Head of Vehicle Engineering - Millennium Space Systems

Boeing•El Segundo, CA

5d•$174,500 - $260,000•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 Director of Vehicle Engineering leads the vehicle engineering organization in delivering technical work products within schedule and budget, advocates for the team's resources, and works with engineering directors and the VP of Engineering to represent engineering leadership. The role develops and sustains a vision for the team's growth and efficiency. The organization’s scope includes design integration, vehicle performance, and subsystem program execution across mechanical, thermal, structural, harness, propulsion, and mechanical ground support engineering. The position sets technical direction and standards, aligns teams to company goals, oversees program execution and resource planning, and improves engineering processes and operational efficiency. It also partners with program, manufacturing, quality, and safety leadership, while mentoring front-line managers and supporting talent development and innovation. This position is expected to be 100% onsite at one of the listed locations. It requires the ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance, U.S. citizenship for clearance eligibility, and a final Top Secret clearance after starting.

Requirements

At least 14 years of experience as an engineering professional in the aerospace and/or defense industry.
At least 4 years of experience as a functional manager.
Experience serving as, or currently serving as, a project lead and/or functional manager in spacecraft development.
Demonstrated knowledge of satellite systems and components.
Demonstrated ability in vehicle engineering design integration and analysis for spacecraft bus or structure products.
Experience in structural design and analysis, including static, dynamic, loads, and finite element methods.
Experience in thermal design and analysis.
Experience with mechanical systems and mechanisms.
Experience with propulsion systems.
Experience with harness and cable design.
Experience with design for manufacturability and sustainment.
Experience with integration, assembly, and test flow.
Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for clearance eligibility.
Must be willing to apply for and maintain a security clearance; a post-start interim and/or final U.S. Top Secret clearance is required.
Must satisfy the Company's Conflict of Interest assessment process.
Must meet U.S. export control compliance requirements as a U.S. Person.
Must be able to work onsite 100% at one of the listed locations.

Nice To Haves

Experience with iterative and/or agile development processes.
Experience with CAD tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or Creo and PLM systems such as Teamcenter.
Experience with 3D harness modeling or other integration tools.
Experience with structural or thermal analysis tools such as Nastran, Patran, or Thermal Desktop.
Experience designing vehicles for production at scale, more than 100 per year.
Experience with Git, JIRA, or Confluence.
Aerospace industry experience.
National security experience.
Active U.S. Top Secret/SCI security clearance.

Responsibilities

Communicate company developments and the context and rationale behind higher-level decisions to engineering teams.
Set technical direction and standards for mechanical, thermal, structural, harness, propulsion, and mechanical ground support engineering teams.
Standardize project-management tools, including templates for integrated master schedules and work breakdown structures.
Establish objectives and key performance indicators aligned with company goals, and implement initiatives and corrective actions to meet performance targets.
Coordinate risk management across teams, escalating and prioritizing critical risks.
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 from corporate prioritization.
Promote common tools, analyses, processes, and standards across teams.
Partner with Quality and Safety to ensure risk posture is understood and standards remain current with team processes.
Work with Manufacturing leadership on design for manufacturability and resolution of complex non-conformances across working shifts.
Develop processes and standards to support scaling designs across program portfolios.
Coordinate with Program Management to meet execution milestones and resolve blockers.
Identify cross-team process improvements and help prioritize recommendations from team managers.
Establish and maintain interview processes and staffing plans.
Approve engineering tools and software and manage associated costs.
Manage the engineering teams’ overhead budget, including managers, meetings, software, training, tools, and equipment.
Mentor and conduct performance reviews for front-line managers, engineering team leads, and other direct reports.
Hold regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports and provide formal feedback and requests according to company guidelines.
Identify talent for Technical Fellow positions and support career growth paths.
Sponsor cross-team innovation initiatives and identify and support transformational technologies.