Director of Engineering
Aery Aviation, LLC•Newport News, VA
•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.
- Business acumen, with preference for Business Administration / Finance background.
- Familiarity with commercial and DOD contracting processes.
- Ability to Travel: Up to 50% domestic and international travel (estimated).
- Physical: Occasionally required to lift/move bulky items over 50 lbs.
- Must participate in a Drug Free Workplace Drug Testing Program.
- 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.
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.
Benefits
- competitive compensation and benefits package
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
