UAS Chief Engineer

AEVEX • Tampa, FL

4h • Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Engineer combines technical expertise, strategic vision, and leadership to oversee all engineering activities within the assigned product portfolio, ensuring that the portfolio engineering efforts achieve the organizational objectives. They own technical performance and are key stakeholders in cost and schedule outcomes for all technical program content. Serving as the primary technical point of contact for customers, functional teams, and leadership, the Chief Engineer ensures the program’s technical baseline is stable, applies common engineering standards, and implements effective change control. They drive design decisions to ensure contract integrity and quality, establish team workflows, align priorities, and resolve technical conflicts. Collaborating with the R&D team, the Chief Engineer integrates new capabilities into portfolio products and drives innovation of new products while supervising engineering teams to ensure strategic alignment and high-quality execution of development and sustainment activities. This role also involves managing staffing, resource allocation, and partnerships with Engineering Services to secure tools and support. Additionally, the Chief Engineer fosters the professional growth of the engineering team through mentoring, skill evaluations, and tailored development plans.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or Engineering.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience with progressive technical experience in engineering roles, with a proven track record of technical design and development.
• Strong understanding of defense trends, technologies, and best practices.
• Excellent critical thinking skills.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders and build consensus.
• Proven experience in leading technical teams and fostering a culture of innovation.
• Expertise in aerospace engineering and technology development.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements in the UxS industry and DoD.
• Understanding of diverse UxS platforms and their applications.
• Ability to identify and leverage emerging technologies for UxS systems.
• Ability to obtain/maintain a Top Secret/SCI DoD clearance, U.S. Citizenship required.

Nice To Haves

• Unmanned Systems (UxS) experience is desired.
• Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all technical designs, ensuring products meet quality, performance, and safety standards.
• Serve as co-chair for Configuration Control Boards (CCBs) and Test Readiness Reviews (TRRs) to ensure proper evaluation and approval of designs, changes, and testing readiness.
• Collaborate with the Research and Development team to identify and integrate emerging technologies into existing products as well as drive development of new products to support portfolio growth.
• Manage, mentor, and develop engineering staff, fostering professional growth and technical expertise.
• Assess skills and create tailored growth plans, incorporating training, rotational assignments, and continuing education.
• Assess engineering staffing needs and allocate resources across projects to balance workloads and meet objectives.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to maintain timelines, budgets, and risk management strategies for engineering activities.
• Ensure all engineering activities meet applicable industry and regulatory standards.
• Oversee the documentation of technical decisions, changes, and processes for traceability and future reference.
• Align engineering efforts with portfolio objectives and contribute to strategic planning for future product development and sustainment.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Regular and reliable attendance on a full time basis.
• Exhibit professional behavior with both internal and external business associates that reflects positively on the company and is consistent with the company's policies and practices.
• Embody AEVEX’s cultural values and align daily actions with department goals and company culture.

Benefits

• 401(k)-retirement plan
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability and Life insurance group coverage with a portion of the premiums paid by the company
• Professional development funds
• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) with counseling, legal help, child and elder care support

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior