Product Design Engineering Manager - Aerospace & Defense Industry!

About the role

C/A Design is seeking a technically driven Product Design Engineering Manager (PDEM) to lead the conception and development of rugged embedded computing products for aerospace, defense, and other applications. This role combines engineering with strategic product management.

Responsibilities

• Foster a culture of proactive safety, continually demonstrating an unequivocal commitment to the highest standard of health and safety for the workforce.
• Define product vision, roadmap, and lifecycle strategy for mechanical and thermal products within rugged embedded computing platforms and adjacent defense and aerospace applications.
• Gather and prioritize customer requirements from defense and aerospace customers.
• Conduct competitive analysis and identify emerging technologies and market trends.
• Create business cases, pricing strategies, and product positioning.
• Develop product requirements documents and engineering specifications.
• Manage products throughout their lifecycle, including new product introduction, sustaining engineering, and end-of-life planning.
• Coordinate product launches with sales, marketing, and operations teams.
• Participate within industry organizations and technical working groups.
• Coordinate with other department heads (quality, supply chain and operations teams) to ensure alignment of manufacturing objectives with overall company goals.
• Oversee all production processes, including the creation, maintenance, and improvement of process documentation, ensuring adherence to quality and regulatory standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to scale new processes from prototype to production.
• Liaise with vendors and suppliers to ensure the timely delivery of equipment and materials while upholding quality standards.
• Analyze production metrics and performance data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Communicate effectively with cross-functional teams while leading new products from quote through production.
• Maintain department performance metrics.
• Foster a culture of innovation, teamwork, and accountability within the sales and engineering departments.
• Serve as the technical expert and point of contact for manufacturing engineering issues, providing guidance and support to resolve complex problems.
• Travel: attend customer site visits, leadership meetings, trade shows, and industry organization meetings (10-20%).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering or similar engineering discipline required. Advanced degrees are highly desirable.
• 7+ years in a dynamic Engineering role. 3+ years in an Engineering leadership role with a heavy focus on New Product Introduction.
• Experience managing technical products from concept through production.
• Strong understanding of embedded computer architectures (VPX, VME, cPCI, etc.).
• Strong working knowledge of high precision machining and programming.
• Strong knowledge of engineering principles, along with hands-on experience within a high precision machining and assembly environment.
• Excellent project management skills, ability to own a project from start to finish and successfully delegate roles within a team.
• Leadership qualities – a positive & influential manager capable of strengthening internal and external relationships while bringing out the best in their staff.
• Continuous improvement mindset - someone that embraces change and leads the way.
• Exceptional technical skills to include SolidWorks and MS Office.