Principal Project Engineer, Naval Electronics (Hybrid)

Leonardo DRS; Eagan (MN); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

DRS Naval Electronics in Eagan, MN, is seeking a Principal Project Engineer to lead design and development programs, proposals, and IRAD efforts at our Engineering Center of Excellence in Eagan.

This senior role combines accountability for program technical, cost, and schedule performance with direct functional management of Development Project Engineers. Proven development project leadership and people-management experience is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in engineering or related field with 15+ years of engineering development and project leadership.
• Advanced degree (MS/MBA) preferred but not required.
• Prior people-management experience required.
• Proven track record delivering complex development projects against tech, cost, and schedule goals.
• Broad technical knowledge to lead systems, software, electrical, mechanical disciplines.
• Strong staffing, prioritization, and team development skills.
• Ability to build trust with senior leaders, sponsors, subcontractors, and customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary engineering teams on highly complex programs. Develop/own engineering scope, plans, budgets, schedules, and performance.
• Own the technical baseline of the program, ensuring requirements compliance, configuration control, and delivery of customer technical data packages.
• Serve as the primary customer technical contact and engineering interface to the Program Office. Coordinate with functional leaders, manufacturing, supply chain, suppliers and subcontractors.
• Direct requirements analysis, design decisions, and supplier component, subsystem, and service evaluations. Drive design-to-cost and Design for X (DfX) objectives.
• Identify, mitigate, and retire development and technical risks. Provide technical guidance and resolve complex issues across engineering disciplines.
• Oversee system/subsystem test environments, plans, procedures, and schedules, including environmental qualification, factory acceptance testing, and failure resolution.
• Lead engineering contributions to complex proposals and IRAD efforts, including technical approaches, estimates, resource plans, and risk assessments.
• Work with Chief Engineers to develop and execute technology roadmaps across products and lines of business.
• Support annual discretionary planning (IRAD and CapEx) and lead reporting of IRAD project execution and forecasting to leadership team.
• Identify and capture opportunities for technology reuse across products and engineering collaboration across DRS business units.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Decision making

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s in engineering or related field

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

MS Project

DOORS

Job description

DRS Naval Electronics in Eagan, MN, is seeking a Principal Project Engineer to lead design and development programs, proposals, and IRAD efforts at our Engineering Center of Excellence in Eagan.

This senior role combines accountability for program technical, cost, and schedule performance with direct functional management of Development Project Engineers. Proven development project leadership and people-management experience is required.