Air Vehicle Lead

Responsibilities

• Own the aircraft’s overall architecture, technical performance, integration, and design integrity throughout the development lifecycle.
• Lead multidisciplinary engineering across aerodynamics, flight sciences, structures, mechanical systems, propulsion, avionics, electrical systems, and flight controls.
• Lead system-level trades involving performance, weight, range, payload, cost, reliability, manufacturability, schedule, and technical risk.
• Drive the aircraft from requirements and conceptual design through preliminary and critical design, hardware release, build, integration, ground test, flight test, and production.
• Participate directly in design reviews, technical problem solving, root-cause investigations, testing, and critical design decisions.
• Identify and close technical risks that could prevent mission success.
• Use prototypes, ground tests, flight tests, and operational data to retire risk and improve the aircraft.
• Control interfaces among structures, propulsion, avionics, flight controls, payloads, software, and other systems.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Operations to transition the aircraft into repeatable production.
• Provide technical leadership to suppliers and external partners.
• Mentor engineers and technical leaders while establishing rigorous, accountable engineering practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 15+ years of relevant aircraft development experience, including significant technical leadership on complex aerospace programs.
• Experience leading an air vehicle or major aircraft system through multiple development phases, ideally including design, build, integration, ground test, flight test, and production.
• Broad understanding of aircraft development and the ability to make informed trades across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, flight controls, avionics, mechanical systems, and vehicle integration.
• Hands-on technical leadership experience with both deep engineering problem solving and system-level ownership.
• Demonstrated ability to make difficult technical decisions with incomplete information, prioritize high-value risks, and drive solutions quickly.
• Strong understanding of aircraft design principles, system integration, verification and validation, and aircraft-level performance.
• Experience partnering with manufacturing and suppliers to transition complex aerospace hardware into production.
• Track record of owning complex development efforts and delivering hardware through technical challenges and program milestones.
• Ability to obtain and maintain the required security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in an engineering discipline.