DIRECTOR, AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

AeroTEC Inc.•Seattle, WA

2d•$209,000 - $255,000•Onsite

About The Position

AeroTEC is an aerospace engineering company providing a wide array of high-end services and turnkey solutions ranging from aircraft level analysis and design engineering, all the way to prototype flight testing and complete airworthiness certification. Our highly experienced aerospace engineering, testing, and program management teams work closely with customers to address their unique needs in a safe and cost-effective manner, utilizing proven in-house development methodologies and tools. The Engineering Department provides comprehensive, full-service aerospace engineering across the full aircraft development lifecycle — design, analysis, integration, test, and certification. Spanning Structures and Flight Sciences, Design and Stress, Mechanical Systems, Aircraft Systems, Systems Engineering and Certification, Test and Evaluation, and Product Innovation, the Department delivers the technical capability behind AeroTEC’s customer programs and its own products, and is central to the company’s mission to pioneer the future of sustainable aerospace. As Director of Aircraft Systems, you will provide strategic and technical leadership across AeroTEC’s aircraft systems engineering disciplines — spanning Mechanical Systems, Avionics Systems, Electrical Power Systems and Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems (EWIS). You are responsible for the systems integration, certification rigor, and engineering quality that underpin every aircraft program AeroTEC executes. This is a senior leadership role at the intersection of deep technical authority and organizational vision — owning the direction, capability, and performance of some of the Department’s most complex and cross-functional engineering disciplines. If you thrive building high-performing teams, driving systems integration across disciplines, and operating at the boundary of what aerospace engineering demands, this role was built for you.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical discipline is advantageous.
15+ years of progressive aerospace engineering experience across aircraft systems disciplines (mechanical systems, avionics systems, electrical systems and/or EWIS), with a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role managing engineering teams or functions — including experience managing other managers or group leads.
Extensive direct experience in at least two of the following: mechanical systems (hydraulics, ECS, powerplant/fuel, fire protection); electrical or avionics systems design and integration; or EWIS design and certification.
Demonstrated experience leading aircraft systems certification efforts: working with DERs, managing compliance plans, and delivering substantiation and certification packages to regulatory authorities (FAA, EASA, Transport Canada).
Some FAR/CS Part 25 experience required.
STC, ATC and/or TC program experience strongly preferred; experience with both new design programs and modification/retrofit programs.
Experience with Earned Value Management on aerospace programs preferred; experience managing external contractors, consultants, or service suppliers required.
Familiarity with Part 23, rotorcraft, military, or autonomous air vehicle programs is a plus.
Experience with electric or experimental propulsion programs is highly valued.
Regularly required to communicate verbally and in writing; frequently required to sit, stand, walk, and use hands for computer-based work.
Must have the ability to sit for extended periods.
Occasionally required to climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
Must be able to lift and/or move up to 10 pounds frequently and up to 25 pounds occasionally.
Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Travel of approximately 25% — domestic and international — to customer sites, regulatory meetings, and AeroTEC facilities including the Moses Lake Flight Test Center.
Frequent travel to Moses Lake during scheduled flight test operations may be required.
Occasional local travel between facilities may require use of a personal vehicle.
Valid state driver’s license and clean driving record required.
This position must meet export control compliance requirements. To meet export control compliance requirements, a “U.S. Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. §120.15 is required. “U.S. Person” includes U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident, Refugee, or Asylee.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical discipline is advantageous.
STC, ATC and/or TC program experience strongly preferred; experience with both new design programs and modification/retrofit programs.
Experience with Earned Value Management on aerospace programs preferred.
Familiarity with Part 23, rotorcraft, military, or autonomous air vehicle programs is a plus.
Experience with electric or experimental propulsion programs is highly valued.

Responsibilities

Lead an integrated, multi-disciplinary organization spanning mechanical, electrical and avionics systems, and EWIS — building a group defined by technical excellence, systems thinking, accountability, and mutual respect.
Provide direct line leadership to the Managers, Group Leads and Principal Engineers, within the Aircraft Systems organization — establishing clear expectations, aligned priorities, and coherent ways of working across all disciplines.
Establish clear structures of delegation so that managers, group leads, and senior engineers can own daily execution, freeing you to operate strategically; hold direct reports accountable to those expectations.
Conduct timely, constructive performance reviews and develop individualized technical and leadership growth plans for each direct report, including succession planning for key roles within the group.
Identify capability gaps proactively across Mechanical Systems, Avionics Systems, Electrical Power Systems and EWIS; recruit, develop, or partner to close them before they constrain program delivery.
Cultivate a culture of engineering rigor across all functions — one where assumptions are challenged, analyses are defensible, systems integration is a shared responsibility, and quality is non-negotiable.
Deploy resources across responsible teams appropriately, optimized for experience level, billing structure, and timeliness; ensure blended rates meet program proposal assumptions and objectives.
Build team capacity or partner with external entities to ensure resources match workload across responsible disciplines, keeping the cost basis competitive while maintaining required levels of expertise.
Develop and manage partnerships with external systems engineering firms to provide surge capacity and cost-competitive support.
Oversee Earned Value Management (EVM) discipline within the group — ensuring managers apply EVM principles to plan, baseline, measure, forecast, and recover work; review variance analyses and corrective action plans.
Support and adhere to fiscal controls; contribute to proposal development as a Subject Matter Expert across aircraft systems scope as appropriate.
Continuously monitor utilization rates across all disciplines; smooth resource loading across programs and departments to maximize revenue capture.
Set the technical and methodological direction for mechanical systems engineering, including mechanical, air, powerplant and fuel, and fire protection systems — spanning requirements definition, installation design, analysis, qualification, and certification.
Set the technical direction for avionics systems engineering, including primary and secondary avionics, displays and flight deck integration, communications and navigation, air data systems, networks and data management, and safety systems.
Set the technical direction for electrical power systems engineering, including power generation and conversion, primary and secondary power distribution, high-voltage and electric propulsion power systems, energy storage and batteries, external and ground power, electrical load analysis and management, and circuit protection.
Set the technical direction for EWIS engineering, including wiring design and installation, harness routing and integration, component selection, certification compliance (25.17xx, 25.1309, Zonal Analysis, HIRF/EMI), and wiring documentation.
Ensure work products across all responsible disciplines are developed to plan; intervene and course-correct at a leadership level — not by becoming the individual analyst or designer.
Serve as a senior technical authority for customer interactions, regulatory discussions, and program technical reviews spanning mechanical, avionic, and EWIS domains.
Drive consistency and quality in certification deliverables across the group: systems installation drawings, substantiation reports, compliance matrices, EWIS certification artifacts, DER-signed packages, and qualification evidence.
Provide design milestone oversight through CoDR, PDR, CDR, and Final Release — ensuring independent technical review of deliverables at each gate across all functions.
Champion adoption of modern tools, digital mock-up workflows, MBSE practices, and simulation methods commensurate with program requirements and AeroTEC’s strategic direction.
Act as solution architect for customer proposals — shaping the technical approach and orchestrating inputs from discipline leads and partner teams (effort estimates, technical risks, resourcing) into integrated, defensible engineering responses.
Operate as a senior leader within the Engineering Department, collaborating with Structures and Flight Sciences, Systems Engineering and Certification, Test and Evaluation, and Program Management to deliver integrated aircraft solutions.
Ensure Mechanical Systems, Avionics and Electrical Power Systems, and EWIS are effective cross-functional partners: correctly flowing system requirements, coordinating interface control, integrating installations with airframe and electrical architecture, and supporting flight test and certification teams.
Develop appropriate systems of governance and control across all responsible disciplines to allow you to operate at a higher level; build scalable processes, standards, and delegation frameworks that grow with the organization.
Insist upon outstanding levels of service from direct reports, freeing your time for proposals, strategy definition, process optimization, budgeting, people development, customer engagement, and SIOP planning.
Contribute to strategy definition, resource planning, and Department-level initiatives that position AeroTEC as a preferred partner for aircraft systems engineering, avionics, and EWIS work.
Report critical program status, risk, and resource needs clearly and proactively to the Head of Engineering.
Represent AeroTEC externally with customers, regulatory authorities, and industry partners — credibly and confidently — across the full technical breadth of the group.