True Anomaly · 13 hours ago
Chief Systems Engineer, Missile Defense
Long Beach, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$190K/yr - $295K/yr
15+ years expTrue Anomaly is a company focused on building innovative technology for space security and sustainability. The Chief Systems Engineer is responsible for the technical integrity of the Space-Based Interceptor system, leading technical integration and ensuring system performance, reliability, and safety objectives are met.
AerospaceArtificial Intelligence (AI)ManufacturingMilitaryNational Security
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
The Chief Systems Engineer is responsible for the end-to-end technical integrity of the Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) system, owning the system architecture and serving as the final technical authority for system-level requirements interpretation, allocation, and traceability
This role ensures requirements are testable, verifiable, and aligned with mission objectives and customer intent
The Chief Systems Engineer leads technical integration across the booster, kill vehicle, ground systems, space and host-vehicle interfaces, resolving cross-element technical conflicts and ensuring subsystem designs collectively meet system performance, reliability, and safety objectives
The role owns the system-level verification and validation strategy, including ground, flight, and on-orbit test progression, and approves system-level test objectives, success criteria, and requirement creditability
The Chief Systems Engineer chairs system-level test readiness reviews, leads post-test technical assessments, and certifies technical readiness to proceed between major program phases
The Chief Systems Engineer identifies and manages system-level technical risks and provides authoritative system-level analysis during anomalies or mishaps in support of Mission Assurance–led investigations
The role certifies corrective actions and technical readiness for return-to-test or return-to-flight
The Chief Systems Engineer provides technical leadership to Chief Engineers and integrated product teams and serves as the primary system-level technical interface to Program Management, Mission Assurance, and customer technical authorities, maintaining independence of technical judgment while enabling informed programmatic decisions
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, or related field (Master's or PhD strongly preferred)
15+ years of experience in complex aerospace or defense systems development
Demonstrated experience as a lead or chief systems engineer on: Missile defense systems, Space systems, Highly integrated flight-test–driven programs
Deep understanding of: Systems engineering lifecycle, Verification and validation, Flight and ground test campaigns, Safety-critical system design
Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary technical teams under high consequence conditions
Preferred
Experience with missile defense, interceptor, or space weapon systems
Direct involvement in ground test, flight test, or on-orbit demonstrations
Experience interfacing with US Government customers (e.g., USSF, MDA, DoD)
Prior participation in anomaly resolution or mishap investigations
Benefits
Health
Dental
Vision
HRA/HSA options
PTO and paid holidays
401K
Parental Leave
Company
True Anomaly
True Anomaly is builds space security and resilience at the intersection of spacecraft, software, and autonomy.
201-500 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$418.02MKey Investors
AccelStifel BankRiot Ventures
2025-04-30Series C· $260M
2025-04-30Debt Financing
2023-12-12Series B· $100M
Leadership Team
Mark Seidel
Chief Financial Officer
Frank Di Pentino
Chief Strategy Officer
Recent News
Los Angeles Business Journal
2026-01-06
MenloVentures
2026-01-05
Company data provided by crunchbase