Chief Engineer

The Chief Engineer serves as the senior technical leader responsible for ensuring products transition efficiently from development into low‑rate and full‑rate production, and are sustained, supported, and continuously improved throughout their lifecycle. This role acts as the primary technical interface across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Program Management, Supply Chain, and Customers, with a strong emphasis on execution, manufacturability, delivery, and cost control.

This position is highly hands‑on, spending significant time on the production floor while providing technical leadership and direction to engineers and production technicians through dotted‑line authority, delegating execution to appropriate teams where required.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior technical authority for production, manufacturing, and sustainment across active programs.
• Lead NPI and LRIP, ensuring smooth transition from development to scalable, manufacturable production.
• Provide hands‑on leadership on the production floor, resolving real‑time issues and sustaining flow.
• Guide engineers and production technicians through dotted‑line leadership, delegating execution as needed.
• Own configuration management, FRACAS, and failure investigations to maintain product integrity.
• Partner with Programs, Customers, and Supply Chain to manage suppliers, delivery, cost, and quality.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience, with demonstrated success in a technical leadership role supporting engineers and production technicians.
• Extensive experience transitioning products from prototype/development into production, including LRIP and NPI.
• Proven experience working directly with customers in a customer‑facing role.
• Strong background in Configuration Management, failure investigation, and FRACAS execution.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and technically oversee suppliers and subcontractors.
• Hands‑on production experience, including working directly on the production floor with flowing units and sustainment programs.
• Experience addressing production issues, manufacturing variability, quality concerns, and parts obsolescence.
• Willingness to travel 1–2 times per month to the East Coast.

Preferred / Plus Qualifications

• Background in UAV, drone, aerospace, or defense programs (++ advantageous).
• Experience with software validation and system-level testing (++ preferred).
• Familiarity with MBSE, ATR, and production system integration (+).