Principal Systems Safety Engineer

Mid-Level | $90,000 - $112,000 | Colorado Springs, CO | Onsite | Travel Up to 10% | Active Secret Clearance Required

Support the development of next-generation defense and radar systems by ensuring mission-critical hardware and software are designed, tested, and operated safely throughout the system lifecycle. Join a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for applying system safety engineering principles to identify hazards, mitigate operational risk, and ensure compliance with military safety standards supporting advanced defense programs.

A Day in the Life - What you'll do

• Perform comprehensive system safety analyses throughout the system development lifecycle, ensuring hardware, software, and operational concepts comply with military system safety standards.
• Evaluate system designs, engineering documentation, operational procedures, and support equipment to identify hazards and develop effective risk mitigation strategies.
• Apply MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to analyze hazards, assign risk levels, and drive safety requirements into system architecture, software, hardware, and operational procedures.
• Develop and maintain System Safety Program Plans (SSPPs), System Safety Assessment Reports (SARs), Software Safety Analyses, hazard analyses, and other required safety documentation supporting customer and range certification requirements.
• Maintain and manage Hazard Tracking System (HTS) records, ensuring hazards are documented, mitigated, verified, and closed through a disciplined lifecycle process.
• Participate in system design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and engineering peer reviews to ensure safety is incorporated early in the design process.
• Collaborate daily with systems engineers, software developers, hardware engineers, integration teams, and program leadership to resolve safety concerns and implement corrective actions.
• Perform operational safety audits and assessments to evaluate program compliance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Support accident and incident investigations by identifying root causes, documenting findings, and recommending corrective and preventive actions.
• Verify compliance with applicable military, customer, and regulatory safety standards while balancing technical performance, mission requirements, schedule, and program cost.
• Support requirements development, system verification, validation, and test activities by ensuring safety requirements are fully traceable throughout the engineering lifecycle.
  • Support occasional travel (up to 10%) for customer meetings, engineering reviews, and program activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Safety Engineering or a related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related experience; OR
• Master's degree and 3 years of related experience; OR
• PhD and 1 year of related experience.
• Four additional years of relevant experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
• Active in-scope DoD Secret security clearance required at time of application.
• Experience applying MIL-STD-882E system safety processes to identify, assess, mitigate, and eliminate system hazards.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-1472H, applicable AFMAN guidance, and military safety compliance requirements.
• Experience developing and maintaining Hazard Tracking System (HTS) documentation.
• Experience developing system safety artifacts including:
  • System Safety Program Plans (SSPP)
  • System Safety Assessment Reports (SAR)
  • Software Safety Analyses
    • Hazard Analyses

• Ability to work onsite full-time in Colorado Springs under a 9/80 work schedule.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using Cameo Enterprise Architecture.
• Familiarity with radar systems, radar operations, or sensor-based defense systems.
• Experience working within Agile development environments using Scrum or Kanban methodologies.
• Experience using Atlassian collaboration tools including Jira and Confluence.
• Experience supporting SharePoint-based engineering documentation.
• Experience working in fast-paced, multidisciplinary defense engineering environments.
• Experience with systems engineering tools such as IBM DOORS.
• Experience using system modeling tools including CORE, Rhapsody, PTC Integrity Modeler, or Cameo.
• Working knowledge of military and industry safety standards including:
  • MIL-STD-882
  • MIL-STD-1472
  • ASTM
  • ANSI
  • OSHA
  • PESHE
  • NFPA
    • FCC

Who is Caribou Thunder?

Caribou Thunder is a HUBZone-certified small business providing advanced technical and engineering services to the U.S. Department of War and its mission partners.

35 states and 20 countries.

We've delivered trusted solutions for over two decades-strengthening national readiness across missions on land, undersea, in the air, and throughout LEO, MEO, GEO, and deep space.

Why Caribou Thunder?

TEAM THUNDER - Mission Focused. Delivery Proven. Ready to Serve.

• Employee Advocacy
• Mission Proven
• Global Reach
• Skilled Teams
• Modern Tools
  • Empowering Culture

Our engineers and innovators ensure capability from sea floor to space frontier-delivering on time, maintaining compliance, and performing with precision in high-consequence environments.

We specialize in Engineering Services, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Modeling & Simulation, Digital Engineering, System Safety, and Artificial Intelligence-disciplines powering the nation's most complex technical missions.

Employee Advocacy Benefits

Our people are the heart of Caribou Thunder. We invest in their growth, flexibility, and well-being-knowing their success drives ours.

Benefits include:

• Premium Health, Dental & Vision Insurance
• 401(k) with 6% Company Match
• Flexible PTO & Work Schedule
• Education & Certification Reimbursement
• Support for Military Leave
  • Work-Life Balance & Traditional Family Values

Your future, your flexibility, your well-being-we invest in you.

Apply and let's connect.