Product Engineer
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. is seeking a Product Engineer to lead assigned products through full lifecycle, coordinating cross-functional teams across Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Test, Quality, and Program Management.
The role acts as the technical point of contact for customers and programs, ensuring requirements, design intent, and execution details are clearly understood and delivered.
Qualifications
- Strong understanding of product engineering and lifecycle management.
- Experience leading engineering projects or workstreams.
- Ability to serve as a customer-facing technical point of contact.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications.
- Strong problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage confidential and export-controlled information (ITAR).
Responsibilities
- Lead assigned products and engineering projects from concept through production and sustainment.
- Own day-to-day engineering execution, priorities, and deliverables for assigned products.
- Plan, coordinate, and execute engineering activities to meet program schedules and milestones.
- Identify technical risks and lead mitigation actions in coordination with the Lead Product Engineer.
- Support customer design reviews, test reviews, and technical data exchanges.
- Ensure designs are configuration-controlled and released in accordance with AS9100D.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. is a leading defense technology company focused on uncrewed systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, training, and combat systems. Our customers include the U.S. federal government, foreign governments, commercial enterprises, and state and local government agencies. At Kratos, we prioritize affordability as a cornerstone of our technology. We leverage proven, cutting‑edge methodologies and technology to minimize costs, streamline schedules, and mitigate risks, ensuring timely delivery of cost‑effective solutions to market.
The Product Engineer is responsible for leading assigned products and engineering workstreams across their full lifecycle, from requirements definition through design release, production support, and customer delivery. This role serves as the technical point of contact (TPOC) for assigned customers and programs, ensuring technical requirements, design intent, and execution details are clearly understood, controlled, and delivered. Reporting to the Lead Product Engineer, the Product Engineer leads engineering execution at the product and project level, coordinating cross‑functional activities across Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Test, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure products are technically mature, configuration‑controlled, and ready to build, test, and deliver.
- Lead assigned products and engineering projects from concept through production and sustainment
- Own day‑to‑day engineering execution, priorities, and deliverables for assigned products
- Plan, coordinate, and execute engineering activities to meet program schedules and milestones
- Identify technical risks and lead mitigation actions in coordination with the Lead Product Engineer
- Serve as the primary technical point of contact for assigned customers and programs
- Lead customer technical discussions, reviews, and issue resolution
- Ensure customer requirements are clearly understood, documented, and flowed into engineering deliverables
- Support customer design reviews, test reviews, and technical data exchanges
- Own requirements flowdown from customer and system requirements to design outputs
- Coordinate design activities with Design Engineering and System Engineering
- Ensure designs are configuration‑controlled and released in accordance with AS9100D
- Lead and support engineering change requests (ECRs) and engineering change notices (ECNs)
- Ensure engineering deliverables support manufacturability, assembly, and test readiness
- Support build readiness reviews, first‑article inspections (FAI), and test activities
- Provide real‑time engineering support to Manufacturing and Test during builds and investigations
- Ensure design intent is preserved through production execution
- Lead or support root cause analysis for technical and product‑related issues
- Quantify technical impacts of design changes, deviations, or process variation
- Implement and verify corrective actions related to product performance and quality
- Escalate technical risks appropriately to the Lead Product Engineer and Program Management
- Maintain accurate and complete engineering documentation (drawings, BOMs, specifications)
- Ensure traceability between requirements, designs, tests, and delivered products
- Support integration of engineering data into PLM, ERP, and QMS systems
- Ensure engineering data is audit‑ready and customer‑ready
- Partner with Program Management to support schedule, cost, and risk objectives
- Collaborate with Supply Chain to support sourcing, material readiness, and supplier technical issues
- Work closely with Quality and Test Engineering to ensure product compliance and validation
- Support continuous improvement initiatives related to product execution
- No direct people‑management responsibility
- May provide technical guidance and task leadership to junior engineers or technicians
- Leads by influence, ownership, and technical credibility
Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Strong understanding of product engineering and lifecycle management
- Experience leading engineering projects or workstreams
- Ability to serve as a customer‑facing technical point of contact
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications
- Strong problem‑solving, communication, and organizational skills
- Ability to manage confidential and export‑controlled information (ITAR)
Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Experience in aerospace, defense, propulsion, or regulated manufacturing environments
- Familiarity with AS9100D, configuration management, and design control
- Experience supporting production, test, and sustainment activities
- Experience serving as a customer technical interface
- Experience in high‑mix, low‑volume environments
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- 5+ years of experience in product, design, or manufacturing engineering roles
- Demonstrated experience supporting cross‑functional engineering execution
- Office, manufacturing, and test environments
- Frequent interaction with shop floor and test areas
- May require extended hours during build, test, or customer milestones
- May be required to lift materials, components, or equipment up to 40 lbs
- 0–15% as required to support customer engagements, test activities, or other Kratos locations
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance Coverage
- Life/ADD & Short/Long Term Disability Insurance
- 401(k) Savings Plan
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
- Paid Time-Off (PTO)
- Holidays
- Education Reimbursement
EEO/M/F/D/V. All qualified job seekers are encouraged to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.
If you require an accommodation to navigate or apply to our careers site, please send your request to HRAccessibility@kratosdefense.com or call 858‑964‑2916. The company will not discriminate on the basis of pay inquiries.
For applicants in the EU and California residents, please review our privacy notice.
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