Design Engineering Manager

Karman Space and Defense; Mukilteo (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

401(k) Matching

Paid Time Off

HSA with company contribution

FSA

Life and AD&D insurance

Disability insurance

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Karman Space & Defense in Mukilteo, WA is seeking a Design Engineering Manager to lead a large engineering team, consolidate labor demand, and ensure staffing aligns with program needs.

The role emphasizes people management, resource planning, and collaboration across programs to deliver mission-ready systems while maintaining engineering standards and career growth for staff. A DoD clearance is preferred or eligible to obtain.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required.
• 7+ years in design-engineering environments.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience, including 2+ years in aerospace/engineering.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate labor demand across programs into a single functional view.
• Coordinate resource requests, scheduling, and staffing to prevent conflicts.
• Drive proactive hiring by identifying staffing gaps and needs across programs.
• Allocate resources to balance workload and support individual career growth.
• Track assignments and monitor utilization across multiple programs.
• Coordinate engineering standards and training delivery, including tracking completion.
• Maintain qualification ladders and ensure timely progression of new hires and transfers.
• Help scope engineering tasks into clear, staffable work packages.

Skills

Design engineering

People management

Resource planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Full Time Mukilteo, WA, US

5 days ago Requisition ID: 3991

Salary Range: $140,000.00 To $170,000.00 Annually

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

We design and deliver dependable hypersonic/strategic missile defense systems: integrating multiple technologies into unified, mission-ready hardware supporting demanding environments.

The Design Engineering Manager leads the operational and people‑management backbone of a design engineering group. This role centralizes labor demand, manages day‑to‑day functional resource allocation, supports structured career development, connects programs with the right technical expertise, and ensures engineering standards and training are delivered effectively across a large number of concurrent programs.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate labor demand across programs into a single functional-group view, integrating schedule and staffing needs.
• Serve as traffic control for functional resource requests by staging, sequencing, and identifying conflicts early.
• Drive proactive hiring by identifying staffing gaps from consolidated demand data.
• Allocate functional resources across programs to balance workload and support individual career growth goals.
• Track assignments against work orders and identify over‑or under‑utilization.
• Coordinate logistics for engineering standards and training delivery, including scheduling and completion tracking.
• Maintain qualification ladders and monitor time‑to‑independent‑qualification for new hires and transfers.
• Support programs in scoping engineering tasks into clear, staffable work packages.
• Collaborate …

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 7+ years working directly in design-engineering specific environments.
• B.S. in Engineering.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience, including a minimum of 2 years in aerospace and/or engineering.
• Demonstrated experience in resource planning, scheduling, and direct people management of technical staff.
• Ability to manage data‑driven scheduling and operational cadence across numerous concurrent programs.
• Experience supporting career growth and balancing program needs with individual development.
• Capability to partner with technical experts and route design sign‑offs, waivers, and contested technical calls appropriately.
• Experience helping programs translate ambiguous engineering requests into scoped, staffable work packages.
• A current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.

Preferred Qualifications

• Discipline-specific technical depth in the relevant engineering domain.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
• Short‑and‑long‑term disability coverage
• Tuition reimbursement

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.