Senior Principal Lead Systems Architect (Onsite)

Date Posted:

2026-07-02



Country:

United States of America



Location:

US-VA-DULLES-710 ~ 22110 Pacific Blvd ~ BLDG 10



Position Role Type:

Onsite



U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements:

Active and transferable U.S. government issued security clearance is required prior to start date.​ U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance​



Security Clearance Type:

Top Secret - Current



Security Clearance Status:

Active and existing security clearance required on day 1

At RTX, the world's largest aerospace and defense company, 185,000 great minds are united by purpose and inspired to make a difference solving the world’s most complex problems. With our three market leading businesses, world-class operations and investments in research and development, we offer capabilities and opportunity no one else can. Together, we push the boundaries of known science and find new ways to connect and protect our world.

Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced, intelligent solutions that help redefine the aerospace and defense industry. With a comprehensive portfolio and deep technical expertise, we help customers meet the demands of the global market. Join us and help shape the future of aerospace and defense.

We are seeking a Senior Principal Lead Systems Architect with a current Top Secret clearance to work onsite in Sterling, VA. This position serves as a senior technical leader representing the Lead System Architect (LSA) at highly visible, senior level Navy forums and System-of-Systems (SoS) engineering working groups. The role also provides authoritative guidance, strategic technical leadership, and independent decision making across multiple high impact domains that shape the Navy’s and potentially the Air Force’s future Long Range Kill Chain (LRKC) capabilities.  The role includes reaching out and coordinating across RTX Corporate offices, Raytheon Strategic Business Units, and Collins Strategic Business Units to highlight to the Navy and Air Force all the RTX solutions and capabilities relevant to LRKCs.  This senior leader will help guide activities, investments, and pursuits across all associated RTX LRKC domains. 

Sign-on Bonus Eligible

What You Will Do:

• Lead the LSA’s participation in Performance Assessment Working Groups, owning trade studies, COA assessments, and technical evaluations necessary to determine SoS architecture changes required to align with evolving CONOPs, threats, and mission priorities. Provide authoritative recommendations to Navy leadership on architecture impacts and risk posture.   Activities include collaboration with other RTX offices performing similar LRKC trade studies, many performed at highly classified networks. 

• Lead Systems Definition Working Group activities to define and mature detailed technical solutions within the SoS architecture. Drive translation of highlevel warfighter priorities into actionable capability definitions, ensuring architectural feasibility, technical rigor, and traceability.  Position requires ability to thoroughly understand the technical attributes of the 3rd party capabilities currently integrated into the system as well as the inclusion of additional capabilities. 

• Serve as a senior technical partner to the Technical Fellow leading the Modeling & Simulation (M&S) efforts. Drive LSA contributions to the Navy’s SoS M&S baseline, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and alignment with operational readiness assessments. Provide oversight and guidance to ensure LSA MBSE artifacts, data models, and simulation inputs meet the Navy’s technical and programmatic needs.  Additionally, lead collaboration with the Raytheon Tucson High Performance Compute environments, known as the Air Dominance Test Bed, to ensure synergy of M&S efforts. 

• Partner with the Test & Evaluation (TE) lead expanding LSA coverage across the full scope of TE activities. Provide independent judgment, strategic technical oversight, and mentoring to ensure comprehensive test planning, traceability to requirements, and alignment with MBSE models and system behavior predictions.  Additionally, ensure the LSA team appropriately supports formal Developmental and Operational Test (DT/OT) activities. 

• Own the creation, evolution, and configuration management of the System-of-Systems formal Aspec and Bspec requirements. Provide senior technical leadership in deriving requirements from high level government documents and CONOPS, ensuring completeness, consistency, and integration with MBSE architecture products and test use cases.  Additionally, demonstrate flexibility in guiding the team’s efforts as the Navy continuously modifies and evolves their architectural requirements and CONOPS. 

• Serve as the LSA lead for Advanced Concepts. Drive trades, COAs, and feasibility analyses for new capabilities, data sources, communication networks, cyber needs, and emerging weapons systems. As the current effort is supported by a part-time Raytheon Fellow; the Navy expects significant expansion of assessing the inclusion of potential capabilities, requiring a dedicated senior technical leader to meet customer expectations. 

• This role requires deep expertise in SoS engineering, MBSE, M&S, and system architecture; demonstrated leadership in leading a team of Raytheon Fellows across a wide range of high visibility customer engagements; and the ability to make independent, high impact technical decisions that shape program direction and influence Navy acquisition strategy. The execution of the role will be done in an Agile Methodology with the LSA being the Product Owner of a cross-discipline team. 

• Travel: Travel for customer meetings and events (approximately 20%)

Qualifications you must have:  

• Experience guiding the strategic technical vision of a program including driving the design, development cadence, priorities, etc 

• Experience conducting trade studies as both an individual contributor and lead 

• Experience working directly with customers and customer stakeholders in the Department of War 

• 2+ years experience working as Product Owner on a large program 

• Strong understanding of requirements development processes and MBSE methodologies and proficient in the applicable tools (e.g., DOORS, Cameo, MagicDraw, Rhapsody, or similar) 

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 10 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 7 years of experience 

• Active and transferable U.S. government issued Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is required prior to start date 

• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance 

Qualifications We Prefer:

• Current TSSCI

• Master’s degree in Engineering 

• Certification in Agile methodologies (e.g., Certified Scrum Product Owner, SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager) 

• Experience in aerospace or defense industries 

• Experience with DOORS, JIRA, or similar tools 

• Experience interfacing with Navy customers 

• Experience writing Technical Volumes 

• Experience writing Basis of Estimates 

• Experience developing cyber security strategies/packages 

• Experience working in a configuration-controlled environment with multiple variants 

• Experience with assisting the customer with operational readiness assessments 

• Experience leading customer facing events/demonstrations 

What We Offer:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees

• Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution, including a Lifetime Income Strategy option

• Tuition reimbursement program

• Student Loan Repayment Program

• Life insurance and disability coverage

• Optional coverages you can buy pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection

• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits

• Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning

• Adoption Assistance         

• Autism Benefit

• Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions

• Healthy You Incentives, wellness rewards program

• Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits

• Bright Horizons, child and elder care services

• Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program

• And more! 

Learn More & Apply Now!

Mission Systems:

Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches across the world, and even beyond? At Collins Aerospace, our Mission Systems team helps civilian, military and government customers complete their most complex missions — whatever and wherever they may be. Our customers depend on us for intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft and collaborative space solutions. By joining our team, you’ll have your own critical part to play in ensuring our customer succeeds today while anticipating their needs for tomorrow. Are you up for the challenge? Join our mission today.

* Please consider the following role type definitions as you apply for this role.

Onsite: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products.

At Collins, the paths we pave together lead to limitless possibility. And the bonds we form – with our customers and with each other – propel us all higher, again and again.

Apply now and be part of the team that’s redefining aerospace, every day.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attend select steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote.

The salary range for this role is 172,900 USD - 328,700 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.

Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.

RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

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