Director Engineering Development

Continental Electronics Corporation (CEC) is a leading provider of RF technologies and innovative solutions with 80 years of proven performance. CEC has experienced significant recent growth and is the go‑to supplier for a diversified product line serving commercial, military, and space‑research markets. The Director of Engineering Development will lead a key portion of the engineering team responsible for electrical design, circuit design and layout, and RF front‑end design for state‑of‑the‑art RF transmitter systems. This role guides design architecture, oversees execution from concept through release, strengthens development processes, and mentors engineers across multiple programs while collaborating closely with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and program management.

Responsibilities

• Review and approve electrical designs, schematics, circuit designs, layout strategies, PCB layouts, design constraints, stack‑ups, component selections, simulations, test plans, analysis results, and release documentation.
• Establish and maintain engineering development standards for schematic quality, circuit design practices, layout rules, component libraries, documentation, design reviews, design‑for‑test, and design‑for‑manufacturing.
• Pilot disciplined development reviews, including requirements reviews, architecture reviews, schematic reviews, layout reviews, design‑risk reviews, peer reviews, and production‑readiness reviews.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams to translate customer, product, and system requirements into actionable engineering plans, trade studies, staffing needs, schedules, and deliverables.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team of electrical and RF engineers and designers, fostering a culture of high performance, collaboration, and continuous professional growth.
• Manage engineering development priorities, staffing plans, budgets, schedules, technical risks, supplier dependencies, and issue resolution across multiple programs.
• Develop engineering talent through coaching, mentoring, technical guidance, career development, performance feedback, and succession planning.
• Create functional strategies and specific objectives for the team.
• Develop budgets, policies, and procedures to support the functional infrastructure.
• Spearhead talent acquisition and onboarding to scale the department while fostering team engagement and retention.
• Navigate interpersonal and technical disagreements constructively to maintain a positive, healthy work environment.
• Uphold the company’s core values of Integrity, Innovation, Accountability, and Teamwork.
• Demonstrate behavior consistent with the company’s Code of Ethics and Conduct; ensure direct reports are trained and evaluated on the values, Code of Ethics, Conduct, and applicable compliance policies.
• Report quality problems or defects to management for corrective action and to prevent recurrence.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with relevant management experience.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience in electrical design, circuit design, RF engineering, PCB design, or hardware product development.
• Experience with RF system design, specifically high‑power and/or high‑speed, time‑based communication transmissions.
• Proficiency with design, simulation, analysis, and layout tools.
• Hands‑on leader willing to dive deep as needed.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interaction with project teams, management, and customers.
• High business acumen; ability to analyze complex problems and data and make data‑driven decisions.
• Proven ability to lead complex engineering development efforts, make sound technical trade‑offs, manage ambiguity, resolve risks, and deliver hardware solutions on schedule.
• Willingness to travel as required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance issued by the U.S. Government throughout employment.

Benefits

• Various health‑plan options.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Disability insurance.
• Life insurance and AD&D insurance.
• Leave‑of‑absence programs.
• Array of voluntary benefits.
• Paid time off for vacation, holidays, bereavement, and jury duty.
• Flexible time‑off for full‑time salaried employees.
• Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP) allowing purchase of company stock at a discounted rate.

Pay

Base salary ranges from $199,000 to $237,000 annually. Final compensation is determined based on job level, geographic location, date of hire, experience, job‑related knowledge and skills, education, and market and business considerations. In addition to base salary, eligible employees may receive long‑term incentives, discretionary bonuses, and participation in the ESPP.