Director of Engineering, Directed Energy Systems

About the role

The Director of Engineering position at AV Directed Energy Systems is a critical leadership role aimed at guiding a multidisciplinary engineering team in the development and delivery of advanced high-energy laser and directed energy weapon systems. This position requires a blend of strong people and organizational leadership, technical oversight, and strategic input.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of 30+ engineers across systems, software, optical, mechanical, power, and control disciplines, including functional managers.
• Develop, implement, and maintain engineering policies, procedures, and standards to ensure repeatability, traceability, and compliance.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition and HR to manage staffing plans, hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, career development, and succession planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, technical curiosity, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee resource allocation, workload balancing, and organizational structure to meet program and business needs.
• Lead internal reviews and support external audits, ensuring engineering compliance with ITAR, DoD cybersecurity, and quality standards (ISO, AS9100).
• Promote cross-functional collaboration with Program Management, Operations, and Business Development.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship and active DoD Secret Security Clearance.
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline; M.S. or MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of engineering experience with at least 5 years in management roles within the defense or aerospace industry.
• Demonstrated leadership of multi-disciplinary teams developing complex hardware/software systems.
• Strong understanding of engineering lifecycle management, technical reviews, and process compliance in a defense environment.
• Ability to balance operational priorities with long-term technical vision.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-energy laser systems, beam control, power electronics, thermal management, or optical subsystems.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, DO-254, or similar defense compliance frameworks.
• Knowledge of engineering tools and environments such as MATLAB, Zemax, SolidWorks, and Agile development methods.
• Experience working with classified development or secure program environments.

Benefits

AeroVironment offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule, and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefits, please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits. For more information about our company, please visit: http://www.avinc.com.