Senior Specialist, Project Engineer

Acron Aviation; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Acron Aviation is seeking an experienced Project Engineer to join the Recorders product line. The PE manages technical aspects of projects, balancing schedule, cost, and performance while serving as a technical leader across teams.

The role requires coordinating with Program Managers, IPTs, and customers; leading risk management, requirements definition, and ECN activities; and ensuring regulatory and quality compliance throughout development, production, and post-delivery support.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of project management principles including earned value management and risk/scope management.
• Bachelor's or equivalent with years of relevant experience; advanced degree as applicable.

Responsibilities

• Lead requirements definition, verification, and technical baseline development.
• Coordinate with IPTs and customers to ensure technical, schedule, and cost objectives are met.
• Drive engineering change Notices (ECNs) and ensure alignment across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Configuration Management.
• Interface with Program Management and leadership to report status, risks, and corrective actions.
• Support proposals with WBS, BOE, and IMS development and risk identification.

Skills

Project management

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree + 6+ years experience or higher

Master's degree in a related field (optional alternative)

Tools

Microsoft Project

SAP

BOM management tools

Job description

About Acron Aviation (Avionics – Recorders)

Acron Aviation designs, engineers, and manufactures certified avionics systems that support safety-critical flight operations across commercial and military aviation. Within Avionics, the Recorders product line develops and sustains cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders, and integrated data acquisition systems that enable regulatory compliance, safety insight, and operational performance across global fleets. These systems are deployed across commercial, military, and rotorcraft platforms and require deep expertise across systems, hardware, software, and lifecycle sustainment in highly regulated environments.

Project Engineer – Recorders

Acron Aviation is seeking an experienced Project Engineer to join our engineering team within the Recorders product line.

The Project Engineer (PE) manages the technical aspects of a specific project or effort and ensures technical, schedule, and cost targets are met. The PE is similar to the Program Manager (PM) in nature but is more functionally focused, with the PM serving as the primary customer. The PE is both a project manager and a technical leader/expert. Responsibilities may encompass multiple phases of a product’s lifecycle, including pursuit, development, production, and post-delivery support.

While possessing technical expertise and experience, the individual will coordinate and lead engineering product development activities. The PE plans, schedules, and directs engineering support for assigned projects and keeps teams aligned through proactive engagement, strong communication, collaboration, and disciplined risk management. The PE is responsible for, and has authority over, engineering resources supporting the project, and must continually engage with functional leadership to ensure the required resources and support are available.

The PE must lead engineering teams to success, providing quality, error-free technical deliverables to Program Management and Acron Aviation customers within approved budget and schedule constraints. The PE maintains open communication with program leadership, engineering teams, suppliers, and customers and is accountable to both Program Management and Engineering Leadership.

The PE is also responsible for leading and coordinating engineering activities to resolve production issues across avionics product lines. This role focuses on identifying root causes, developing corrective actions, and executing Engineering Change Notices (ECNs) to update drawings, bills of material (BOMs), and product definitions. The PE serves as the focal point between Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Configuration Management to ensure timely and compliant resolution of production-related issues while maintaining configuration integrity and regulatory compliance.

Project Leadership & Program Execution

• Partner with Program Managers and Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to ensure technical, schedule, and cost objectives are achieved
• Advocate for program priorities while coordinating with cross-functional leadership to balance competing business needs
• Interface directly with customers regarding technical and contractual requirements, ensuring customer satisfaction and issue resolution
• Support proposal activities, including Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) development, Basis of Estimate (BOE) creation, Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) development, and risk identification
• Lead requirements definition, verification, technical baseline development, resource planning, trade studies, design activities, testing, qualification, and production transition activities
• Serve as the focal point for engineering development, resource allocation, task completion, technical decisions, and issue resolution
• Direct engineering teams through a matrixed organization to support successful program execution
• Communicate effectively with Program Management and leadership teams to maintain alignment and visibility of program status
• Support business reviews, technical reviews, and program milestones required to meet organizational commitments

Production Issue Resolution

• Lead investigations of production issues, non-conformances, and yield challenges
• Perform or coordinate Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) activities
• Drive closure of Corrective Action Requests (CARs), Problem Reports (PRs), and similar production-impacting issues
• Support manufacturing teams with troubleshooting activities involving hardware, software, and system-level issues

Engineering Change Execution (ECN)

• Develop, coordinate, and release Engineering Change Notices (ECNs) to implement corrective actions
• Ensure ECNs include accurate updates to engineering drawings, bills of material, parts lists, and configuration baselines
• Validate synchronization and traceability of BOM changes and drawing revisions
• Support engineering change workflows through approval, implementation, and closeout

Configuration & Data Integrity

• Maintain product configuration control and compliance with configuration management processes
• Coordinate with Configuration Management to maintain accurate baselines and documentation
• Verify that released documentation reflects as-built and as-designed product configurations
• Support FAA, EASA, AS9100, and related audits and compliance activities

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as the primary engineering interface to Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Test/Repair organizations
• Coordinate with Systems, Hardware, and Software Engineering teams to assess change impacts and technical risks
• Communicate status, risks, priorities, and corrective actions to leadership and program stakeholders

Continuous Improvement

• Identify recurring production issues and drive implementation of systemic corrective actions
• Experience using automation and AI tools to streamline workflows and improve operational efficiency
• Demonstrated a continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to evaluate processes and implement more effective ways of working
• Ability to adopt and promote automation and AI tools to improve team speed, quality, and execution

Required Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of the job area typically obtained through advanced education and professional experience
• Proficient understanding of product lifecycle management and obsolescence management
• Proficient knowledge of project management principles, including earned value management and risk/scope management
• Bachelor's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience, Master's degree with 4+ years of relevant experience, or 10+ years of related experience in lieu of a degree

Preferred Additional Skills

• Working knowledge of resource-loaded scheduling and proficiency with Microsoft Project
• Experience with DO-178, DO-254, DO-160, and ARP-4754 product development environments
• Experience with SAP, BOM management tools, ECN workflow systems, and document control systems
• Background supporting flight recorders, avionics LRUs, or similar integrated hardware/software systems
• Experience in certification, sustaining engineering, or production support environments

Equal Opportunity Statement

Acron Aviation is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. We are committed to treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity and to maintaining a workplace free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Additional Information

Acron Aviation maintains a drug-free workplace and conducts pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where allowed by law. Acron Aviation is an e-verify employer.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.