Senior Test Engineering Manager - Aerospace & DoD Programs

Socket.dev; Mukilteo (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

401(k) matching

Paid time off

HSA with company contribution

FSA

Life and AD&D insurance

Disability coverage

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Karman Space & Defense is seeking a Test Engineer Manager to lead a large test engineering group in the development and delivery of mission-critical systems. The role focuses on aligning staffing with program needs, mentoring engineers, and ensuring the execution of engineering standards and training across multiple concurrent programs.

The candidate will consolidate labor demand, drive proactive hiring, and manage resource allocations to optimize workload while fostering career growth and

Qualifications

• Minimum 7+ years working directly in test engineering environments.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience, including aerospace involvement.
• Experience in resource planning, scheduling, and personnel management of technical staff.
• Security clearance: DoD Secret or ability to obtain and maintain one.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate labor demand across programs into a single functional-group view and align with schedules.
• Serve as traffic controller for functional resource requests and resolve conflicts early.
• Drive proactive hiring by identifying staffing gaps from demand data.
• Allocate resources across programs to balance workload and support career growth.
• Track assignments against work orders and identify over- or under-utilization.
• Coordinate logistics for engineering standards and training delivery.
• Maintain qualification ladders and monitor time-to-independent-qualification for new hires and transfers.
• Support programs in scoping engineering tasks into clear, staffable work packages.
• Collaborate with program leads to set realistic schedule and effort expectations.
• Identify required skill sets for engineering requests and route complex items to experts.

Skills

Test engineering

Leadership

Resource planning

Aerospace experience

People management

Education

B.S. in Engineering

Job description

Karman Space & Defense is seeking a Test Engineer Manager to lead a large test engineering group in the development and delivery of mission-critical systems. The role focuses on aligning staffing with program needs, mentoring engineers, and ensuring the execution of engineering standards and training across multiple concurrent programs.

The candidate will consolidate labor demand, drive proactive hiring, and manage resource allocations to optimize workload while fostering career growth and