Chief Engineer

Radiance Technologies • Huntsville, AL

2d

About The Position

Radiance Technologies is seeking an engineering leader to serve as Chief Engineer for a missile development and production program. The role is the single point of accountability for the technical integrity, airworthiness, safety, operational performance, and system design of the complete missile weapon system, including the airframe, propulsion, guidance, ordnance, electrical and avionics systems, software, ground support equipment, and system integration. The Chief Engineer leads multidisciplinary engineering teams and balances system-level technical decisions against cost, schedule, and operational risk.

The Chief Engineer holds final technical authority for the system’s architecture, performance, qualification, safety, and flight readiness; oversees engineering across multiple technical domains; and chairs the Flight Readiness Review Board. The role includes oversight of live-fire flight tests and anomaly investigations, serving as the primary technical advisor to the Program Manager, guiding technical discussions at major program reviews, and mentoring engineers and technical staff throughout the program lifecycle.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Engineering.
• 15 or more years of progressive engineering experience in missile, interceptor, or precision-guided munition development programs.
• 10 or more years in a chief engineering, deputy chief engineering, lead systems engineering, or IPT lead role overseeing multidisciplinary missile and/or missile testbed programs.
• Demonstrated experience taking at least one missile program through the full lifecycle, from initial concept through design reviews, flight testing, qualification, and initial production.
• Deep technical understanding of interactions among flight dynamics, aerothermal heating, structural loads, GNC algorithms, avionics, seeker integration, propulsion, and payload integration.
• Proven experience leading Flight Readiness Reviews, root-cause failure investigations, and live-fire test campaigns at military ranges.
• Must hold an active U.S. DoD Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree.
• Prior experience as Chief Engineer on a missile program.
• Comprehensive working knowledge of military airworthiness certification, system safety processes (MIL-STD-882), and weapon safety board approvals such as S3B and WSESRB.
• Established working relationships and a strong reputation within the DoW weapons community, government test ranges, and technical government laboratories.

Responsibilities

• Hold final technical authority for the missile system’s design, architecture, performance, qualification, safety, and flight readiness.
• Direct system-of-systems engineering and approve top-level System Requirements Specifications (SRS), Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and System Performance Profiles across engineering disciplines.
• Lead Technical Review Boards, Failure Review Boards, and Engineering Change Proposals to maintain configuration control and design integrity.
• Oversee mechanical and propulsion decisions, including aerothermal, structural, dynamic, and rocket-motor or air-breathing propulsion design choices and structural margins.
• Direct avionics and electrical architecture, including power, EMC/EMI shielding, sensor integration, control actuation system performance, and high-reliability interconnects.
• Oversee flight mechanics, control-loop stability, target acquisition and tracking algorithms, embedded software architecture, and flight-code qualification.
• Chair the Flight Readiness Review Board and certify that the missile system, simulation models, range-safety assets, and ground equipment are qualified for live-fire flight testing.
• Lead real-time mission execution oversight and post-flight performance evaluation at remote proving grounds and military test ranges.
• Direct investigation and resolution of flight anomalies, hardware failures, and software discrepancies.
• Serve as the primary technical advisor to the Program Manager.
• Lead technical discussions for program milestones, including SRR, PDR, CDR, and TRR.
• Mentor and direct engineers and technical staff across the program lifecycle.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior