Director of Engineering

Aery Aviation•Newport News, VA

27d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Director of Engineering to lead and scale our multi-disciplinary engineering organization across Mechanical, Structural, Electrical, and Aerodynamic disciplines. This role is accountable for managing engineering strategy, team performance, program delivery, and technical execution—from early-stage feasibility through design, qualification testing, and transition to production.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent education and/or combination of education and experience.
10+ years of progressive engineering management experience, preferably in aerospace/defense.
Experience with aerospace product development processes, including STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) and FAA certification workflows.
Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
Proficiency with SolidWorks and Microsoft Office.
Strong project management, planning, and organizational abilities with demonstrated capability to motivate teams and meet deadlines.
Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent engineering programs of varying scope.
Proven leadership skills with the ability to influence stakeholders across an interdisciplinary environment.
Strong customer-focused communication and relationship management skills.
Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly convey technical concepts.
Experience analyzing complex business and technical requirements.
5+ years of experience in FAR compliance and signature authority in an FAA and/or Military certification environment.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance is required.
U.S. Citizenship is required due to eligibility requirements for clearance processing.

Nice To Haves

Business acumen, with preference for Business Administration / Finance background.
Familiarity with commercial and DOD contracting processes.

Responsibilities

Lead engineering program execution: Plan and allocate engineering resources by project, including staffing, scheduling, workload planning, estimates, budgets, and asset allocation to ensure on-time delivery.
Build and develop a high-performing engineering organization: Continuously improve team capability and performance aligned to business strategy. Provide coaching, career development, and leadership across the engineering staff.
Own delivery and drive continuous improvement: Track milestones across the product development lifecycle and provide regular progress updates to senior management. Address missed targets through root cause analysis and corrective actions (e.g., training gaps, process improvements, methodology enhancements).
Establish engineering governance and quality standards: Create, maintain, and enforce internal design review processes, engineering guidelines, and development standards. Conduct and oversee design reviews to ensure technical rigor and compliance.
Set engineering priorities and performance metrics: Define department goals, objectives, KPIs, and initiatives that support corporate outcomes.
Serve as a primary technical interface: Act as the primary interface for product engineering activities supporting Sales and Operations, including technical strategy and delivery planning.
Support business development and proposal readiness: Partner with Sales to assess new business opportunities and support proposal development, including technical compliance matrices and engineering feasibility.
Drive a culture of innovation and excellence: Promote innovation while ensuring maximum focus on product safety, manufacturability, and cost effectiveness.
Maintain engineering technical currency: Stay current on state-of-the-art aerospace engineering practices, tools, and methods.
Support quality systems and compliance: Support AS9100, Lean initiatives, and other Company Quality objectives.