We are seeking a System Architect who will be reporting to the Deputy Director of Engineering & Technology, you’ll chart technical strategy, uphold engineering rigor, and keep innovation throttled wide‑open. You’ll translate tomorrow’s concepts into today’s reference architectures, mentor cross‑disciplinary teams, and serve as the engineering voice in company briefings and customer engagements. Bottom line: you’ll drive excellence, safeguard alignment with Fuse’s mission, and champion our tech story to stakeholders inside and out.

What you’ll do:

Project & Technical Governance

• Direct enterprise-level engineering oversight for multi-million-dollar programs, enforcing rigorous technical baselines, proactive risk registers, and transparent status comms to executives and mission partners.
• Partner with PMs and chief engineers to apply Engineering & Design Process, driving on-schedule, on-spec delivery.
• Translate forward-looking concepts into modular reference architectures that unlock future capability inserts and rapid refresh cycles.

Innovation & Capability Development

• Champion emerging tech adoption—AI-enabled network orchestration, SOSA-aligned hardware, zero-trust enclaves—by codifying best practices and coaching scrum teams through thorny edge cases.
• Align customer pain points with IR&D dollars, prioritizing prototypes that close validated gaps and boost ROI.
• Continuously scan the battlespace: track regulatory shifts, MIL-STD updates, and competitor pivots to recalibrate tech roadmaps ahead of the curve.

Growth & Strategy Support

• Co-author cross-functional product roadmaps with Technology, Growth & Strategy, and Operations, ensuring every campaign has a tech glide-slope and a clear value prop.
• Support the hunt and qualification of new opportunities: leverage intel on platform roadmaps, SWaP-C trends, and coalition needs to seed the funnel.
• Nurture strategic alliances across DoD PEOs, prime integrators, and niche innovators, positioning Fuse as the go-to edge-networking house.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the technical conscience in executive reviews, translating complex trade-space decisions into crisp, business-centered narratives
• Solicit and integrate feedback from operators, customers, and internal guilds to keep initiatives mission-relevant and revenue-aligned.
• Conduct thorough market research and competitive analysis to inform strategic decisions and identify growth opportunities.

We are looking for:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline — or an equivalent track record that proves you can architect, build, and ship.
• U.S. citizen holding an active SECRET-level clearance (or higher).
• 10+ years leading complex engineering efforts, with 5+ years embedded in the aerospace & defense arena.
• Battle-tested at translating strategy into fielded capability: requirements nailed, budgets balanced, risks tamed.
• Hands-on leadership of full-lifecycle design, integration, test, and deployment for POR level systems.
• Deep fluency in DoD/DoN acquisition pathways (PPBE, JROC, DAS, OTA, the works) and the regulatory terrain that shapes them.
• Sharp radar for market pulse — primes, disrupters, shifting tech stacks, and policy headwinds.
• Comfortable diving from 30,000-foot architecture down to board-level schematics; can whiteboard RF chains, zero-trust networks, and SOSA/MOSA hardware without breaking stride.
• Familiar with tactics, techniques, and procedures across air, ground, and maritime platforms in modern multi-domain ops.
• Storyteller who converts engineering nuance into crisp, exec-ready narratives and demo-floor wins.
• Relationship builder who cultivates program office, and industry partnerships that unlock new roadmaps.
• People-first leader who sets the bar high, fosters psychological safety, and keeps teams sprinting in a fast-tempo environment.
• Self-starter able to juggle competing priorities, cut through ambiguity, and deliver under pressure.