Contract Chief Engineer

EVONA; Folsom (CA); Hybrid; USD 248,000 - 317,000; Full time

Job summary

EVONA is seeking a Contract Chief Engineer for Solid Rocket Propulsion to own the technical success of a 12-month program from design through qualification to production. The role is hands-on and requires deep propulsion expertise, with no direct reports and leadership across design, analysis and test.

You'll manage the full lifecycle, ensure producibility and cost/schedule balance, drive critical paths, monitor baselines, and act as the technical voice with customers and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience
• 5+ years of technical leadership on controllable solid rocket propulsion
• Broad background across design, analysis and test, through IRAD, EMD and production
• Generalist profile from systems, project, design or test engineering, without over-specialising

Responsibilities

• Direct the full technical lifecycle, including design reviews and qualification milestones
• Make sure systems are producible, compliant, and balanced against cost and schedule
• Drive the critical path, deconflict resources and manage task span-times
• Hold lean technical baselines, monitor CPI, and challenge budget change requests
• Act as the programme's lead technical voice with customers and stakeholders
• Support new business and keep customer requests within authorised scope

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Solid rocket propulsion

Design analysis and testing

Security clearance eligibility

Education

Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering degree

Job description

Contract Chief Engineer, Solid Rocket Propulsion

Open hourly rate

12-month contract, 40 hours per week. Start mid-October

60 days site onboarding, then remote

A defence and space technology company is hiring a Chief Engineer to own the technical success of its solid rocket propulsion programmes through a 12-month engagement, from design through qualification and into production.

This is a technical leadership role, not a people management one. You'll lead a multidisciplinary team with no direct reports. The company needs a broad, hands-on engineer who has led controllable solid rocket motor programmes before and keeps technical, cost and schedule decisions aligned.

What You'll Be Doing

• Direct the full technical lifecycle, including design reviews and qualification milestones
• Make sure systems are producible, compliant, and balanced against cost and schedule
• Drive the critical path, deconflict resources and manage task span-times
• Hold lean technical baselines, monitor CPI, and challenge budget change requests
• Act as the programme's lead technical voice with customers and stakeholders
• Support new business and keep customer requests within authorised scope

What You'll Need

• Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
• 15+ years of engineering experience
• 5+ years of technical leadership on controllable solid rocket propulsion
• Broad background across design, analysis and test, through IRAD, EMD and production
• A generalist profile from systems, project, design or test engineering, without over-specialising
• Chief Engineer-level experience (this role isn't open to programme managers)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance (requires US citizenship)

Nice to have

• Current DoD Secret clearance
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams of 10+
• Hardware taken through qualification and into production
• Prior contract or independent consulting work, so you can land and add value fast