Principal Engineering Project Lead

Job Summary:

Mercury Systems is seeking a talented Principal Engineering Project Leader to lead the development of cutting-edge technology for mission-critical aerospace and defense applications, advancing innovation where it matters most. As an EPL within the Secure Line of Business you have the opportunity to lead the technical development of Mercury's newest products and programs, taking concepts from the whiteboard to fully fielded products. This role involves developing and maintaining design plans and schedules, coordinating cross-functional engineering teams, and ensuring successful project completion on time and within budget.

Job Responsibilities:

• Lead integration and coordination across functional teams including electrical, mechanical, software engineering, system architecture, integration, quality, and documentation to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery of Mercury's products and system solutions.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the engineering project team and key stakeholders, including Operations, Program Management, Product Management, Technical Support, and Senior Leadership.
• Own the success of assigned projects, ensuring they are delivered within budget, on schedule, and aligned with customer expectations.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand business needs, communicate project status, and build relationships that support satisfaction and minimize risk.
• Develop comprehensive project plans, including risk mitigation strategies, tasks, budgets, deliverables, dependencies, and resource requirements to ensure timely execution.
• Oversee project deliverables and intervene as needed to adjust priorities, resolve delivery and customer issues, and optimize for quality, timeliness, and flexibility.
• Facilitate synchronization and communication among all key project team members and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Senior Management and functional managers to resolve resource allocation and organizational challenges.
• Tackle complex issues requiring in-depth analysis of variable factors and cross-disciplinary input.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams through complex development cycles.
• Strong ability to influence without authority, aligning stakeholders across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Program Management, and Senior Leadership.
• Proven record of driving clarity, making decisions, and maintaining momentum in ambiguous or high‑pressure environments.
• Ability to develop engineers and foster high‑performance team culture.
• Skilled at communicating technical and programmatic decisions to executives and customers.
• Ownership mindset - accountable for engineering execution, readiness for gate reviews, and overall project success.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor''s degree in engineering, or a STEM discipline.
• Typically requires a minimum of 6+ years in an engineering design role.
• Experience in aerospace and defense projects, including participation in formal design review processes.
• Experience in Project management skills, particularly in new hardware product development.
• Experience with scheduling, tracking, and risk management tools and methodologies.
• Experience in identifying and implementing process improvements across engineering organizations.
• Experience with full product development lifecycle; from requirements through design, implementation, integration, and manufacturing release.
• Experience developing and delivering technical presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• "This position requires you to have or obtain a government security clearance. Security clearances may only be granted to U.S. citizens."

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Atlassian tools, including Jira and Confluence, and Microsoft Project.
• Hands-on experience with system and subsystem integration in complex hardware and software environments.
• Experience with cost account management using Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS).
• Strong team-building and interpersonal skills, with a focus on mentoring and personnel development.
• Participation in Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations to resolve technical and process-related issues.
• Active Secret clearance.

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"This position requires you to access information that is subject to U.S. export regulations. You may only access such information if you are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. government."