Director of Operations Engineering, Directed Energy

AV; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 128,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holidays

Job summary

AV is seeking an experienced Operations Engineering leader to drive lifecycle readiness, cost and quality improvements, and cross-functional collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and field operations.

The role emphasizes design-for-manufacturability, production readiness reviews, and continuous improvement to ensure products meet objectives in a fast-paced, regulated environment. Travel may be required for supplier and site engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field and 5–10 years in operations or manufacturing engineering.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage multiple priorities.
• Experience with design-for-manufacturability and production readiness in high‑reliability environments.
• Familiarity with ERP/PLM/MES/MRP systems.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead operations engineering strategy and execution across the complete product lifecycle.
• Develop processes to support new product introduction, ramp-up, sustainment, upgrades, and end-of-life activities.
• Partner with design engineering to ensure manufacturability, assembly, test, inspection, service, and cost effectiveness.
• Establish product and manufacturing readiness criteria, metrics, and review processes.
• Lead design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly reviews.
• Develop manufacturing processes, work instructions, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, and production methods.
• Support product development from early concepts and prototype builds through qualification, production release, and full-rate production.
• Coordinate cross-functional efforts to resolve technical, manufacturing, quality, and operational issues.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to production, field performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Develop strategies to improve production capacity, throughput, yield, quality, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Collaborate with supply chain and suppliers to improve component availability, manufacturability, cost, quality, and lead times.
• Support supplier qualification, process validation, production part approval, and supplier performance improvement.
• Establish and maintain manufacturing bills of material, routings, process specifications, and configuration-controlled documentation.
• Ensure manufacturing and operations engineering changes are properly evaluated, documented, approved, and implemented.
• Lead production readiness reviews, manufacturing design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and lifecycle planning activities.
• Support test development, production acceptance testing, inspection planning, and equipment qualification.
• Develop and track lifecycle metrics, including cost, quality, schedule, yield, defects, escapes, rework, reliability, and service performance.
• Drive standardization and continuous improvement across products, programs, and manufacturing sites.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Support product configuration management, change control, obsolescence management, and component lifecycle planning.
• Partner with field service and sustainment teams to improve maintainability, repair processes, technical documentation, and product support.
• Establish end-of-life plans, including last-time buys, replacement components, repair strategies, and transition requirements.
• Mentor and develop operations engineers and technical personnel.
• Manage priorities, resources, budgets, schedules, and performance objectives for the operations engineering organization.
• Communicate program status, risks, recommendations, and operational performance to senior leadership.

Skills

Analytical

Problem-solving

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical engineering field

Master's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field

Tools

ERP

PLM

MES

MRP

Job description

AV is seeking an experienced Operations Engineering leader to drive lifecycle readiness, cost and quality improvements, and cross-functional collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and field operations.

The role emphasizes design-for-manufacturability, production readiness reviews, and continuous improvement to ensure products meet objectives in a fast-paced, regulated environment. Travel may be required for supplier and site engagements.