MISSION CAPABILITIES
Systems Engineering and Architecture
Systems Engineering and Architecture
Workforce
Department of Defense (DoD) Systems Engineering and Architecture (SE&A) partners with the Military Services and defense agencies to identify workforce challenges and champion initiatives to ensure DoD maintains its advantage in Warfighter readiness in a rapidly evolving technological environment. Cross-cutting workforce initiatives focus on building technical capability and capacity to support current and future leadership priorities in four main categories: Forecast Future Talent Needs, Strengthen Talent Pipeline, Advance Our Workforce Skills, and Close Capability Gaps.
Functional Communities
Engineering (Non-Construction) and Quality Assurance
The Engineering (Non-Construction) workforce (a majority of the 08XX job series) consists of approximately 89,000 acquisition and non-acquisition personnel, and the Quality Assurance workforce (1910 job series) consists of approximately 9,400 acquisition and non-acquisition personnel to support DoD missions. The Executive Director for Systems Engineering and Architecture serves as the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Functional Community Manager (OFCM) for both functional communities.
OFCM responsibilities are in accordance with DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1400.25, Volume 250, Civilian Strategic Human Capital Planning.
ENG (NC)
89,000
QA
9,400
Acquisition Functional Areas
Engineering and Technical Management (ETM) and Test and Evaluation (T&E)Â
DoD SE&A ensures the ETM (approximately 60,000) and T&E (approximately 9,000) acquisition workforces are certified current, qualified, and have the capability and capacity to meet current and future leadership priorities. The Executive Director for Systems Engineering and Architecture serves as the functional area leader (FAL) for these functional areas.Â
FAL responsibilities are in accordance with DoDI 5000.66, Defense Acquisition Workforce Education, Training, Experience, and Career Development Program.Â
ETM
60,000
T&E
9,000
SE&A Workforce Oversight
DoD SE&A is empowering engineers with the technical skills paramount to creating an enduring advantage for America's military.  Check out the ETM and T&E information sheets here to see how OUSD(R&E)'s efforts help DoD engineers meet challenges in the era of competition.Â
Resources
DoD Advanced Technical Degree Guidebook
DoD Engineers Make a Difference
Engineers Poster 2023 (PDF)
DoD Civilian Careers: Engineering
DoD Civilian Careers: Quality Assurance
DoDI 1400.25, Vol. 250, DoD Civilian Strategic Human Capital Planning (SHCP)
Digital Engineering Workforce Plan, March 2022
DE Workforce Plan 2022 (PDF)
Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey
Back-to-Basics (BtB) Information
Acquisition Functional Area Certification Standards
Acquisition Workforce Training Courses
Acquisition Workforce Credentials
DoDI 5000.66, Defense Acquisition Workforce Education, Training, Experience, and Career Development Program
Deployed Credential Assets of Credentials in Development
Workforce Definitions
A group of one or more occupational series or specialties with common functions, competencies, and career paths to accomplish a specific part of the DoD mission. Functional communities engage in workforce planning to ensure mission accomplishment by preparing for emerging missions and changing work requirements; developing competency models, assessing workforce competencies, and identifying mission-critical workforce gaps; identifying recruitment, development, and retention strategies to fill workforce gaps; providing career roadmaps with a "line of sight" for employee career development; and advocating individual competency assessments and development plans to help employees progress and meet professional standards. (DoDI 1400.24, vol 250)
Contact Us
For more information, contact osd-sea@mail.mil using the following subject line: Attn Workforce
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense,
Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E))
3030 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-3030