Mechanical Design Engineering Manager

Ensign-Bickford Industries•Simsbury, CT

2d•$160,000 - $190,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager leads Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company’s Mechanical Design organization and strengthens mechanical design capability across the product-development lifecycle. The role owns the evolution of the mechanical design function supporting mission-critical aerospace and defense products, including mechanical product design, enclosures, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping. The manager builds the team, standards, capabilities, and operating practices needed to deliver production-ready designs with less rework while balancing manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliability. The position integrates the Simsbury and Moorpark Mechanical Design teams and activities under a common functional operating model. It establishes consistent standards, design reviews, release-readiness expectations, resource prioritization, and operating cadence. The manager leads a rapid-prototyping center with machining and 3D-printing capabilities and supports capability growth through recruiting and business cases for headcount and capital investment. The role partners across Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and customers to influence product decisions from concept through production. It applies the EBAD Operating System (EBOS) to reinforce operating cadence, visual management, structured problem solving, and kaizen. The position reports to the Design Engineering Director and is located in Simsbury, Connecticut. The anticipated yearly wage range is $160,000–$190,000. Applicants must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance and to support U.S. Department of Defense and ITAR-controlled programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline.
At least 10 years of progressive mechanical engineering and product-development experience supporting complex aerospace, defense, space, or similarly demanding engineered products.
Proven people leadership, including setting expectations, providing candid feedback, holding people accountable, and building team capability and succession strength.
Strong mechanical design and product-development experience across the lifecycle from concept through production, including practical application of DfX principles.
Technical competence and judgment to engage engineers in substantive problem-solving discussions, assess feasibility and risk, and guide decisions.
Experience establishing or improving engineering standards, design reviews, release-readiness practices, or development processes to improve quality, speed, rigor, and predictability.
Experience using structured, data-driven problem solving and continuous-improvement methods to improve engineering performance.
Strong influence and communication skills and ability to partner across engineering, operations, programs, business development, and customers.
Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
Must be eligible to support U.S. Department of Defense and ITAR-controlled programs.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline.
Experience leading mechanical design organizations across multiple sites or product lines, including product design, enclosure design, tooling design, packaging design, and rapid prototyping.
Experience with ordnance, energetics, satellite systems, launch vehicles, aerospace electronics, or other high-consequence aerospace and defense products.
Experience with machining, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, configuration control, quality systems, DFMEA, GD&T, or qualification readiness.
Experience working within a mature continuous-improvement or business operating system, including operating cadence, visual management, structured problem solving, and kaizen.
Working knowledge of SolidWorks and PLM systems sufficient to review work, coach engineers, and support problem solving; daily hands-on tool use is not required.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop the Mechanical Design team through clear expectations, effective one-on-ones, candid feedback, development plans, accountability, and succession planning.
Integrate the Simsbury and Moorpark Mechanical Design teams and activities—including product, enclosure, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping—under a common functional operating model.
Identify critical skill gaps, support recruiting, and develop business cases for headcount and capital investment, including machining and 3D-printing capabilities.
Establish and improve mechanical design standards, methods, design reviews, release-readiness expectations, and operating cadence across sites and programs.
Create a consistent approach to prioritizing Mechanical Design resources across projects and aligning capacity with program needs.
Strengthen Design for X (DfX) practices early in product development, balancing manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliability.
Improve production readiness and reduce rework through disciplined tolerancing, design reviews, early validation, DFMEA, rapid prototyping, and collaboration with Operations and Supply Chain.
Provide technical judgment in problem-solving discussions by assessing feasibility and risk, challenging assumptions, broadening solution options, and removing obstacles.
Use EBOS to reinforce operating cadence, visual management, structured problem solving, and kaizen within Mechanical Design.
Partner with Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and customers to align design decisions with performance, manufacturability, cost, schedule, quality, configuration control, and customer outcomes.
Enable rapid prototyping and early validation and resolve cross-functional tradeoffs before release.
Translate mechanical design considerations into clear risks, recommendations, and business implications for senior leaders, customers, and cross-functional partners.
Lead the rapid-prototyping center and shape mechanical design capability across two sites.