Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has moved its corporate headquarters from the University City/La Jolla area to McLean, Va., nearer to Washington, D.C., where the defense and engineering company maintains its largest concentration of staff at about 17,500 employees. SAIC executives said they also plan to relocate 20 San Diego-based corporate positions to McLean by the summer of 2010. The relocation affects mainly corporate functions and will leave much of the San Diego workforce unscathed for now. “In the long term, it may mean a reduction in owned or leased space at our Campus Point offices, which is also in keeping with SAIC’s overall plans to improve facility density and use of space,” SAIC’s Melissa Koskovich said in a written statement. With several offices spread through University City, Point Loma, Camp Pendleton, Vista and Poway, the company may move additional staff if  “company leadership determines it is in the best interest of the company,” Koskovich wrote. About 4,300 employees work in the company’s San Diego offices, including approximately 900 corporate staff. The Fortune 500 company’s move will create 1,200 new jobs in the Virginia region over the next three years, said Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine during a press conference last week. SAIC board member Walter Havenstein joined the company as its chief executive officer on Sept. 21. Company officials confirmed the planned relocation to McLean, which is in Fairfax County, a few days later. Havenstein worked previously in Fairfax County 10 years ago for various companies, including Raytheon. He also headed defense and aerospace giant BAE Systems Inc. prior to taking the reins at SAIC. SAIC, which was founded by J. Robert Beyster 40 years ago in La Jolla, has grown to about 45,000 total employees during that time. Beyster retired as chairman of SAIC’s board of directors in 2004.