Engineering Operations Manager - Military Flight Contorls Division

Parker Hannifin; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 247,000; Full time

Job summary

Parker Hannifin's Military Flight Controls Division in Irvine, CA, seeks an Engineering Operations Manager to lead the new Engineering Operations organization and drive operational excellence across MFCD. You will oversee transformation initiatives, establish metrics, and ensure tooling and processes meet business needs in Parker’s Win Strategy environment.

You will collaborate with functional leaders, IT, manufacturing engineering, and product teams to deploy standardized test equipment,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or PE; MBA preferred.
• 10–12 years in engineering leadership with broad scope and technical complexity.
• Prior leadership in the aerospace market is preferred.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead MFCD Engineering Operations and management teams.
• Develop engineering process roadmap and MB Engineering transition.
• Implement engineering tools, systems, and infrastructure with IT.
• Drive continuous improvement, compliance, and training across the division.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering operations

Model-based engineering

Regulatory compliance

Continuous improvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

PE certification

MS/MBA preferred

Tools

Model-Based Engineering tools

Winovation tools

Test equipment tools

Job description

Position Summary

Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century, the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow. At Parker Aerospace, we develop technologies and innovative solutions that enable reliable, efficient and increasingly sustainable flight for the lifecycle of the aircraft, including aftermarket support. Our passionate people with deep engineering expertise, together with our breadth of differentiated technologies, ensure that we make the extraordinary happen and continue to shape the future of aviation in partnership with our customers. As a member of our team, you are instrumental in fulfilling our mission: ‘Enabling Engineering Breakthroughs that Lead to a Better Tomorrow.’ Pursuing a career at Parker presents unlimited opportunities for both professional and personal development. Working with some of the most brilliant minds in the industry, your contributions will be pivotal in developing innovative technologies and products, significantly contributing to Parker’s goal of addressing the world’s most pressing engineering challenges. At Parker, our team members belong, matter and make a difference.

Military Flight Controls Division

Supporting aircraft worldwide, Parker Aerospace’s Military Flight Controls Division (MFCD) provides primary and secondary flight control systems that make flight possible. Tested, proven and trusted in commercial and military applications for decades, MFCD provides precise position‑control actuation solutions for military aircraft across the United States and with foreign partners. The division’s JetPipe® electrohydraulic servovalve (EHSV) technology is used across commercial and military aircraft around the world. Headquartered in Irvine, California, the Military Flight Controls Division is the global leader in fly‑by‑wire flight control systems and electrohydraulic products and offers the world’s most advanced motor design capabilities for flight controls.

Summary

The Engineering Operations Manager leads the newly formed Engineering Operations organization for Parker’s Military Flight Controls Division (MFCD) and is responsible for advancing engineering operational excellence across the division. This role leads key engineering transformation initiatives in partnership with functional leaders, sites, Group, and IT to deliver critical business outcomes, improve engineering efficiency, and support profitable growth.

The Engineering Operations Manager is accountable for engineering compliance, cost‑effectiveness, process efficiency, tool effectiveness, and the deployment of best practices across MFCD Engineering. This position ensures engineering tools, systems, and processes meet business needs while supporting Parker’s Win Strategy environment.

This role is responsible for developing and publishing division engineering metrics, supporting regulatory and material compliance, coordinating engineering participation in customer and regulatory audits, and driving continuous improvement through audits, benchmarking, and process improvement initiatives. The role also develops new engineering capabilities, including standardized test equipment, automation solutions, test capabilities, capacity management tools and processes, Model‑Based Engineering solutions, and related systems.

The Engineering Operations Manager leads the division’s Simple‑by‑Design process, oversees the Engineering Services function, and manages relationships with engineering service providers. This role also participates in defining and implementing long‑term strategic objectives that support profitable division growth, operational excellence, and customer service. This position reports to the Division Engineering Manager.

This position provides leadership for the MFCD Engineering Operations organization and may serve as the engineering functional manager across multiple engineering disciplines. The role has one or more direct reporting managers or supervisors and may include expert‑level engineers, project engineers, engineering tool specialists and administrators, and configuration and data management professionals.

Works closely with engineering managers, divisional staff, functional leaders, IT, manufacturing engineering, product teams, external service providers, and other key stakeholders to align engineering operations with business objectives.

Essential Functions

• Leads the MFCD Engineering Operations organization, including direct and indirect leadership of managers, supervisors, engineers, specialists, administrators, and technical staff
• Collaborates on the development of the engineering process and tools roadmap, including the transition to Model‑Based Engineering.
• Executes implementation plans for engineering tools, systems, processes, and infrastructure in partnership with IT and functional leaders.
• Works with functional leaders to establish, deploy, and improve engineering best practices and capabilities across the division.
• Uses continuous improvement methods to improve engineering process efficiency, tool effectiveness, and operational performance.
• Ensures training is developed and deployed for new engineering tools, systems, and processes.
• Supports Manufacturing Engineering with implementation of advanced automation solutions.
• Supports standardization and improved utilization of engineering test equipment, test infrastructure, and test capabilities.
• Develops resources, processes, and tools to manage engineering test capacity in collaboration with functional leaders.
• Supports Parker’s SSO organization and engineering product teams with deployment of the PI&R (Product Introduction & Retrofit) process using Parker’s Winovation tools and processes.
• Leads and maintains accountability for the division’s Simple‑by‑Design activities.
• Conducts benchmarking and audits of engineering processes and tools to identify gaps, improve compliance, and drive continuous improvement.
• Develops, publishes, and communicates division engineering metrics and cadence information.
• Leads engineering regulatory and material compliance efforts for the division.
• Ensures engineering support for customer audits, regulatory audits, and internal compliance reviews.
• Leads Engineering Services, including Configuration and Data Management, Design Specialists, and Structural Analysis.
• Leads knowledge management, skill assessment, and engineering training deployment across the organization.
• Manages relationships with engineering service providers to ensure alignment, performance, quality, and value.
• Contributes to long‑term strategic planning that supports profitable growth, customer service, engineering productivity, and operational excellence.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (BS) in engineering or a related technical science discipline, or Professional Engineer (PE) certification required; Master’s degree in engineering or business administration (MS or MBA) preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the essential functions of the job typically acquired through 10–12 years of related experience, including leadership of an engineering function of significant scope and technical complexity.
• Prior leadership in the aerospace market is preferred.
• Significant technical breadth and business acumen, with the ability to connect engineering operations priorities to business outcomes.
• Some familiarity with the products, systems, and technologies related to flight control actuation is a plus.
• Experience leading engineering transformation initiatives, process improvement, tool deployment, compliance activities, or operational excellence programs.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with ability to influence cross‑functional teams and align stakeholders around engineering and business objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to delegate, empower leaders and teams, and develop talent through coaching, feedback, recognition, skill assessment, and training.
• Ability to communicate effectively with varied audiences, including engineering teams, functional leaders, senior management, customers, regulatory agencies, universities, research institutions, and industry associations.
• Ability to deliver effective presentations on complex or sensitive topics to top management and other key stakeholders.
• Ability to respond effectively to significant inquiries from customers, regulatory agencies, and internal teams.

Additional Comments

The essential functions have been provided as examples of the type of work performed by employees assigned to this job classification. The Company reserves the right to modify the work assignments and/or to make reasonable accommodation so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions. The job description is not intended to be an all‑inclusive list of duties and responsibilities. It is intended to describe the general nature of the position.

Conditions of Employment

This position is subject to meeting U.S. export compliance and/or U.S. Government contracting citizenship eligibility requirements.

Competitive Compensation

Pay, Benefits, Work Schedule

• Pay Range: $140915 to $246685 annually
• Participation in Annual Incentive Program

Benefit & Retirement Plans

Parker Offers Competitive Benefit Programs, Including

• Comprehensive coverage for medical, prescription drugs, dental, vision, voluntary optional life, accident insurance, hospital indemnity insurance and critical illness insurance with competitive premium cost.
• 401(k) Plan with company matching contributions at 100% of the first 5% of pay.
• Company provided defined‑contribution retirement plan with annual contribution equal to 3% of pay.
• Career development and tuition reimbursement.
• Other benefits including paid parental leave, short and long‑term disability programs, adoption assistance, a Care.com membership and financial planning assistance are provided at no cost to you.
• Supplemental benefit programs including identity protection, legal protection, and pet wellness are available at competitive rates.
• Paid Time Off and Company‑Paid Holidays.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Parker is an Equal Opportunity and Affinitive Action Employer. Parker is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job related reasons regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. However, U.S. Citizenship, Permanent Residency or other appropriate status is required for certain positions, in accord with U.S. import & export regulations.

“Minority / Female / Disability / Veteran / VEVRAA Federal Contractor”

If you would like more information about Equal Employment Opportunity as an applicant under the law, please go to Employees & Job Applicants | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Drug Tests

Drug‑Free Workplace

In accordance with Parker’s policies and applicable state laws, Parker provides for a drug‑free workplace. Therefore, all applicants seeking employment with Parker will be subject to drug testing as a condition of employment.