Chief Engineer Undersea Acoustic Systems

ID: 2026-72754
US-VA-Manassas
Required Clearance: Secret
Posted Date: 6/1/2026
Category: Engineering-Other
Employment Type: Full Time
Hiring Company: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc.
Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, or systems engineering or a related technical field and at least 10 years of related leadership experience in development and delivery of undersea acoustic systems for military applications. Applicants with a master's degree and a minimum of 8 years of related leadership experience are also eligible.

Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance is required at time of hire – active and transferable. Top Secret clearance and eligibility for access to Special Access Program Information (SAPI) and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), including willingness to submit to a polygraph, are desirable. Due to the nature of work performed in our facilities, U.S. citizenship is required.

Ability to travel is required. Travel is estimated at 25% to 35%.

Responsibilities for this Position

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS), a market leader and technology innovator, is seeking talented professionals to deliver cutting edge solutions to our DoD customers.

GDMS has an immediate opening for the Undersea Acoustic Systems Chief Engineer. Our team works closely with our Navy customers, Government laboratories, and industry partners to develop, deploy, and sustain SONAR and acoustic communication systems for the defense of our nation, allies, and partners.

The selected candidate will lead definition of technical strategies and solutions based on undersea acoustic technologies. The mission demands we deliver advanced capabilities for our warfighters through high-reliability, affordable, cyber-resilient systems. As the Undersea Acoustic Systems Chief Engineer, you will lead development of technology roadmaps and hold final technical authority over the design, production, installation, and activation of systems that satisfy our customers’ functional, behavioral, affordability, interface, and operational requirements. In this role, you will work closely with our Business Development organization to understand customer needs and present conceptual solutions aligned with GDMS capabilities. You will also drive consistent implementation of design-to-cost processes and work to optimize these processes to sharpen competitiveness.

In addition to receiving a competitive salary, flexible work environment, generous health and personal benefits, the successful candidate will enhance the skill set of a talented and technically accomplished group of colleagues.

The position can be successfully fulfilled from Manassas, VA or Salt Lake City, UT. Other work locations may be considered depending on circumstances.

General Dynamics Mission Systems believes there are several enabling behaviors that will influence your success as a leader. These behaviors will also serve as leading indicators of your performance and growth as a leader and will serve to build trust from your teams, your customers, and the organization. These behaviors are:

• Develop yourself
• Develop others
• Be a team player
• Communicate effectively
• Develop and sustain the relationships you need to be successful
• Shape culture and positively impact the morale, motivation, and engagement of those around you
• Operate at the right level and deliver on your commitments
• Think and act strategically
• Confront reality
• Take reasonable, managed risks

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experienced acoustic system architect with broad background in various engineering disciplines (e.g., systems, mechanical, electrical, software, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence)
• Experience with design, development, manufacturing and testing of Navy SONAR and underwater acoustic communication systems
• Expertise with active/passive transducer design, underwater sound propagation modeling, and component technologies including piezoelectric ceramics and other materials
• Experience planning, executing, and analyzing data from underwater acoustic testing and updating designs to enhance performance
• Expertise with electronics design and acoustic signal processing for SONAR and communications systems (e.g. beamforming techniques, spectral analysis, and classification with machine learning)
• Experience with development and execution of processes and procedures for integration and operation of acoustic and electronic equipment on submarines and other Navy platforms
• Technical leadership experience working through the full engineering lifecycle of complex military systems including concept development, requirements specification, detailed design, integration, test, verification, validation, production, logistics, training, sustainment, and obsolescence management
• Proven ability to engage and influence customers, understand requirements, present candidate solutions, and adapt solutions to align with evolving needs
• Development and implementation of technology roadmaps in support of mission objectives, including planning and oversight of Independent Research and Development (IRAD) activities aligned with these objectives
• Demonstrated success as technical lead on competitive white papers and proposals containing significant engineering development and manufacturing content
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including demonstrated ability to clearly present technical concepts to customer and company leadership, both technical and programmatic
• Strong track record of solving complex problems, assessing and managing technical risks and leading the investigation and resolution of high priority technical issues on critical, high visibility programs
• Demonstrated success leading large, distributed, and multi-disciplinary engineering teams in developing and delivering cost-effective solutions to customer problems

Salary Note

This estimate represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors (geographic location, etc.). Actual pay may vary. This job posting will remain open until the position is filled.

Combined Salary Range

USD $210,262.00 - USD $227,510.00 /Yr.

Company Overview

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans

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