Standard Job Description

The 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 Missiles and Fire Control & Rotary and Mission Systems 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. Working as the technical counterpart to the Senior Program Manager, the Chief Engineer will partner closely with RF 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 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.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for Lockheed Martin Sensor product’s future capabilities and strategic initiatives that are not yet aligned to an existing program of record.
• Develop and maintain the Sensor product technical roadmap, ensuring alignment with customer needs, business strategy, and technology investments.
• Partner with the Program Manager to mature emerging capabilities from concept through program adoption and production transition.
• Partner with Architects to define scalable architectures that maximize reuse across programs while balancing cost, schedule, technical performance, and manufacturability.
• Provide technical leadership across Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Business Development, Advanced Programs, and functional organizations.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend investment priorities that strengthen long-term competitiveness.
• Support CRAD, IRAD, proposal, and capture activities by developing technical strategies, solution concepts, and execution approaches.
• Lead engineering cost, schedule, and technical 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 activities.
• Support internal and external customer meetings, IPT status, Technical Interchange Meetings, Technical Readiness Reviews, metrics generation, PDRs, CDRs, and 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 transforming emerging concepts into scalable, reusable products that can be successfully adopted by programs and transitioned into production.

Basic Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• 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.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $148300.00 - $275500.00

At  Lockheed Martin, we know mission success starts with taking care of our people. Our Total Rewards program is designed to attract top talent, support your well-being, and help you grow—both professionally and personally.

The salary range for this position is as listed on the requisition. Please note that the salary information listed is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market(work location) and business considerations when extending an offer.

Benefits offered:

Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible work arrangements and schedules (e.g., 4x10), 401(k) match, Paid time off, Holidays, Parental Leave, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, Education Assistance, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability.

• Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs may be offered depending on the position. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and can vary from year to year and are tied to a range of performance metrics.
• For (Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full-time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year.