Director of Engineering & Program Management

Dynamic Aviation•Bridgewater, VA

10d

About The Position

At Dynamic Aviation, we solve unique challenges for our customers with innovative aviation solutions. Our focus is on operations that serve, protect, and enhance the lives of families and communities worldwide. Whether modifying aircraft to help protect our service members overseas, performing geographical mapping for scientific research, or working to suppress large wildfires on the West Coast, we serve with integrity and excellence. Director of Engineering & Program Management (PMO Transformation & Execution) Job Purpose: Lead, architect, and mature the Engineering and Program Management organizations into highly integrated, data-driven execution engines that reliably deliver customer commitments across new and legacy aviation systems. This role is accountable for defining and implementing the operating model, tools, workflows, and governance that enable bold, agile, and disciplined execution—while maintaining regulatory rigor and technical excellence. The Director serves as the technical authority, PMO architect, and execution integrator, ensuring Engineering and Program Management operate as unified, customer-focused partners across Operations, Business Development, Production, and external stakeholders. Reporting directly to the COO, this leader drives sustained growth through scalable systems, standardized processes, and an engaged “one team” culture.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Systems Engineering, or related engineering discipline.
10+ years of engineering experience, including engineering design/certification and program management leadership.
Demonstrated success building, architecting, and scaling PMOs that support sustained growth and integrated execution.
Strong background in Jira and the Atlassian ecosystem, including workflow design, reporting, dashboards, and cross-functional integration.
Proven ability to design data-driven program and engineering execution systems that improve predictability, transparency, and outcomes.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams through both Agile and Waterfall execution models.
Strong customer-facing presence with the ability to support solutioning and execution discussions.
Eligible to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field preferred.
FAA-facing engineering leadership experience, including STC/TSO certification programs preferred.
Deep understanding of FAA certification environments (STC, DER, compliance, regulatory engagement) preferred.
Experience in defense, MRO, OEM, and aircraft modification environments preferred.
Experience leading digital execution transformations in regulated engineering environments preferred.

Responsibilities

Define and evolve the enterprise execution framework that integrates engineering delivery, program management, operations, and customer commitments into a cohesive operating system.
Establish clear expectations, success metrics, and accountability models across Engineering and PMO functions.
Build scalable organizational structures, role definitions, and career progression paths to support sustained growth.
Champion a “one team” mentality, fostering collaboration, transparency, and shared ownership across all stakeholders.
Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on delivery risk, capacity planning, and execution readiness.
Own and mature engineering standards, processes, and governance supporting FAA certification, aerospace modification, product development, and sustainment.
Lead engineering execution through standardized design-build workflows, lifecycle gates, and configuration management aligned to program delivery needs.
Supervise the Engineering Manager and guide multidisciplinary engineering teams (mechanical, avionics, systems, structures).
Drive engineering process maturity through tool integration, data visibility, and standardized work, enabling predictable outcomes without sacrificing agility.
Serve as the primary interface with FAA personnel, DERs, and regulatory authorities to ensure compliant and efficient certification outcomes.
Enable engineering teams to better support customer solutions through early engagement, design-for-execution thinking, and rapid issue resolution.
Architect, build, and continuously improve the PMO operating model, ensuring it scales with business growth and integrates seamlessly with engineering and operations.
Serve as the process and systems owner for program execution, including governance, cadence, risk management, earned value, schedule, cost, and quality performance.
Design and implement data-driven workflows using Jira and the Atlassian toolset to support:
Program planning and execution flows
Engineering design and build pipelines
Cross-functional dependency management
Real-time performance visibility and decision-making
Establish standardized program execution frameworks that balance agility with regulatory and contractual discipline.
Mentor and develop program managers as execution leaders, not just administrators, with strong customer and delivery ownership.
Ensure proposal and capture efforts are supported by realistic, executable program and engineering plans aligned with enterprise capacity.
Actively support customer-facing engagements, including execution planning discussions, technical solutioning, and delivery alignment calls.
Partner with Business Development to translate customer needs into executable program and engineering strategies.
Ensure program and engineering teams maintain a customer-first mindset, focused on meeting commitments with transparency and accountability.
Lead internal and external discussions around delivery tradeoffs, risk mitigation, and execution strategies.
Partner with Operations, Production, Supply Chain, IT, and Quality to ensure execution systems are fully integrated across the enterprise.
Support enterprise initiatives such as digital transformation, lean execution, and operating rhythm improvements.
Enable leadership visibility through actionable dashboards, metrics, and execution insights that drive proactive decision-making.