Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering

Firestorm•San Diego, CA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

Firestorm is hiring a Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering to lead the mechanical engineering team responsible for the airframes, structures, mechanisms, and integration hardware used in its sUAS platforms. The role owns technical direction, execution, and team growth across multiple product lines, working with electrical engineering, propulsion, payloads, manufacturing, quality, and program management to deliver producible, qualified aircraft on aggressive schedules. It combines hands-on technical leadership with people management and represents mechanical engineering in cross-functional IPTs, customer technical interchanges, and program reviews. The Senior Manager establishes design and drawing standards, engineering documentation practices, change control, and configuration management; leads design reviews and technical trade studies; and partners with manufacturing and quality on producibility, DFM/DFA, first-article inspection, and non-conformance disposition. The position also leads hiring, mentoring, performance management, compensation and leveling decisions, and the development of a multidisciplinary team. It plans and resources work across programs, supports productionization from prototype to rate production, and may be on-site for structural and integration test campaigns. The position is onsite at Firestorm Headquarters in San Diego, California. Domestic travel of up to 10% is required in support of test events. The work takes place in a standard office and manufacturing environment and includes regularly sitting, standing, bending, reaching, and moving about, as well as operating standard office equipment. Relocation assistance may be included in an offer where appropriate. The base salary range is $180,000–$210,000, commensurate with experience, and the role includes a meaningful equity grant. Firestorm describes itself as building expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems, including mission-adaptable aerial systems and deployable manufacturing infrastructure.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
U.S. citizenship and ability to maintain a Department of Defense security clearance; citizenship is required due to ITAR regulations.
10 or more years of mechanical engineering experience, with significant experience in aerospace, defense, automotive, or comparable hardware-intensive industries.
At least 5 years of direct people management experience, including hiring, performance management, and developing engineers from junior to senior levels.
Demonstrated history of building and developing high-performing engineering teams.
Deep technical credibility in mechanical design, including structures, mechanisms, composites and/or metallic structures, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and DFM.
Hands-on experience leading designs from concept through qualification and into production.
Experience with change control, PLM systems, and configuration management at scale.
Experience leading cross-functional integrated product teams (IPTs).
Strong communication skills for engaging engineers, executives, customers, and government stakeholders.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic startup environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Experience leading mechanical teams on sUAS, large aircraft, missiles, or other SWaP-constrained airborne platforms.
Experience scaling a hardware engineering team from prototype to rate production.
Experience standing up or significantly improving change-control or CCB processes.
Track record of identifying and developing early-career engineers who advanced to senior or principal-level roles.

Responsibilities

Set technical direction for mechanical engineering across aircraft platforms, including structures, mechanisms, integration, packaging, and production hardware.
Own design standards, drawing standards, and engineering documentation practices, ensuring consistency and quality.
Drive change-control discipline, including team participation in CCB and ECR/ECO workflows and configuration management through Arena PLM.
Lead and participate in PDRs, CDRs, structural reviews, and production-readiness reviews; provide technical judgment on trade studies and architecture decisions.
Partner with manufacturing and quality on producibility, DFM/DFA, first-article inspection, and disposition of non-conformances.
Represent mechanical engineering in cross-functional IPTs, customer technical interchanges, and program reviews.
Lead, grow, and develop a multidisciplinary team spanning structures, mechanisms, GSE, and packaging.
Hire across levels, from interns and new graduates to principal engineers, and build a pipeline of mechanical engineering talent.
Mentor early-career engineers through stretch assignments, structured one-on-ones, feedback, and career development; coach senior engineers into technical leadership and IPT lead roles.
Set performance expectations, conduct performance reviews, and own compensation and leveling decisions for the team.
Build a team culture that values rigorous engineering, hands-on work, and ownership of outcomes.
Plan and resource mechanical engineering work across programs, balancing new development, sustaining engineering, and customer-driven changes.
Partner with program management to commit to schedules, identify risks, and deliver milestones.
Drive productionization and transition from prototype to rate production across aircraft lines.
Support test and fielding events, including on-site presence for structural and integration test campaigns.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans.
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan.
Equity grants for new hires.
Unlimited PTO.
Generous company holiday calendar, including holiday hiatuses in July and December.
Generous parental leave.
Lifestyle Spending Account.
FSA, DCFSA, and HSA.
Hospital indemnity insurance.
Critical illness insurance.
Accident insurance.
Basic life/AD&D, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance, 100% covered by Firestorm, with the option to purchase additional life insurance.
Free 24/7 mental health resources, including therapy.
Free legal and financial support.