Senior Defense Engineering Manager — Hands-On Leader

Elite Recruiting Co; Dayton (OH); On-site; USD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Elite Recruiting Co. seeks a Senior Engineering Manager in Dayton, OH to lead a cross-functional team across electrical, mechanical, and industrial disciplines on defense programs.

You will own technical delivery, manage scope, schedule, and budget, and act as a hands-on technical authority to resolve design and quality issues. You will translate customer requirements into execution plans, mentor engineers, and collaborate directly with program managers and customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial Engineering, or closely related field.
• 10+ years in defense, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing environments.
• 3–5+ years in a people leadership/engineering management role.
• Direct experience with defense programs and quality regulatory standards (ITAR/EAR, AS9100).
• Strong communication to technical and executive audiences; customer-facing experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi-disciplinary engineering team (electrical, mechanical, industrial) on DoD programs.
• Own technical delivery: scope, schedule, budget, and quality across programs.
• Act as a technical authority; review designs and assist with problem-solving.
• Translate requirements into engineering execution plans and staffing.
• Manage workforce planning, staffing, and mentorship of engineers.
• Interface with program managers, customer, and leadership on status and risk.
• Ensure compliance with contract, regulatory, and ITAR/EAR/CUI data handling.
• Drive continuous improvement in processes, tools, and metrics.
• Support proposals with technical scoping and basis-of-estimate input.
• Coordinate with supply chain, quality, and manufacturing for alignment.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Communication

Program management

Technical problem solving

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering

Job description

Elite Recruiting Co. seeks a Senior Engineering Manager in Dayton, OH to lead a cross-functional team across electrical, mechanical, and industrial disciplines on defense programs.

You will own technical delivery, manage scope, schedule, and budget, and act as a hands-on technical authority to resolve design and quality issues. You will translate customer requirements into execution plans, mentor engineers, and collaborate directly with program managers and customers.