Systems Engineer Principal
SAIC · San Diego, CA
$160,001–$200,000from the description
Jun 30, 2026
San Diego, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A cleared senior systems engineering role supporting U.S. Navy Information Operations programs within PEO C4I. The position leads a cross-functional engineering team delivering technical advisory services — covering requirements analysis, architecture design, integration, testing, and documentation — for manned and unmanned platforms. It also involves contributing subject matter expertise to working groups, CONOP development, and reviews of research and development efforts.
Senior level · 9+ years · San Diego, CA · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
Why we read it this way (9)
Location is not explicitly stated in the posting; however, the role supports PEO C4I / NAVWAR, which is headquartered in San Diego, CA — CBSA inferred accordingly.
Degree requirement is effectively None: the JD accepts 'applicable experience in lieu of advanced education,' making the stated Bachelor's/Master's thresholds non-binding hard gates.
The minimum experience figure (9 years) is drawn from the Bachelor's-level path; the Master's path requires 7 years. 9 years is used as the overall years minimum per the lower-degree (more common) path.
TS/SCI clearance is explicitly required in the qualifications section.
Prior military experience with BAIO systems, unmanned systems/payloads, INCOSE ASEP/CSEP, Rational DOORS, and PEO C4I/NAVWAR familiarity are all listed under 'Desired Skills and Certifications' and are treated as preferred.
SOC classification is a judgement call: the role is primarily systems engineering and technical advisory (15-1211), but has meaningful overlap with broader engineering/technical integration work (15-1299). 15-1211 is selected as the primary given the requirements analysis, architecture, and advisory focus.
The role involves leading a team but appears to be a technical lead/subject matter expert position rather than a people-management role with direct HR authority; classified as Senior individual contributor rather than 11-3021.
Ignored 3 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Systems Engineering, Information Operations, Systems Architecture.
Requires a TS/SCI 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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