Staff Engineer, Early Engagement

The most important question SOE asks isn’t “how do we build this?”; it’s “is this the right thing to build?” This role exists to answer that question. You will be SOE’s senior technical authority at the front end of our most complex engagements, turning ambiguous client problems into well-defined architectures that set the rest of the organization up to execute.

Role Overview:
We are seeking a Staff Engineer to join our Early Engagement team and lead the front end of complex system development efforts. In this role, you will serve as SOE’s senior technical authority during early client engagements, partnering closely with customers to translate business needs into well-defined, technically sound system architectures. Your expertise, judgment, and ability to frame problems will be central to why clients trust SOE with their most challenging engineering work.

You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, guiding ambiguous problem spaces toward clear technical direction and asking the critical questions needed to reduce risk and create alignment. As a senior technical leader, you will architect multidisciplinary solutions across industries, mentor engineers, and help shape SOE’s early engagement practices to support long-term growth and technical excellence.
What You Will Do:

• Serve as the primary technical leader throughout early client engagement, from discovery through contract close, translating business objectives into viable, well-scoped system concepts
• Drive requirements discovery, analysis, and negotiation, using divergent thinking to explore the solution space and convergent thinking to define and champion a robust architecture that delivers mutual value
• Lead collaboration across engineering disciplines during early engagement, ensuring clear alignment and effective handoff from architecture to detailed development
• Act as a force multiplier within the engineering organization by mentoring technical staff, establishing systems and processes that elevate our capabilities, and fostering a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement
• Partner with Business Development to make data-driven decisions that balance near-term execution with long-term strategic positioning

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics; graduate degree in a relevant engineering discipline strongly preferred
• 15+ years of engineering experience in client-facing roles, system architecture, or senior technical leadership, with a track record of delivering complex systems involving custom electronics
• Demonstrated ability to not only analyze and deconstruct novel and complex problems within a core domain, but also to evaluate and make critical judgments about different technical solutions and approaches
• Deep experience applying systems engineering principles in ambiguous, early-stage environments, including requirements development, trade studies, and architecture definition
• Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to senior client stakeholders and non-technical audiences, and to serve as a trusted technical advisor externally
• Demonstrated experience leading and mentoring engineers, shaping technical culture, and improving organizational capabilities beyond the scope of individual projects

What Would Be Useful:

• Previous experience in a consulting or client-facing engineering leadership role
• Experience developing or refining early-stage engagement processes, proposal frameworks, or architecture review practices
• Track record of attracting complex, high-value engagements through demonstrated technical credibility

Benefits: 

• Compensation range of $176,090-$209,110 + equity incentive plan
• Flexible work hours and work from home policy 
• 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
• Unlimited paid time off policy, 11x paid company holidays, 12x paid sick days
• 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
• Generous paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
• Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
• Catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen

Our Values in Practice:
SOE’s four core values are the standard by which we operate. As a Staff Engineer on the Early Engagement team, you are expected to model them in every client interaction, architectural decision, and act of mentorship:

• Lead with Curiosity: Challenge assumptions before accepting them. Develop frameworks that help clients and colleagues think more rigorously about their problems. Ask the question others didn’t know to ask, and bring the answer back to the organization.
• Own the Outcome: Take accountability for the technical quality and strategic soundness of early engagements. Communicate risks early, address them decisively, and hold the standard from first conversation through development handoff.
• Build the Right Thing: Validate that what SOE proposes genuinely solves the client’s core problem. Define architectures that match intent, not just requirements, and push back when the two diverge, even when a faster deal is available.
• Empower Others: Develop the engineers and practices around you. Create tools, frameworks, and standards that others can build on. Your highest-leverage contribution isn’t any single architecture; it’s the capability you leave behind.

About Second Order Effects:
SOE is an engineering consulting firm that specializes in electrical, electromechanical, and embedded systems. Founded in 2016, we’ve grown from a 3-person operation to a team of 40+ engineers across offices in El Segundo, CA and Redmond, WA. In that time, we’ve completed over 250 projects for more than 100 clients. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world. The only thing we won’t build are weapons.

We’re 100% employee-owned, which means that every engineer at SOE has a real stake in what we build. We structured the company this way because we believe the people best equipped to advance our mission are the ones doing the work.

We approach problems from first principles. We break challenges down to their most fundamental components, which is how we find solutions that hold up across industries, use cases, and engineering functions. We focus on solving the right problems and building the teams to take them on.

Additional Requirements:

• Applicant must be willing to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, USA
• Applicant must be eligible to work on ITAR projects
• Job Type: Full-time (Salary)

ITAR Requirements:

• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship at this time.

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply!
Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.