Engineering Manager

Ron Allum Deepsea Services Pty Ltd; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Ron Allum Deepsea Services Pty Ltd seeks an Engineering Manager to lead our growing engineering team delivering safe, compliant and technically sound underwater systems for customers including scientific institutions and Defence contractors.

The role emphasizes people management as much as engineering leadership, with responsibilities across stage-gate governance, risk, interfaces and continuous improvement, while ensuring delivery against schedules and budgets.

Qualifications

• Degree in an engineering discipline (mechanical, electrical or mechatronics).
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams of 10–15 engineers in a regulated, high-assurance environment.
• Minimum of 5 years in a multidisciplinated engineering and manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of Defence systems/contracts and expectations.
• Working knowledge of design for manufacturability and industrialisation.
• Practical knowledge of requirements management, systems integration, design assurance, configuration management and verification and validation.
• Experience managing engineering scope, budgets, schedules, technical risks and customer interfaces.
• Ability to interpret specifications, drawings, statements of work and contractual technical requirements.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving and team-development skills.
• NV1 security clearance and Australian citizenship are required.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multidisciplinary engineering team and coordinate interfaces with program management, operations, quality, supply chain and commercial functions.
• Develop engineering plans, work packages, estimates, schedules and resource allocations aligned with subcontract milestones.
• Monitor progress, expenditure, capacity and technical risks; implement recovery actions and elevate issues early.
• Support tenders and contract reviews with technical scope, assumptions, exclusions, feasibility assessments and engineering estimates.
• Establish and maintain engineering processes, design review gates, delegated technical authorities and approval records.
• Manage requirements allocation, traceability, interface definition, configuration baselines and engineering change control.
• Ensure designs and technical deliverables are reviewed, verified and validated against approved requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain technical risk registers and oversee safety assessments, failure investigations and corrective actions appropriate to the product and contract.
• Ensure departures from requirements are formally assessed and approved through authorised concession or deviation processes.
• Act as principal engineering interface with scientific institutions, Defence and prime contractors; translate flow-down requirements into controls and deliverables.

Skills

Leadership

Defence contracts knowledge

Multidisciplinary engineering

Requirements management

Systems integration

Design for manufacturability

Quality assurance

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical/electrical/mechatronics engineering

Job description

Ron Allum Deepsea Services Pty Ltd – Taren Point NSW

Ron Allum Deep Sea Services (RADS) is a 100% Australian company that designs, builds and tests specialist underwater systems proven to operate in the deepest, most remote points on the planet. We are currently seeking an Engineering Manager to lead our growing engineering team.

RADS is committed to promoting and maintaining a workplace culture of shared respect that enables all of us to feel valued, do our best, and remain truly passionate about the place that we work. Staff wellbeing matters at RADS and where possible we encourage a flexible work culture.

Ron Allum Deep Sea Services (RADS) is a 100% Australian company that designs, builds and tests specialist underwater systems proven to operate in the deepest, most remote points on the planet. We are currently seeking an Engineering Manager to lead our growing engineering team.

RADS is committed to promoting and maintaining a workplace culture of shared respect that enables all of us to feel valued, do our best, and remain truly passionate about the place that we work. Staff wellbeing matters at RADS and where possible we encourage a flexible work culture.

About the Role

We are seeking an Engineering Manager who can lead our growing engineering team to deliver safe, compliant and technically sound products and services for our customers. These include scientific institutions, Defence and Defence prime contractors. A key part of this is the ability to translate subcontract requirements into achievable engineering plans, manage technical risk and resources, and ensure engineering outputs meet agreed performance, quality, cost and schedule requirements.

The Engineering Manager will provide technical leadership across the Stage Gate process including design, development, manufacture, integration, verification and through-life support, as applicable to the company’s scope and balance delivery commitments with engineering integrity, workforce capability and continuous improvement.

People management skills will be more important than engineering skills in this role, although a sound and extensive engineering knowledge and background are a necessity. Knowledge of Defence systems/Contracts and expectations are also required.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership and Delivery

• Lead a multidisciplinary engineering team and coordinate interfaces with program management, operations, quality, supply chain and commercial functions.
• Develop engineering plans, work packages, estimates, schedules and resource allocations aligned with subcontract milestones.
• Monitor progress, expenditure, capacity and technical risks; implement recovery actions and elevate issues early.
• Support tenders and contract reviews with technical scope, assumptions, exclusions, feasibility assessments and engineering estimates.

Technical Governance and Assurance

• Establish and maintain engineering processes, design review gates, delegated technical authorities and approval records.
• Manage requirements allocation, traceability, interface definition, configuration baselines and engineering change control.
• Ensure designs and technical deliverables are reviewed, verified and validated against approved requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain technical risk registers and oversee safety assessments, failure investigations and corrective actions appropriate to the product and contract.
• Ensure departures from requirements are formally assessed and approved through authorised concession or deviation processes.

Customer and Subcontract Interfaces

• Act as the principal engineering interface with scientific institutions, Defence and prime contractors and technical suppliers.
• Translate applicable prime-contract flow-down requirements into engineering controls and deliverables.
• Coordinate technical reviews, interface meetings, acceptance evidence and responses to customer technical queries.
• Identify scope changes and support commercial assessment before committing to additional engineering work.
• Protect customer information and intellectual property in accordance with contractual and company requirements.

Production, Integration and Support

• Work with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure designs are producible, maintainable and supported by controlled drawings, specifications and bills of materials.
• Oversee engineering input to supplier qualification, technical procurement reviews, inspections, integration and testing.
• Resolve technical non-conformances and production issues without compromising approved safety, quality or configuration requirements.
• Support field issues, obsolescence management and through-life engineering were included in the subcontract scope.

People and Capability

• Recruit, coach and develop engineering staff; establish clear objectives, responsibilities and development plans.
• Maintain a skills and competency framework, succession plans and access to specialist expertise.
• Promote a culture of accountability, respectful collaboration, evidence-based decisions and early reporting of concerns.
• Improve engineering tools, documentation, lessons learned and knowledge retention.

Compliance, Security and Workplace Safety

• Ensure engineering activities comply with applicable legislation, contractual standards, quality procedures and workplace health and safety requirements.
• Apply relevant information security, personnel security, controlled technology and export-control requirements; seek specialist advice where needed.
• Support audits and maintain objective evidence of compliance and technical approvals.
• Ensure staff understand and follow site, customer and secure-environment requirements relevant to their work.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Degree in a mechanical, electrical or mechatronics engineering discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams of 10-15 Engineers and delivering technically complex projects in a regulated, high-assurance environment.
• Minimum of 5 years experienced in a multidisciplined engineering and manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Defence systems/Contracts and expectations.
• Working knowledge of design for manufacturability and industrialisation.
• Practical knowledge of requirements management, systems integration, design assurance, configuration management and verification and validation.
• Experience managing engineering scope, budgets, schedules, technical risks and customer interfaces.
• Ability to interpret specifications, drawings, statements of work and contractual technical requirements.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, problem-solving and team-development skills.
• Working knowledge of driving ISO 9001 implementation and improving procedures to support business needs and growth.
• This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a NV1 security clearance level and must have Australian citizenship as a condition of recruitment.

Desirable

• Experience working as a Defence prime/subcontractor or interfacing with Defence prime contractors.
• Professional engineering chartership or relevant registration, where appropriate to the role and jurisdiction.
• Knowledge of systems engineering, reliability, maintainability, safety assurance and lifecycle support.
• Experience with the engineering tools and technologies used by the company.

Measures of Success

• Engineering milestones and accepted deliverables achieved against approved plans.
• Engineering expenditure and resource use managed within approved budgets, with forecast variances identified early.
• Requirements traceability, verification evidence and configuration records complete at agreed review gates.
• Technical risks, defects and corrective actions addressed within agreed timeframes.
• Reduced avoidable rework and repeat non-conformances without compromising safety or quality.
• Engineering competency, development and succession plans maintained.
• Compliance with applicable safety, security and contractual obligations.