RFS Product Center Chief Engineer

Description:The Missiles and Fire Control RF Product Center is seeking an experienced Chief Engineer to lead the technical strategy and execution of future Sensor products that will shape the next generation of the MFC and Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) business areas. This position operates to innovate and develop emerging technologies, products, and investments to define future scalable technical solutions that can be transitioned across programs and into production.
The Chief Engineer will partner closely with Product Center leaders to identify, mature, and transition advanced capabilities from concept through operational deployment. This role will help define the technical and capability roadmaps for future Sensor product development while ensuring new capabilities are architected for manufacturability, affordability, reuse, scalability, and long-term sustainment.
Success requires balancing technical depth with strategic thinking, working across Lockheed Martin Business Areas, Engineering disciplines, Product Management, Operations, Advanced Programs, Business Development, and program teams to align technology investments with future business needs.
This is an opportunity for an engineering leader who enjoys solving the most difficult technical challenges, connecting disparate efforts into a cohesive product strategy, and influencing the future direction of the organization.
Key Responsibilities
• Serve as the technical lead for the RF Product Center future capabilities and strategic initiatives that are not yet aligned to an existing program of record.
• Develop and maintain the RF Product Center technical roadmap, ensuring alignment with customer needs, business strategy, and technology investments.
• Partner with the Senior Program Manager to mature emerging capabilities from concept through program adoption and production transition.
• Partner with Product Center Architects to define scalable product architectures that maximize reuse across programs while balancing cost, schedule, technical performance, and manufacturability.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend investment priorities that strengthen long-term Product Center competitiveness.
• Support CRAD, IRAD, proposal, and capture activities by developing technical strategies, solution concepts, and execution approaches.
• Lead engineering cost, schedule, and technical product development, execution and integration activities across multiple organizations and Business Areas.
• Identify technical risks early and develop mitigation strategies that enable successful transition into programs and production.
• Champion systems engineering rigor while enabling rapid innovation and technology maturation.
• Foster collaboration across engineering disciplines and organizational boundaries to ensure technically integrated solutions.
• Work closely with business development, product management, sensor architects to help support the development of product, capability, and technology roadmaps in order to define investment strategy for future Sensor development.
• Guide IPT leads and cross-functional teams in program planning, scheduling, trade studies, design concepts, verification, and critical life cycle reviews along with DVT, CQT, and SQT level testing.
• Ensure engineering teams are staffed appropriately for all development activities.
• Support internal and external customer meetings, weekly IPT status, Technical Interchange Meetings, Technical Readiness Reviews, metrics generation, PDRs, CDRs, and critical program Failure Review Boards, Risk Management, and Mission Success Reviews.
• Success requires more than technical excellence. It demands system’s thinking, strategic agility, the ability to build and manage complex cross-organizational and cross-Business Area relationships, and a passion for transforming emerging concepts into scalable, reusable products that can be successfully adopted by programs and transitioned into production.
Basic Qualifications:
• The successful candidate must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited college or university, with existing professional experience.
• Candidate must have the ability to obtain and maintain a security Clearance with an investigation in the past 5 years.
• The successful candidate must have significant multi-discipline technical leadership experience and be able to manage a highly complex technical project with little oversight.
• The candidate must be able to manage a budget, forecast resources, and develop close working relationships with associate IPT Leads, functional managers, and Customer counterparts.
Desired Skills:
• Demonstrated experience serving as a Chief Engineer, Lead Systems Engineer, Technical Director, or equivalent technical leadership role on complex defense or aerospace programs.
• Experience developing technical strategies and architectures for advanced technologies or complex systems.
• Experience supporting proposal development, technology demonstrations, or capture activities.
• Experience transitioning technology from development into production and/or operational programs.
• Experience working in product-based organizations or reusable product architectures.
• Experience with technology maturation, prototype development, and transition planning.
• Familiarity with CRAD, IRAD, or other technology investment strategies.
• Strong systems engineering background with experience balancing technical performance, manufacturability, affordability, and lifecycle considerations.
• Experience collaborating across multiple organizations and Business Areas.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior technical and business leaders.
• Experience developing long-range technology roadmaps.
• Prior experience with RF Sensor development is highly desired.
• Experience in planning and leading technical solutions from proposal through all aspects of development. This includes SRR, PDR, CDR, Qualification, System Verification & Test, FCA and transition to production.
• Experience in leading or presenting at technical reviews and boards is desired.
Security Clearance Statement: This position requires a government security clearance, you must be a US Citizen for consideration.
Clearance Level: Secret with Investigation or CV date within 5 years
Other Important Information You Should Know
Expression of Interest: By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match. Should this match be identified you may be contacted for this and future openings.
Ability to Work Remotely: Onsite Full-time: The work associated with this position will be performed onsite at a designated Lockheed Martin facility.
Work Schedules: Lockheed Martin supports a variety of alternate work schedules that provide additional flexibility to our employees. Schedules range from standard 40 hours over a five day work week while others may be condensed. These condensed schedules provide employees with additional time away from the office and are in addition to our Paid Time off benefits.
Schedule for this Position: 4x10 hour day, 3 days off per week
Lockheed Martin is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates will be considered without regard to legally protected characteristics.
The application window will close in 90 days; applicants are encouraged to apply within 5 - 30 days of the requisition posting date in order to receive optimal consideration.
At Lockheed Martin, we use our passion for purposeful innovation to help keep people safe and solve the world's most complex challenges. Our people are some of the greatest minds in the industry and truly make Lockheed Martin a great place to work.

With our employees as our priority, we provide diverse career opportunities designed to propel, develop, and boost agility. Our flexible schedules, competitive pay, and comprehensive benefits enable our employees to live a healthy, fulfilling life at and outside of work. We place an emphasis on empowering our employees by fostering an inclusive environment built upon integrity and corporate responsibility.

If this sounds like a culture you connect with, you’re invited to apply for this role. Or, if you are unsure whether your experience aligns with the requirements of this position, we encourage you to search on Lockheed Martin Jobs, and apply for roles that align with your qualifications.
Experience Level: Experienced Professional
Business Unit: MISSILES AND FIRE CONTROL
Relocation Available: Possible
Career Area: Miscellaneous Engineering
Type: Full-Time
Shift: First