Mechanical Design Engineering Manager

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD); Simsbury (CT); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Retirement Benefits

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) seeks a Mechanical Design Engineering Manager to lead and unify the mechanical design organization across Simsbury and Moorpark. The role emphasizes technical rigor, reliability, and safe designs for complex aerospace products.

You will establish standards, guide resources, and push DFx throughout development. The position reports to the Design Engineering Director, supports DoD/ITAR programs, and requires government clearance eligibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive mechanical design and product development experience.
• Experience leading managers or technical leads and building talent.
• Experience establishing and sustaining engineering standards and reviews.
• Structured problem solving and continuous improvement experience.
• U.S. Government security clearance eligibility and DoD/ITAR programs eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Build and develop the Mechanical Design Organization with clear standards and leadership.
• Integrate Simsbury and Moorpark teams under common practices and resources.
• Strengthen design standards, reviews, and release-readiness across sites.
• Drive design resources allocation to match program needs and capacity.
• Promote DFx practices early to optimize manufacturability and cost.

Skills

People leadership

Design for X

Structured problem solving

Cross-site collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Machining

3D printing

Job description

At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD), we believe that our strengths are built on our most important resource - our people. Join EBAD and you'll be a part of a team who creates cutting edge technology that will blast us into the future. No other company can match the innovative energetic solutions that we provide. At EBAD you will actively contribute to successful missions putting men, women and satellites into space, and protecting our armed service men and women around the world. If this is the culture and work environment you are seeking, then EBAD is the place for you!

Job Description

Mechanical Design Engineering Manager

Location: Simsbury, CT
Reports to: Design Engineering Director

Position Summary

At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense (EBAD), our products demand technical rigor, reliability, and safety. The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager builds and develops our mechanical design organization to deliver higher-quality designs that can be produced more efficiently and predictably.

Across Simsbury and Moorpark, this leader establishes the standards and capabilities needed for mechanical product design, enclosures, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping across the product-development lifecycle.

What You’ll Do

Build and Develop the Mechanical Design Organization

• Set the standard for how the Mechanical Design organization performs, including expectations for technical rigor, execution, accountability, and leadership.
• Build organizational capability by developing leaders, strengthening the talent pipeline and succession coverage, and shaping targeted investments in tools, equipment, and technical capabilities.
• Integrate the Simsbury and Moorpark Mechanical Design teams under common standards, priorities, and functional practices.

Strengthen Design Standards and Execution

• Establish common design standards, methods, design reviews, release-readiness expectations, and operating cadence to make execution more consistent across sites and programs.
• Establish a consistent approach for prioritizing design resources across projects and aligning functional capacity with program needs.
• Strengthen Design for X (DFx) practices early in product development to optimize tradeoffs among manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliabilty.

Improve Product Quality and Technical Outcomes

• Drive disciplined design practices, early validation, and resolution of technical risks before release to improve design quality and producibility and enable higher product yield.
• Build a culture of technical rigor by questioning assumptions and risk assessments and removing obstacles so teams can make sound decisions more quickly and deliver quality designs in less time.

Influence Across the Business

• Partner across Engineering and the business to align mechanical design practices with manufacturing capability, program needs, and customer requirements.
• Translate mechanical design risks, capability needs, and recommendations into clear implications for senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline.
• At least 10 years of progressive mechanical design and product-development experience with complex engineered products from concept through qualification and production, including practical application of Design for X principles.
• Proven people leadership, including leading managers or technical leads, developing talent, setting expectations, driving accountability, and building succession coverage.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and sustaining engineering standards, design reviews, release-readiness practices, or other mechanisms that improve design execution.
• Demonstrated use of structured problem solving and continuous improvement to improve engineering performance.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
• Must be eligible to support U.S. Department of Defense and ITAR-controlled programs.

Experience That Would Set You Apart

• Experience leading mechanical design organizations across multiple sites or product lines.
• Experience with high-consequence aerospace and defense products, such as ordnance, energetics, or space systems.
• Experience with machining, 3D printing, or rapid prototyping.
• Experience working within a mature operating system that uses visual management and Kaizen.

Why This Role Matters

This role is central to building the mechanical design capability EBAD needs as its products, programs, and organization grow. The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager will shape a cross-site function, develop future leaders, and improve design quality and producibility so EBAD can bring products into production more predictably and meet its throughput and quality targets

Compensation & Benefits

The anticipated yearly wage range for this position is $160,000 - $190,000. The salary range represents the range EBAD has established in good faith for this position and may vary based on qualifications, experience, education, skills, internal equity, and business needs.

EBAD offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; retirement benefits; paid time off and holidays; life and disability insurance; employee assistance and wellness resources; and incentive compensation eligibility, subject to applicable plan terms and conditions. Benefit eligibility may vary based on position, work location, employment status, and applicable plan provisions.

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.