Sr. Director – I&S Solutions Architect

Job Description:

Job Description
BAE Systems I&S Sector is seeking Solutions Architects across multiple technical domains. Were not looking for architects who draw boxes and lines. Were looking for technical leaders who win—people whove stood before a Source Selection Evaluation Board and earned top marks because their solution was the sharpest, most innovative, and most mission-aligned offering on the table.
We are a forward-leaning engineering organization inside a top-tier A&D prime—a team that bets on innovation, speed, and technical excellence as competitive weapons. Our leadership invests in people, modern tools, and progressive capture practices because the next generation of defense programs will be won by teams that think differently.
You wont be handed a stale architecture template. Youll join a culture that values bold thinking, rewards curiosity, and gives architects the authority to drive real technical outcomes. We sponsor continuous learning, encourage experimentation with AI-assisted engineering tools, and maintain an environment where the best idea wins—regardless of rank.
Opportunity
Were hiring Solution Architects to serve as the primary technical authorities on major defense captures and proposals. Each architect will own the technical vision from early shaping through proposal delivery, post-submission orals and program standup. We seek deep expertise in one or more of:
- IT / Cybersecurity
- Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
- DevSecOps
- Large-Scale DoD Systems Integration
- Command & Control (C2) Systems

Responsibilities
Own the Technical Win Strategy - Lead technical strategy from capture through proposal—customer engagement, shaping, competitive analysis, and solution positioning. Analyze requirements, mission gaps, and threat environments to design solutions evaluators will score highest. Conduct trade studies and risk evaluations that differentiate our offering. Deliver capture artifacts—white papers, briefings, solution outlines—on schedule and at a level that opens doors.
Architect Winning Solutions - Design scalable, secure, cost-effective architectures fully compliant with RFP requirements and aligned to enterprise strategy. Collaborate with pricing and finance to build price-to-win-aligned solutions where every dollar drives mission value. Identify opportunities for reuse, automation, open architectures, and AI-enabled efficiencies that lower cost while raising capability. Produce system concepts, architecture diagrams, interface definitions, and risk matrices.
Lead the Proposal Technical Volume - Serve as Proposal Technical Lead for the integrated solution narrative. Ensure 100 compliance with RFP requirements and evaluation criteria—no gaps, no ambiguity. Translate complex concepts into clear, compelling, evaluator-ready content. Oversee writers, engineers, SMEs, and partner contributions for consistency. Lead Pink/Red/Gold reviews for accuracy and competitive edge.
Build and Lead High-Performance Teams - Define staffing requirements and recruit a matrixed team of engineers, architects, and SMEs. Provide technical direction, establish workflows, and mentor team members. Integrate technology partners—managing scopes, data exchanges, NDAs, and architecture interfaces. Resolve conflicts swiftly and maintain a unified architecture across all contributors.
Communicate with Authority - Present solutions to leadership and government customers with confidence and credibility. Produce written content that is evaluatable, compliant, and genuinely compelling—not boilerplate. Maintain strong relationships across business development, engineering, and finance.

A Winning Track Record — This Is Non-Negotiable
We hire architects who have personally shaped the technical strategies behind contract awards. Specifically:

Youve won - You can name specific captures where you led or were the key technical driver, and you can articulate exactly what made the difference—the discriminator you identified, the architecture trade you made, the risk you retired that the competitor couldnt.
Youve led major proposals - Youve owned or co-led technical volumes on pursuits valued at $100M+ and understand the intensity, discipline, and craft required to produce a winning submission under pressure.
You think like an evaluator - You understand how government Source Selection teams score proposals. You design solutions and write narratives with their evaluation criteria, adjectival ratings, and discriminator thresholds front and center. You dont just comply—you compete to score highest.
You learn from losses - Youve participated in debriefs, dissected competitor strengths, and fed those lessons into the next pursuit. A loss makes you sharper, not defensive.

A Modern Mindset - The defense acquisition landscape is transforming, and we need architects who are already moving with it:

AI-fluent - You are actively using generative AI tools—LLMs, AI copilots, automated analysis platforms—to accelerate solution design, proposal writing, and engineering workflows. You dont just know about these tools; youve integrated them into how you work. You understand their potential to reshape how we architect, estimate, and present technical solutions, and youre experimenting at the frontier.
Shipley-fluent, but adaptable - Youre grounded in structured capture methodologies (Shipley or equivalent) but you recognize that changing acquisition processes demand flexibility. You can adapt to compressed timelines, prototype-first pathways, OTA solicitations, and non-traditional formats without losing rigor.
Continuous learner - certifications, conferences, communities of practice, technical reading, hands-on experimentation. You stay sharp because this market doesnt wait for architects who coast on last decades credentials.

Character

Competitive fire - You want to win and bring contagious energy to pursuit teams. You take losses personally—but you study them and come back stronger.
Intellectual honesty - You tell the truth about technical risk, feasibility, and competitive position. You dont oversell and you dont hide problems.
Collaborative leadership - You elevate the people around you. You lead rooms of senior engineers and partner executives with equal confidence, and you earn followership through competence and respect.
Mission-driven - Behind every architecture diagram is a warfighter, analyst, or decision-maker whose mission depends on getting this right.

Job Requirements:

Required Education, Experience, & Skills

Certified Solution Architect (formal Shipley Training) or equivalent with key credentials in domain (i.e. AWS/Azure, INCOSE CSEP, DoD enterprise architecture certification)
15+ years in defense/aerospace systems engineering, solution architecture, or technical leadership
eep expertise in one or more focus domains listed above
Active Secret clearance with TS/SCI ability to gain SAP access preferred.
BS in engineering, CS, or systems engineering (Master's/PhD preferred)
Demonstrated industry thought leadership and engagement beyond the roles served relevant to the subject matter.
Skilled communicator with experience shaping and influencing the image of a complex business.

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $173023 - $294137

Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.

Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.

Job Ident #: 121506BR

Company Details

BAE Systems

1601 Research Blvd
Rockville, Maryland 20850 USA
www.baesystems.jobs

BAE Systems is a premier global defense and security company with approximately 100,000 employees delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions...

Benefits:
Competitive

Supported Manufacturers:
Various

Supported Models:

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Job Info

Location

McLean, Virginia, United States

Type

Permanent

Company Details

BAE Systems

1601 Research Blvd
Rockville, Maryland 20850 USA
www.baesystems.jobs