Chief Engineer, Readiness

Who We Are

Aptima is a technological leader in the national security industry. Our mission is to drive the future of national security by engineering scalable solutions that fuse technological innovation with human potential to transform how individuals and teams train, develop, and perform in mission-critical environments.

Our culture is rooted in our core values, which have evolved over time and our employees have embraced: Integrity, Ingenuity, Excellence, Respect, Engagement, Teamwork. At our core, Aptima researches, develops, and innovates within an area that engineering firms largely ignore, the human component. To impact the world in meaningful ways, you must bring those innovations to light, and that is precisely what we do.

How You'll Make an Impact

As a principal software engineer with Aptima, you will serve as a vital link between engineering innovation and practical application. Operating in the Dayton area and directly on Wright Patt Air Force Base, you will apply your technical skills in software development and system deployment with partners and customers to support mission readiness. Whether ensuring tools operate seamlessly in mission-critical environments, or advising engineers and senior leaders on technical approaches, your contributions will drive meaningful results.

Your role will combine strategic insight and technical expertise with hands-on application, including customer interactions and engagements, vision setting, implementing managing systems, and leveraging advanced data management and visualization tools. By applying your skills in engineering and customer communications, you will enable the success of cutting-edge technology solutions in diverse and challenging environments.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Customer Engagement

• Cultivate and sustain senior-level relationships with government customers and mission partners to influence mission solutions, technology adoption, and program direction in the readiness market.
• Serve as a trusted technical authority, in the readiness market, guiding technical strategy and ensuring Aptima technologies align with evolving customer and mission partner needs and operational priorities.

Strategic Organizational Leadership

• Partner with Aptima organizational leaders in the development of technology strategies that balance the requirements of cutting-edge R&E in the readiness market with the requirements of operational deployment, engaging with and directing platform and product use and development.
• Provide technical guidance on system architecture, deployment, and operational scalability.
• Ensure alignment of readiness technologies with organizational strategy, customer mission requirements, and long-term technology trends.

Requirement and Solution Influence

• Interface with clients and stakeholders to understand requirements, engage in solution identification, present findings, and provide training or technical demonstrations.

Technical Leadership and Collaboration

• Provide senior technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and technical teams, ensuring alignment with architectural vision, technology strategy, and mission objectives.
• Partner with organizational leadership to align technology strategy, program execution, and mission delivery with long-term organizational growth objectives for the readiness market.
• Resolve complex technical challenges and ensure technical success across programs, products, and operational deployments.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Data Science, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• 15+ years of experience in a field engineering, data science, or similar technical role.
• Hands-on experience with hardware and software troubleshooting in operational environments.
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and message bus technologies for software development and integration.
• Working knowledge of system deployment and maintenance.
• Ability to obtain and maintain US government security clearance Willingness to travel to support integration operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with cloud services (AWS, Azure, or GCP) for field data integration.