Chief Engineer – Survivability

Jobtailor

Redondo Beach (CA)

On-site

USD 180,000 - 240,000

Full time

5 days ago

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Job summary

Jobtailor seeks a Senior Principal Engineer to lead a multi-disciplinary Survivability Operating Unit, guiding R&D programs across radar, infrared, visual, and acoustic domains. You will set technical direction, coordinate requirements, and ensure compliance with quality standards.

You will mentor teams, interface with customers and senior leadership, manage risk, and steer TRB activities while advancing cross-unit collaboration and program execution in a high-security environment.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science degree in a relevant STEM discipline with 16 years related professional/military experience; OR Master of Science degree with 14 years; OR Ph.D. with 10 years.
Active US Government Secret or higher clearance with a background investigation in the last 6 years or Continuous Evaluation
Ability to obtain SAP and TS/SCI clearance
Ability to travel up to 25%
Preferred: DoD Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance and SAP clearances
Preferred: Experience with US Government customer community in Multi-Spectral Survivability research and development

Responsibilities

Lead a cross-disciplinary engineering team executing research and development projects focused on survivability technologies.
Conceive, develop, demonstrate, and transition survivability technologies across RF, IR, visual, and acoustic domains.
Serve as the technical authority for the Operating Unit and provide guidance to IRAD and CRAD programs.
Define and control technical requirements and ensure coordination across projects.
Interface with customers and company senior leadership on technical matters.
Ensure programs follow engineering principles and comply with policies and quality standards.
Oversee technical performance measures for the Engineering team.
Chair the Technical Review Board (TRB).
Support program managers in risk and opportunity management by identifying and owning technical-performance risks.
Provide leadership, mentoring, and training in systems engineering tools and techniques.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Cost and schedule management

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor of Science in STEM

Master of Science in STEM

Ph.D. in STEM

Tools

SAP Infrastructure

Modeling & Simulation Tools

Mission Systems Integration

Technical Requirements Definition

Technical Performance Measures

Job description

Lead a multi-disciplinary engineering team executing research and development projects within the Survivability Operating Unit
Conceive, develop, demonstrate, and transition survivability technologies across radio-frequency, infrared, visual, and acoustic domains
Serve as the technical authority for the Operating Unit and provide technical guidance and leadership to IRAD and CRAD programs
Define and control technical requirements and ensure technical coordination and horizontal integration across projects
Serve as a technical interface with customers and company senior leadership
Ensure programs follow sound engineering principles and comply with company policies, procedures, and applicable quality standards
Oversee technical performance measures for the Engineering team
Participate in cost and schedule management for Engineering tasks
Chair the Technical Review Board (TRB)
Support program managers in risk and opportunity management by identifying and owning technical-performance risks
Provide technical leadership, guidance, and mentoring in systems engineering principles, tools, and techniques

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 16 years related professional/military experience; OR Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline and 14 years related professional/military experience; OR Ph.D. in a related STEM discipline and 10 years related professional/military experience
Professional experience in Air Vehicle Survivability, Low Observables design & analysis, Low Observables Materials, Testing, Modeling & Simulation environment/tools, Mission Systems Integration, or Product Support
Professional experience in cost and schedule management of complex systems
Strong collaboration skills and experience integrating multiple engineering specialties and working across multiple Business Units, industry partners, and customer community
Active US Government Secret or higher clearance, with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation
Ability to obtain SAP and TS/SCI clearance
Ability to travel up to 25%
Preferred: Active DoD Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance and one or more SAP clearances
Preferred: Professional experience with US Government customer community performing Multi-Spectral Survivability-related research and development
Preferred: Professional experience in Survivability-focused Programs of Record / Development programs
Preferred: Professional experience with SAP infrastructure and architectures
Preferred: Experience across multiple phases of the program lifecycle, including business development, business acquisition, research and development, production, and sustainment
Preferred: Experience as a Chief Engineer or technical lead planning and executing technical design and integration tasks on schedule, at cost, and achieving all technical requirements
Preferred: Demonstrated experience making sound decisions in uncertain, ambiguous, or difficult situations
Preferred: Excellent organizational and written communication skills, project management planning, and presentation skills
U.S. Citizenship is required for positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and executing research and development projects focused on survivability technologies. Possesses strong technical leadership in systems engineering, cost and schedule management, and compliance with quality standards.

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