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Jobs · Engineering · Michigan

Senior Director of Engineering

ND Defense · Madison Heights, MI · 1 wk ago
EngineeringFull-time

About the role

The Senior Director of Engineering is a hands-on engineering leader who will plan, direct, coordinate, and oversee all activities within the Engineering and Product Development function at ND Defense.

Responsibilities

  • Own engineering execution across the full portfolio: on schedule, within budget, and meeting customer technical requirements across tactical wheeled vehicle, drone/UAS, maritime, aerospace, automated vehicle, and defense electronics programs

  • Establish and enforce rigor in systems engineering, design reviews (PDR/CDR), verification and validation, and configuration management processes

  • Identify, recommend, and implement new technologies, tools, and processes to improve engineering productivity, product quality, and organizational decision-making

  • Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory and contractual requirements, including ITAR, export control, FAR/DFARS, MIL-SPEC/MIL-STD, CMMC/cybersecurity, and program-specific CDRLs

  • Establish and administer the engineering department budget, managing cost performance and making resource allocation tradeoffs across concurrent programs

  • Build and lead a high-performing, multi-disciplinary engineering organization spanning mechanical, electrical, systems, software, and test engineering disciplines

  • Develop and execute a workforce strategy that blends internal hires with external engineering resources, including contract engineers, engineering services firms, and specialty consultants to address capability gaps in emerging product lines (drones/UAS, maritime, aerospace, automated vehicles, defense electronics)

  • Create career development pathways and technical ladder opportunities to attract and retain top engineering talent in a competitive Michigan defense market

  • Ensure departmental decisions on staffing, organizational design, hardware acquisitions, and facilities align with the company’s business plan, growth strategy, and HR policies

  • Serve as the senior technical voice in business development, new bid efforts, and customer engagements, establishing ND Defense’s credibility in markets where the company is expanding

  • Collaborate with the CEO and business development team to identify and pursue new opportunities across DoD, naval, aerospace, and commercial defense markets

  • Represent ND Defense at customer technical interchange meetings (TIMs), industry days, design reviews, and government stakeholder engagements

  • Translate engineering capability into competitive differentiation in proposals and customer-facing communications

  • Collaborate with executive leadership to develop and execute organizational goals, supplying engineering expertise and guidance on company-wide operations and strategic initiatives

  • Establish, communicate, and enforce engineering policies, practices, standards, and security measures to ensure effective and consistent operations across all sites

  • Partner with Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing, Contracts, and Finance functions to ensure integrated program execution

  • Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, incorporating lessons learned across programs

  • Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a closely related technical discipline

  • Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in product design, development, and engineering in a defense or government contracting environment

  • Minimum 5 years of experience managing and leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams, including direct supervisory responsibility for technical professionals

  • Demonstrated experience with U.S. government/DoD contracts, including familiarity with FAR/DFARS, ITAR, CMMC, and MIL-SPEC/MIL-STD requirements

  • Proficiency in tactical wheeled vehicle development and/or multiple engineering disciplines relevant to military vehicle and product design

  • Experience managing external engineering resources (contract engineers, engineering services firms, consultants) as part of an integrated workforce strategy

  • Experience contributing to or leading proposal efforts (technical volumes, BOEs, and cost estimates) for government contract bids

  • Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (22 CFR120.62)

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Engineering Management

  • Familiarity with drone/UAS, maritime, aerospace, or autonomous vehicle platforms and their associated regulatory frameworks

  • Experience working with TACOM, GVSC (formerly TARDEC), PEO GCS, NAVSEA, or similar DoD acquisition organizations

  • Professional Engineering (PE) license or relevant technical certifications (PMP, INCOSE CSEP, etc.)

  • Active or recently held DoD security clearance (Secret or above)

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