VP of Engineering: Space, Cyber & Defense Systems

AeroVironment, Inc.; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 246,000 - 393,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401K with company match

9/80 schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

The Space, Cyber and Directed Energy Segment Vice President of Engineering will act as the senior engineering authority, defining technical vision, engineering standards, and development discipline to support a rapidly scaling portfolio of defense and national security programs.

This leader oversees a diverse mix of engineering services and product-based businesses, balancing governance with rigorous systems engineering and risk management for high-priority product development efforts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience within defense, aerospace, space, directed energy, RF systems, autonomous systems, or related national security sectors.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex engineering organizations supporting both development and production environments.
• Strong background in systems engineering, product development, and transition to manufacturing.
• Experience operating within high-growth, fast-paced technology organizations.
• Ability to balance technical rigor with speed and execution urgency.
• Experience collaborating across enterprise engineering and business leadership organizations.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with executives, customers, and technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead as the senior engineering authority across the segment portfolio, establishing standards and review processes.
• Drive engineering best practices across systems engineering, software, hardware, integration, test, and cybersecurity.
• Promote modular architectures and product commonality across programs.
• Partner with manufacturing and operations to improve producibility, reliability, and lifecycle affordability.
• Collaborate with CTO to flow enterprise engineering strategies and roadmaps.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Systems engineering

Product development

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong communication

Execution speed

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

MBSE

Digital engineering

Job description

The Space, Cyber and Directed Energy Segment Vice President of Engineering will act as the senior engineering authority, defining technical vision, engineering standards, and development discipline to support a rapidly scaling portfolio of defense and national security programs.

This leader oversees a diverse mix of engineering services and product-based businesses, balancing governance with rigorous systems engineering and risk management for high-priority product development efforts.