Software Project Engineer II - Advanced System Tools
RTX· Defense· Oct 23, 2026 · 3d ago
Cedar Rapids, IA
In office
Full-time
Mid
$115K–$166K
2+ years exp
Job description
Date Posted:
2026-10-23 Country:
United States of America Location:
US-IA-CEDAR RAPIDS-107 ~ 400 Collins Rd NE ~ BLDG 107 Position Role Type:
Onsite U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements:
This job requires a U.S. Person. A U.S. Person is a lawful permanent resident as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or who is a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, or individuals granted refugee or asylee status in the U.S. are considered U.S. persons. For a complete definition of “U.S. Person” go here. ecfr.gov Security Clearance Type:
None/Not Required Security Clearance Status:
Not Required
At RTX, the world s largest aerospace and defense company, 185,000 great minds are united by purpose and inspired to make a difference solving the world’s most complex problems. With our three market leading businesses, world-class operations and investments in research and development, we offer capabilities and opportunity no one else can. Together, we push the boundaries of known science and find new ways to connect and protect our world.
Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced, intelligent solutions that help redefine the aerospace and defense industry. With a comprehensive portfolio and deep technical expertise, we help customers meet the demands of the global market. Join us and help shape the future of aerospace and defense.
We are seeking a Software Engineer II to join our Advanced System Tools (AST) organization onsite in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
This role combines technical project execution and hands-on engineering. You will help lead the day-to-day execution of the Database Processing Software (DBPS) Tool, working with a team of software engineers to drive and deliver high-quality avionics databases while maintaining alignment across scope, schedule, cost, technical priorities, and certification needs.
Approximately half of this role will focus on project engineering and execution leadership, while the remaining responsibilities will include hands-on technical contribution to DBPS or other AST projects.
What You Will Do:
Support day-to-day technical execution of the DBPS project and help coordinate the activities for a small team of software engineers.
Lead team-level execution cadences, regular standups, work-planning discussions, progress reviews, and follow-up on open actions.
Track project progress, schedule, budget, risks, dependencies, and technical execution; identify issues early and help drive them to resolution.
Work closely with product management and engineering leader to communicate project status, emerging risks, resource needs, and recovery plans.
Develop and maintain short- and long-term project plans, including work-package estimates, execution schedules, future roadmap activities, and anticipated budget needs.
Ensure engineering work is appropriately scoped, estimated, assigned, tracked, and completed in support of program and product line commitments.
Facilitate technical discussions when progress is stalling and ensure the appropriate subject-matter experts are engaged.
Coordinate and support release planning, certification activities, customer commitments, and production-support needs associated with DBPS.
Contribute technically to the project through software requirements, design, development, integration, verification, peer reviews, release activities, or certification artifacts based on project needs and individual experience.
Investigate execution issues, support root-cause analysis, and help develop practical corrective actions.
Identify opportunities to improve team execution, planning accuracy, engineering processes, automation, and overall project efficiency.
Support other AST projects through project engineering or technical contributions as organizational priorities evolve.
What You Will Learn:
Gain hands-on experience balancing technical execution with project management in a safety-critical avionics environment.
Develop experience managing scope, schedule, budget, risk, dependencies, and technical commitments for a small engineering project.
Build experience working across the full engineering lifecycle, including bids, design, development, verification, certification, and release.
Gain exposure to DO-200B/DO-330 qualified software tools, Avionics database production, and engineering processes that support certified airborne products.
Develop stronger technical leadership, stakeholder communication, planning, estimation, and decision-making skills.
Work closely with engineering leaders, product managers, certification office, production team, and technical experts across Collins Aerospace.
Build the skills needed to take on progressively larger technical and project leadership responsibilities.
Qualifications You Must Have:
Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 2 years of prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field.
Experience contributing to software development, systems engineering, project engineering, or another technical engineering discipline.
Experience working within a structured engineering lifecycle that includes planning, implementation, verification, and delivery.
Experience using engineering planning, configuration-management, or work-management tools such as MS Project, Jira, Git, or similar tools.
Qualifications We Prefer:
Experience supporting or coordinating the execution of a small technical project.
Ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams and help drive issues toward resolution.
Demonstrated ability to organize work, track multiple priorities, and communicate status, risks, and dependencies to teammates or stakeholders.
Familiarity with Agile practices and leading or facilitating team execution cadences.
Experience with project planning concepts including scope, schedule, cost, budget, risk, dependencies, and resource planning.
Experience with tracking actual performance against planned work.
Software-development experience using one or more languages such as C#, C, C , Python, or Java.
Experience developing or reviewing software requirements, designs, test cases, or automated test procedures.
Familiarity with software integration, debugging, root-cause analysis, and issue resolution.
Exposure to avionics, embedded systems, engineering tools, simulation environments, or safety-critical software development.
Familiarity with DO-330, DO-200, DO-178 or other regulated engineering environments.
Experience supporting software releases, certification activities, or customer/production issues.
Ability to work independently, recognize when work is becoming blocked, and proactively engage others to maintain progress.
Active interest in growing into broader technical and project leadership responsibilities.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
What We Offer:
Benefits:
Some of our competitive benefits package includes:
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees
Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution, including a Lifetime Income Strategy option
Tuition reimbursement program
Student Loan Repayment Program
Life insurance and disability coverage
Optional coverages you can buy pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection
Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits
Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning
Adoption Assistance
Autism Benefit
Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions
Healthy You Incentives, wellness rewards program
Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits
Bright Horizons, child and elder care services
Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program
And more!
This role is eligible for relocation.
Learn More & Apply Now!
Collins Aerospace makes modern flight possible. Of course, that wouldn’t be possible without the capabilities and technologies of our organization, as well as our engineers – a highly skilled, accomplished network that spans more than 180 sites, 24 countries and 6 Strategic Business Units (SBUs).
Our industry-leading experts are setting the standards for the aerospace industry and paving the way for the future. But as new challenges present themselves, we need fresh, creative and motivated minds to overcome these hurdles, help us break barriers and achieve new levels of innovation. Do you have what it takes to join a global organization that doesn’t shy away from big opportunities? If so, we invite you to join our ranks and create the next generation of aerospace technologies.
Together, we will nurture an engineering culture that values intellectual curiosity, risk takers and integrity. A place where we will challenge ourselves, our teams, and the status quo and where we will work to find a way – the right way – to achieve what others can only dream of.
Onsite : Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products.
At Collins, the paths we pave together lead to limitless possibility. And the bonds we form – with our customers and with each other -- propel us all higher, again and again.
Apply now and be part of the team that’s redefining aerospace, every day.
As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attend select steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote.
The salary range for this role is 68,900 USD - 131,100 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.
Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.
Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.
This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.
RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.
RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.
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Benefits
Benefits detected in the listing.
Dental
Vision
401(K)
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave
Wellness