Head of Avionics Engineering - Millennium Space Systems

Boeing • El Segundo, CA

5d • $179,000 - $268,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Millennium Space Systems, part of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, is a small-satellite company focused on national security space missions, including missile warning and Earth observation. The Head of Avionics Engineering role leads the hardware engineering team and is responsible for delivering technical work products, schedules, and budgets. The position advocates for the engineering function, ensuring the team has the resources needed to meet customer expectations, and works with other directors and the VP of Engineering to provide technical leadership. The leader develops and sustains a vision for the team’s growth and improved efficiency.

The role sets technical direction and standards, aligns organizational initiatives and performance measures with company goals, and oversees program execution, staffing, schedules, risk management, proposals, and technical baselines. It collaborates with program management, quality and safety, and manufacturing leaders to advance common processes, design for manufacturability, and resolution of complex non-conformances. The position also manages engineering overhead budgets and tools, supports process improvements and innovation, and mentors front-line managers and other direct reports.

This role is expected to be 100% onsite at one of the listed locations. The candidate must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance; a post-start interim and/or final clearance is required. The position is not contingent upon program award. The employer will not sponsor employment visas.

Requirements

• At least 14 years of experience as an engineering professional, including functional or project management experience in the aerospace defense industry.
• At least 4 years of experience as a functional manager.
• Experience serving or currently serving as a Project Lead and/or functional manager in spacecraft development.
• Knowledge of satellite systems and components.
• Demonstrated ability in hardware engineering design and analysis for spacecraft avionics products.
• Experience with Electrical Ground Support Equipment or Test Equipment.
• Experience with electrical power systems.
• Experience with avionics design and analysis.
• Experience with RF products design and analysis.
• Experience with Command and Data Handling.
• Experience with radiation and reliability design.
• Experience with design for manufacturability and sustainment.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required by the U.S. Government.
• Must meet U.S. export control compliance requirements as a U.S. Person.
• Must satisfy the Company’s Conflict of Interest assessment process.
• Must be willing to apply for and maintain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering.
• Experience with iterative and/or agile development processes.
• Experience with serial data protocols such as HDLC, I2C, and SPI.
• Experience with Verilog and FPGAs.
• Experience with git, JIRA, and Confluence.
• Aerospace industry experience.
• National Security experience.
• Active TC/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

• Communicate and implement organizational initiatives and corrective actions to meet and improve performance targets.
• Provide company updates and context, explain higher-level decisions, and communicate information relevant to employees, teams, and Millennium.
• Set technical direction and standards for the engineering team.
• Standardize project management tools, including templates for integrated master schedules (IMS) and work breakdown structures (WBS).
• Establish objectives and KPIs aligned with company goals and measure engineering performance.
• Coordinate functional oversight and support for program execution.
• Coordinate risk management across teams, escalate critical risks, and prioritize them.
• Oversee program-level schedules, balance resources, and approve staffing plans.
• Review and approve proposal labor estimates and technical baselines, and manage bid efforts.
• Communicate with program directors and program managers about technical work products, performance, and impacts of corporate prioritization.
• Promote commonality of tools, analysis, processes, and standards across teams.
• Partner with Quality and Safety to maintain a clear understanding of risk posture and keep standards current with team processes.
• Work with Manufacturing leadership on design for manufacturability and resolution of complex non-conformances across working shifts.
• Work with Manufacturing to scale designs across program portfolios and establish supporting team processes and standards.
• Work with Program Management to meet execution milestones and address blockers or requests for support.
• Identify cross-team process improvement opportunities and help set priorities for recommendations from engineering team leads.
• Approve engineering tools and software for efficient use and manage associated costs.
• Manage engineering overhead budgets for managers, meetings, software, training, tools, and equipment.
• Hold regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports, provide formal feedback, and raise requests in accordance with company guidelines.
• Identify talent for Technical Fellow positions and career growth paths.
• Sponsor cross-team initiatives that drive innovation and identify and support transformational technologies.

Benefits

• Competitive base pay and variable compensation opportunities.
• Eligible employees may enroll in health insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time-away-from-work programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed