Senior Systems Test Engineer

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized “Great Place To Work”, has exciting opportunities providing Engineering solutions for innovative new-entrant space companies, as well as established space systems manufacturers, commercial space system operators and service providers, and other industry stakeholders including investors.  

At Stellar Solutions, we offer talented, energetic, and immediately productive resources to satisfy our customers’ critical needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management and strategic planning. We are a leading service and expertise provider for high-tech commercial ventures, spanning communications, earth observation and remote sensing systems and data products, to the infrastructures that support earth orbiting and beyond earth orbit businesses.

Stellar Solutions is seeking a Systems Test Engineer, Senior to lead test activities supporting next-generation strategic satellite communications capabilities. This role provides senior test, verification, integration, and evaluation expertise within a Strategic SATCOM program office, helping ensure complex space, ground, cryptographic, hardware, and software capabilities are ready to advance toward operational use. The engineer will also identify test and integration risks early enough for the program to mitigate them effectively.

The Systems Test Engineer, Senior will lead test activities and work across Government, FFRDC, and contractor organizations to plan, execute, analyze, and document developmental test and evaluation. The role requires the ability to translate requirements and interface definitions into rigorous verification evidence while exercising senior-level judgment across system-of-systems and space-to-ground integration activities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead test, verification, validation, and system integration activities supporting next-generation strategic SATCOM capabilities.
• Plan, execute, analyze, and report developmental test and evaluation activities.
• Translate system requirements and interface specifications into test objectives, procedures, acceptance criteria, and verification evidence.
• Lead or support Test Readiness Reviews and operational-test readiness activities.
• Plan and execute system-of-systems and space-to-ground integration testing.
• Identify test deficiencies, integration risks, and areas requiring early mitigation and support resolution planning.
• Develop Test and Evaluation Master Plans, System Test Plans, requirements verification plans, and associated reports.
• Apply DAFMAN 63-119 Mission-Oriented Test Readiness Certification requirements to test planning and readiness activities.
• Coordinate test and verification activities with Government customers, FFRDCs, and associate contractor teammates.
• Support requirements and verification traceability throughout the test lifecycle.
• Provide technical leadership to the test team and independently drive complex activities to completion in a fast-paced program environment.

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience with test, verification, and system integration for major defense acquisition programs involving complex space, ground, cryptographic, or hardware systems.
• Experience supporting Government developmental test and evaluation programs within a Lead Developmental Test Organization.
• Experience planning, executing, analyzing, and reporting DT&E activities, including operational-test readiness and required test artifacts.
• Experience translating requirements and interface specifications into test objectives, procedures, acceptance criteria, and verification evidence.
• Experience with Test Readiness Reviews, system-of-systems testing, space-to-ground integration testing, and deficiency management.
• Experience with DAFMAN 63-119 Mission-Oriented Test Readiness Certification.
• Experience developing Test and Evaluation Master Plans, System Test Plans, and requirements verification plans and reports.
• Ability to communicate effectively and establish collaborative relationships with Government customers, FFRDCs, and associate contractor teammates.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently and demonstrate initiative in completing complex tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Bachelor's degree in a technical field such as Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or Computer Science.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working with DoD space, SATCOM, or satellite ground systems.
• Knowledge of DAFMAN 63-119 Mission-Oriented Test Readiness Certification.
• Experience with Agile tools including Jira and Confluence.
• Experience performing interoperability testing, integrated test events, and operational acceptance activities.
• Experience with DOORS, MagicDraw, digital engineering models, or tools supporting requirements and verification traceability.
• Knowledge of verification and validation of software or database releases.
• Knowledge of DoD 5000-series acquisition guidance, MIL-STD-3022, DoDAF, and IEEE 15288 lifecycle standards.
• Master's degree.
• T&E professional certification such as ITEA Certified Test and Evaluation Professional (CTEP).
• INCOSE Systems Engineering Professional certification such as ASEP, CSEP, or ESEP.

Clearance & Additional Requirements

• TS/SCI clearance required.
• Ability to support classified work at the customer site as directed.
• On-site work at LAAFB is required 3-5 days per week.

Location
El Segundo, California - This position is full-time and supports a Government customer environment; Work style expectation is considered Mixed/Hybrid requiring 3-5 days per week on base. 

Compensation:

The typical salary range for this position is USD $170,000 - $183,000 per year. Individual pay is determined by many factors including work location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for a comprehensive total rewards package that includes an annual performance bonus, an employer-funded Profit-Sharing Plan (PSP) contribution based on base compensation, and comprehensive employer-paid medical benefits, PTO pay-out options, along with additional company-sponsored benefits. All of these benefits represent an additional 30-40% to your base compensation for a total compensation package.

The Systems Test Engineer, Senior will help provide the Government with credible evidence that next-generation strategic SATCOM capabilities are integrated, verified, and sufficiently mature to progress toward operational use. Effective leadership in this role will expose deficiencies and integration risks early, strengthen test readiness, and connect system requirements to objective verification results. Deliverables may include test strategies and plans, TEMP and System Test Plan content, test procedures, readiness assessments, verification evidence, deficiency analyses, test reports, and technical briefings.