Digital Innovation Division Mission Solutions Specialist

Location: Chantilly, VA

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Digital Innovation Division (DID) is accountable for generating and executing integrated strategies, providing governance, and managing internal investments that form the foundation of Aerospace's digital transformation.

The Digital Innovation Division is seeking an experienced Mission Solutions Lead to rapidly prototype, test, and field enterprise-scale data and platform solutions in direct partnership with mission customers. In this role, you will lead a small, agile cell of engineers tasked with moving fast — standing up early-stage capabilities, iterating quickly against real customer feedback, and converting promising prototypes into adopted, mission-relevant solutions.

This is not a role for maintaining the status quo: you will be expected to challenge existing approaches, develop new best practices where none exist, and find creative paths to solving problems that conventional processes haven't solved.

You will work hands-on with mission customers to understand operational needs, rapidly prototype candidate solutions, and iterate toward real mission impact — often ahead of where formal requirements or acquisition processes have caught up. You will coordinate with engineering teams, third-party developers, and vendors as needed, but your primary value will be the speed and ingenuity with which your small team can move from problem to working solution.

You will help ensure Aerospace's digital initiatives translate into trusted, high-quality capabilities that mission customers can rapidly put into practice — and that lessons learned from fast iteration inform how Aerospace builds and governs solutions at scale.

Work Model: 100% onsite; Chantilly,Va, Colorado Springs, Co and El Segundo, Ca

What You'll Be Doing

Rapid Prototyping & Mission Solution Enablement

Lead rapid prototyping and early-stage instantiation of enterprise data/software solutions for mission customer organizations across multiple networks, including classified and hybrid environments — moving quickly from problem identification to working capability.

Drive new approaches and develop new best practices where existing enterprise processes, tools, or standards fall short of mission needs; pilot new techniques before recommending them for broader adoption.

Identify customer needs on the fly, set priorities and act as a spokesperson translating fast-moving prototype work into enterprise-relevant outcomes.

Serve as a principal technical lead and help teams understand operational workflows, rapidly test candidate solutions, and iterate based on real-world usage.

Develop lightweight adoption KPIs and metrics appropriate to fast-cycle prototyping, and translate successful pilots into scalable, trusted solutions.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead a small, high-performing cell of solutions engineers, data architects, and platform specialists; foster a culture of experimentation, fast iteration, and creative problem-solving.
• Leverage Agile/lean methodologies to manage priorities, rapid sprint cycles, and tight feedback loops with customers.
• Promote DataOps and SoftwareOps best practices and work directly with customer stakeholders through demonstrations, workshops, and hands-on enablement sessions.

What You Need to be Successful

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, platform operations, or customer-facing solutions delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly prototype solutions, lead technical efforts under ambiguity, influence cross-functional teams (including third-party/vendor developers), and mentor junior engineers.
• Proven experience to drive adoption and real-world use of newly developed technical solutions.
• Hands-on experience with cloud-based platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Strong problem-solving skills, with a bias toward action, a strategic mindset, and the ability to translate ambiguous mission needs into working prototypes.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to bridge technical and mission-focused stakeholders across multiple constituencies.
• Ability to convey the value of fast-prototyped, mission-relevant solutions in terms non-technical stakeholders immediately understand.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven track record of fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing across diverse teams, including customers and external vendors.
• Demonstrated ability for innovation, creativeness, resourcefulness, and initiative — including a track record of developing novel approaches when established playbooks don't apply.
• Current DoD TS and SSBI/SCI Clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

Advanced degree in STEM or other technical discipline.

10+ years of increasingly responsible professional experience in mission solutions delivery, with at least 3 years in a leadership role — ideally leading small, fast-moving technical teams.

Direct experience embedded alongside mission operators (e.g., Space Force, NORTHCOM/NORAD, or similar) providing hands-on technical support and rapid solution enablement for real-world operations.

A track record of taking a solution from informal prototype to formally adopted enterprise capability.

Direct mission experience in the national space domain, missile defense, and/or remote sensing.

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Max)

$155,900.00 - $233,900.00

Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

Operate Strategically

Lead Change

Engage with Impact

Foster Innovation

Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

• During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.
• Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:
• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career

Education assistance programs

An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [email protected] . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.

Additional Locations: El Segundo, CA, Colorado Springs, CO