirements traceability matrices, functional decomposition matrices/trees, and interface documents (IRD/ICD).
• Oversee the allocation of requirements among developmental systems, subsystems, modules, and commercial components.
• Design, develop, prepare, and review management and technical reports and presentations within the specialist’s area of expertise.

Required Qualifications

• Successfully pass an FAA background investigation/verification and receive a successful final suitability determination.
• Experience in aviation, systems engineering, or a related discipline, preferably within the federal sector.
• Extensive experience with ATC systems, including automation, communications, navigation, and surveillance elements.
• Strong background in developing and validating technical standards and system safety plans.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to lead complex projects.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team; Proactive, solution-oriented, with exceptional time management skills.
• Strong communication and collaboration abilities

Educational And Experience Requirements

Work experience that is not relevant to the labor category definition will not be considered in the "Years of Relevant Experience" calculation.

Senior-level

• Minimum of 20 years’ experience with bachelor’s degree in any field though technical degree strongly preferred.
• Master’s degree in any field (e.g. MS, MA, MBA) may be substituted for three years of experience.
• PhD may be substituted for an additional three years of experience.
• Compensation Ranges - $138,420 - 264,300

Mid-level

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience with bachelor’s degree in any field though technical degree strongly preferred.
• Master’s degree in any field (e.g. MS, MA, MBA) may be substituted for three years of experience.
• PhD may be substituted for an additional three years of experience.
• Compensation Ranges - $114,390 - 198,575

Desired Qualifications

• Knowledge of FAA's Acquisition Management System processes and products.
• Knowledge of NAS Enterprise Architecture.
• Applied experience using System Architect, DOORS, CORE, and Cameo.
• Experience in integrating new systems into the National Airspace System (NAS).
• Demonstrated technical leadership in FAA's NAS modernization programs.
• Model Based System Engineering/Digital Engineering.

Total Rewards

At Noblis we recognize and reward your contributions, provide you with growth opportunities, and support your total well-being. Our offerings include health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, as well as paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, and work-life programs. Our award programs acknowledge employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our service standards. Full-time and part-time employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in our benefit programs. Other offerings may be provided for employees not within this category. We encourage you to learn more about our total benefits by visiting the Benefits page on our Careers site.

Compensation at Noblis is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the combination of education, certifications, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, internal and external equity, location, clearance level, as well as contract-specific affordability, organizational requirements and applicable employment laws. The projected compensation range for this position is based on full time status. For part time or on-call staff, compensation is proportionately adjusted based on hours worked. While monetary compensation is important, it's just one component of Noblis’ total compensation package.