Senior Manager, Flight Control Systems US

Leonardo Helicopters; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Leonardo Helicopters in Philadelphia, PA, seeks an experienced Flight Control Systems (FCS) Manager to lead the local FCS engineering team, shape departmental goals, and ensure alignment with certification requirements throughout the product lifecycle.

The role combines strong technical oversight of fly-by-wire architectures, control laws, and system integration with hands-on leadership, collaboration with FAA representatives, and coordination across engineering, flight test, and operations to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics.
• Minimum 10 years with flight controls/dynamics.
• Expert knowledge of stability, control, and control-law development.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams on complex aircraft projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the local FCS engineering team; conduct performance reviews and development plans.
• Develop and execute the team’s project plans; help shape departmental strategies and objectives.
• Accountable for FAA certification activities related to Flight Control Systems.
• Track and report earned value management; coordinate across geographies.
• Collaborate with Head of FCS, ASI, and Governance to establish SOW and annual budget for local team.
• Coordinate with Flight Test and Operations to ensure aircraft readiness and dispositions for issues.
• Conduct data analysis and produce reports to support certification and design decisions.
• Oversee technical approaches, tools, and processes with the Head of the FCS Technical Area.
• Develop and maintain relationships with customers, stakeholders, and team members.

Skills

Flight controls

Fly-by-wire

Flight dynamics

System integration

Certification

Leadership

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Job description

Department: Engineering

Reports to: Director, Aircraft Systems Integration - US

Location(s): Philadelphia, PA, with less than 20% domestic and international travel

Summary of Position

Perimeter of responsibility includes the flight control system (FCS) for all products where the FAA is the approving authority as well as the required support to Part 21 and Part 145 engineering activities. This role is responsible to develop and execute the local FCS team's project plans, shape departmental business and technical strategies, goals, objectives and implement key departmental policies and procedures. Collaborate with the Head of Flight Control Systems Technical Area to foster coherent design solutions and methodologies, knowledge sharing and competencies development. Act as part of the managerial chain of the Engineering Department, contributing to plan and organize the activities to achieve overall US Engineering targets, jointly with the Director of Aircraft Systems Integration and Head of Flight Control Systems Technical Area, pursuing the share of common solutions and processes on clusters of programs and use of common approach to development and certification/qualification processes.

In addition to managerial responsibilities, the candidate shall possess extensive technical expertise in aircraft flight control systems, including fly-by-wire architectures, flight control laws, flight dynamics, system integration, and the certification of safety-critical airborne systems. The candidate will serve as the Flight Control Systems technical authority for the U.S. organization, providing hands‑on leadership in the resolution of complex technical issues throughout the product lifecycle. Responsibilities include system architecture development, requirements definition and verification, control law integration, aircraft and systems troubleshooting, failure investigations, flight test planning and execution, certification support, and analysis of flight test and simulation data. The candidate must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between flight controls and other aircraft systems-including hydraulics, avionics, propulsion, electrical systems, and vehicle dynamics-to ensure robust system integration and compliance with certification requirements. The successful candidate will possess the ability to rapidly assess complex technical problems, identify practical and certifiable solutions, make sound engineering decisions under schedule pressure, and effectively communicate highly technical concepts and recommendations to engineers, management, customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Manage, develop, and motivate local FCS engineering team ensuring skill development, retainment and effectiveness. Conduct performance reviews and establish development plans local FCS team. (10%)
2. Develop and execute team's project plans, provide input to help shape departmental business and technical strategies, goals, and objectives. (10%)
3. Accountable for FAA certification activities pertaining Flight Control Systems, working closely with FAA representatives and DER's. (20%)
4. Track and report earned value management (EVM) status to include close coordination of activities across geographies. (5%)
5. Collaborate with Head of FCS, ASI, and Engineering Governance to establish Statement of Work and budget for the activities to be done by the local FCS team each year. (5%)
6. Collaborate with the Flight Test Department and Flight Operations to ensure test aircraft readiness. Assess squawks and aircraft issues and provide dispositions. (20%)
7. Conduct data analysis and produce reports. (20%)
8. In collaboration with the Head of the FCS Technical Area, provide oversight and approval of technical approaches, products, tools and processes. (5%)
9. Develop and maintain relationships and partnerships with customers, stakeholders, peers, partners and direct reports. (5%)

Qualifications for Position

A. Education

Bachelor of Science degree (or higher) in Engineering, Mathematics, Physics

B. Experience

1. Minimum of 10 years experience with aircraft flight controls and/or flight dynamics.
2. Expert knowledge of aircraft stability and control, flight dynamics, and flight control law development.
3. Demonstrated experience with aircraft system integration, laboratory integration, ground testing, and flight testing.
4. Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams in the investigation and resolution of complex aircraft technical issues.

C. Competencies & Attributes

1. Recognized subject matter expert in aircraft flight control systems and fly-by-wire technology.
2. Experience with system safety assessment and development assurance for safety-critical airborne systems.
3. Understanding of ARP4754A, ARP4761, DO-178C, DO-254, and applicable FAA certification regulations.
4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to represent the company before regulatory authorities, customers, and executive leadership.

D. Licensure/Certification

None