Director, Mechanical Engineering — Space Systems Leader

Trident; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Holidays

Disability coverage

Job summary

Trident Systems is seeking a Director of Mechanical Engineering in Sterling, VA to build and lead the mechanical engineering discipline for DoD, IC, and Civil space programs. This dual-track role blends people leadership with Cognizant Mechanical Engineer authority over mechanical designs and analyses.

The successful candidate will define engineering processes, set technical direction across structural, thermal, and electro-mechanical domains, and partner with program managers and chief

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering from an ABET-accredited program.
• 15+ years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 13+ years with a Master's degree, including demonstrated experience leading mechanical engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a design authority or equivalent technical signature/approval role for aerospace or space hardware.
• Prior experience in a functional or people-management role, including hiring, performance management, and staff development.
• Experience defining or maturing engineering processes and standards within an aerospace, defense, or comparable regulated engineering environment.
• Experience with aerospace and/or space hardware development.
• Experience with PDM systems and configuration management.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Cognizant Mechanical Engineer design authority, holding technical sign-off responsibility for mechanical designs, structural and thermal analyses, and drawing packages prior to release.
• Lead and/or oversee the mechanical design of spacecraft electronics assemblies using high-fidelity CAD tools such as SolidWorks or similar, ensuring designs meet requirements and manufacturability standards.
• Review and approve detailed structural and thermal analyses validating design integrity under flight loads and temperatures.
• Provide technical oversight of space environmental testing and qualification activities, including vibration, thermal-vacuum (TVAC), and shock testing, to ensure flight readiness.
• Resolve complex, cross-disciplinary technical issues spanning mechanical, electrical, software, and firmware domains, exercising expert engineering judgment on problems of significant scope and ambiguity.
• Represent mechanical engineering technical authority in customer, program, and executive-level reviews.

Skills

Design leadership

Sign-off authority

Space hardware

Cad/ SolidWorks

Staff development

Cross-disciplinary troubleshooting

Education

ABET-accredited BSc in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

PDM/configuration management

SolidWorks

Job description

Trident Systems is seeking a Director of Mechanical Engineering in Sterling, VA to build and lead the mechanical engineering discipline for DoD, IC, and Civil space programs. This dual-track role blends people leadership with Cognizant Mechanical Engineer authority over mechanical designs and analyses.

The successful candidate will define engineering processes, set technical direction across structural, thermal, and electro-mechanical domains, and partner with program managers and chief