Head of Hardware Engineering – Aerospace Avionics

Ring Inc; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Acron Aviation, a leader in avionics hardware, seeks a Hardware Engineering Manager for the Surveillance product line. You will lead a diverse team across RF, FPGA/Firmware, Electrical, Mechanical, CAD, and Component Engineering, guiding concept through certification, production, and sustainment.

You will shape strategy, workforce planning, and priorities to align hardware capability with growth, building high-performing teams and a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering required.
• 10+ years of engineering experience in aerospace, avionics, defense, or related industries.
• 3+ years of engineering leadership or management experience with direct reports.
• Demonstrated success managing complex hardware development programs across the full product lifecycle.
• People-first leadership with talent development, coaching, performance management, and team building.
• Experience supporting manufacturing, production, and fielded-product environments.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to lead through influence in a matrixed organization.
• Experience establishing, overseeing, and providing accountability for technical execution outsource partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary hardware engineering team, empowering subject-matter experts to drive technical excellence and innovation.
• Build a high-performing engineering culture: coach and mentor engineers and emerging leaders, own succession and workforce planning, and champion employee engagement.
• Drive execution of new product development, product enhancement, and sustaining engineering to cost, schedule, quality, and performance objectives.
• Provide technical oversight of hardware architecture, design reviews, trade studies, and verification activities across the product lifecycle.
• Champion Design for Excellence (DFX): manufacturability, cost, test, reliability, and supportability — partnering closely with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Own component selection, obsolescence management, and long-term sustainment strategy for the product line.
• Partner with senior leaders, program managers, customers, and functional stakeholders to drive successful program outcomes and organizational effectiveness.
• Support proposals, basis-of-estimate development, and customer technical engagements.
• Collaborate with product management, software engineering, systems engineering, and other stakeholders to define product requirements and roadmaps.
• Act as the hardware technical liaison with customers, suppliers, and regulatory agencies when required.
• Utilize AI tools and workflows to augment and optimize hardware engineering staff.

Skills

People leadership

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Talent development

Influence in matrix org

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering

Master’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, or MBA

Tools

RF design

FPGA/Firmware

Hardware architecture

Design reviews

Obsolescence planning

Job description

Acron Aviation, a leader in avionics hardware, seeks a Hardware Engineering Manager for the Surveillance product line. You will lead a diverse team across RF, FPGA/Firmware, Electrical, Mechanical, CAD, and Component Engineering, guiding concept through certification, production, and sustainment.

You will shape strategy, workforce planning, and priorities to align hardware capability with growth, building high-performing teams and a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.