Systems Engineer at SAIC
Washington, DC
$80,001–$120,000from the description
Jul 3, 2026
Washington, DC
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role supports naval combat systems testing for the Ship Self Defense System (SSDS), covering the full test lifecycle from design and planning through execution, analysis, and reporting. The work involves developing test strategies for new combat system baselines across developmental and operational testing phases, coordinating with field activities, and producing technical documentation such as test plans and program briefs. It suits candidates with a background in U.S. Navy combat and warfare systems testing.
Mid level · 3+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
What the occupation pays Median $129,834 (middle half $101,882–$164,857). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
This role sits at the intersection of systems engineering and test & evaluation — the primary day-to-day work (requirements verification, test design, planning, execution, and reporting for Navy combat systems) maps most closely to Computer Systems Analysts (15-1211); 15-1253 (QA/Testers) is a reasonable runner-up given the heavy test-execution focus.
The JD requires a Bachelor's degree (technical preferred) with no explicit 'or equivalent experience' escape clause, so it is treated as a hard degree requirement.
A Secret clearance is listed under the main requirements block ('Secret Clearance') without a qualifier, making it a hard gate.
Domain skills such as SSDS platform knowledge, Navy combat/warfare systems experience, and technical writing proficiency are listed in the required qualifications block and treated as hard gates, even though they are not conventional software tools.
Database development/maintenance and experience writing TEMPs, CDDs, and Test Plans appear under 'Desired Qualifications' and are therefore preferred.
Previous U.S. Navy Active Duty and experience in Test and Certification schedule development also appear under 'Desired Qualifications' — these are domain-experience preferences, not named technologies, so they are omitted from the skills list per extraction rules.
Up to 25% travel is required; the role is on-site in Washington, DC.
Ignored 5 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Ship Self Defense System (SSDS), US Navy Combat/Warfare Systems, test planning, database development, TEMPs/CDDs/Test Plans documentation.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
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