Principal Director – Space Missions Directorate

About this role

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

Building on The Aerospace Corporation's reputation as a trusted, impartial advisor with integrity and dedication to mission success, the Civil Systems Group (CSG) combines deep technical expertise with market-leading innovation to help our customers solve complex systems engineering and integration challenges. CSG is organized by core customer-facing lines of business to manage and grow programs with civilian federal government agencies including NASA, USGS, NOAA, and NNSA, fully integrated with Aerospace rules, regulations, processes, values, and behaviors. 

The Space Missions Directorate, part of CSG’s NASA Programs Division (NPD), provides program management and systems engineering support to NASA-centric and joint agency programs at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. This support spans all program phases, from concept through design, acquisition, development, deployment, and operations, all program sizes, from small exploration projects through large flagship programs, and all acquisition approaches, from full-scale in-house development to commercial data buys. 

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Principal Director (Principal Director - Engineering Program Management and Systems Engineering)  for the Space Missions Directorate to lead Aerospace support to GSFC. This Principal Director will work shoulder-to-shoulder with GSFC senior leaders, providing strategic Program Management skills and Systems Engineering expertise to solve their hardest problems. The successful candidate will lead high-performing teams of directors and staff to help GSFC missions achieve programmatic and technical success and actively shape future missions. 

What You’ll Be Doing    • Provide leadership and direction for effective strategic and tactical positioning of the Space Missions directorate and its activities to ensure relevant, timely support and differentiating value is delivered to the customers  • Lead teams of directors and staff to support GSFC divisions, programs, and projects in achieving programmatic and technical success and help shape future missions  • Collaborate with the Aerospace technical backplane to integrate deep subject matter expertise with on-site staff and customers to solve NASA’s hardest problems   • Actively oversee Aerospace work execution at GSFC to ensure it meets customers’ technical requirements, delivers results, and stays within cost and schedule limits  • Lead development of technical operating plans, budget control, staffing, succession planning, workforce needs, personnel development, customer interaction, and technical positions  • Provide technical leadership, oversight and direct support for all work and deliveries, and coordinate with subject matter experts and engineering support across an interdisciplinary and geographically distributed teams along a defined GSFC programmatic theme or area of emphasis.  • Ensure organizational alignment and continuity including setting strategy, goals, and expectations; developing, mentoring, and driving engagement of staff; and identifying and retaining top talent  • Advance a team culture of innovation, collaboration, mission focus, and mission success  

This is a full-time position based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, requiring 100% onsite work. 

What You Need to be Successful- Principal Director - Engineering Program Management and Systems Engineering Minimum Requirements:   • Bachelor’s degree in science or engineering or equivalent is required.  • 15 years or more years of progressively responsible professional leadership experience applicable to the position  • 10 or more years of experience advancing US space missions  • Experience with space system programs, including spacecraft and/or ground system formulation, acquisition, development, integration, and test.  • Demonstrated ability to identify, prioritize, and resolve high-impact technical and programmatic issues for senior government and/or industry leaders  • Demonstrated effective formation and leadership of collaborative work teams composed of contributors from diverse sources, backgrounds, and locations  • Demonstrated ability to manage and deliver results on work team projects within cost and schedule constraints, to include proposal development, cost tracking, and status reporting  • Proven ability to network with contractors, other government agencies, the various Aerospace program offices, and Engineering Technology Group (ETG) to address issues and provide the customer with the best available technical and programmatic analyses  • Must have strong business and financial acumen with constructive and proactive method to problem solving. Ability to make time-critical mission success decisions with ambiguous or incomplete data  • Excellent verbal communication skills - clear, concise, persuasive; builds consensus through speaking; polished, professional style   • Excellent written communication skills - organize complex materials and concepts in clear and logical manner  • Experience interacting with GS-15/SES level customer counterparts  • Willing to travel occasionally to work location or customer site/domestically approximately 10%   • This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance. 

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