Director of Defense Engineering

BOMBARDIER

Bombardier Defense Engineering is looking for a candidate to be the leader of engineering design for Bombardier (BA) Defense. Leader of design shall have overall responsibility and accountability for active Defense projects. This Director level position will provide cross-functional leadership of the integrated team to develop high-quality deliverables to achieve the contract obligations. This Director will lead Structures and Stress functional areas and the Integrated Product Development Team (IPDT) leaders. Position reports directly to the Vice President, Defense and Aftermarket Engineering.

What are your contributions to the team?

IPDT Leadership Responsibilities: 

• Provides cross-functional leadership to mobilize BA Defense toward a contract event, or milestone, and type certification of major modifications with the inherent quality that supports customer satisfaction.
• Be responsible for customer facing meetings, change management approvals, opportunity and risk management decisions, and driver for project achievement of milestones or gate reviews.
• Conduct weekly program reviews from Director to VP level while driving performance of the teams to achieve intended results.
• Provide problem solving and related interface direction, decisions, and priorities.
• Establish momentum toward requirement adherence and resolve issues blocking on-time achievement.  

Project Integration:

• Leverage Project Integrators to provide visibility into design or contract changes, governance, and key metrics to ensure customer satisfaction.
• Oversee change management processes, opportunity and risk management, and ensure the necessary actions are in place to support project success.
• Ensure all customer-facing actions, including meetings and decisions, are tracked and effectively communicated to stakeholders.

Functional Engineering Leadership

• Lead the Structures design and Stress engineering organizations on the design and development of missionized aircraft solutions through process-based discipline and measures.  
• Support the full life cycle of the product including requirements management, conceptual design, final design and analyses, build, test, certification and in-service support.
• Provides technical guidance and leadership to Functional engineering managers to maintain proper staffing levels, expertise, and succession planning to meet business objectives.  
• Provides engineering effort definition for capturing new work and the related cost and schedule estimates from Structures and Stress.  
• Develops and conducts projects in accordance with company policies, priorities, and budget constraints driving deliverable release to commitments.  
• Provides technical oversight and assistance to other Engineering departments as required.  

Collaboration Across Functions:

• Interface with multiple Bombardier Engineering functions and business leaders in Wichita and Montreal to ensure Engineering needs are met across various Bombardier Defense aircraft programs.
• Drive improvements in processes, systems, and products to enhance overall program success.
• Develop and track engineering metrics focused on product quality, compliance with requirements, and achievement of objectives, holding the team accountable to these metrics.

Program & Project Execution:

• Exert influence in the successful execution of programs and projects by reviewing estimates, tracking program technical performance measures, and ensuring adherence to engineering processes and best practices.
• Drive continuous improvement and quality by owning productivity and quality measures, promoting process training, and maintaining process rigor.

Candidate must possess extensive knowledge of Structures design and Stress and associated principles of aircraft missionization, modification, and test.

How to thrive in this role?

•    You hold a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from an accredited University.
•    You must have a good understanding of aircraft structural load path and have experience with analysis methodologies for various primary and secondary structural components. 
•    You are eligible to view and handle ITAR material. 
•    You have a minimum of 10 years’ experience leading direct reports and 5 years program development experience.
•    You have a minimum of 10 years’ experience in technical team management.
•    You have a working knowledge of applicable regulatory certification rules (FAA).
•    You are proficient with MS Office (MS Word, Excel, and Power Point).
•    You must be an excellent problem-solver.
•    You must be a self-starter, able to organize mandates/objectives into work assignments for the organization to own a list of prioritized tasks through to completion.
•    You must exhibit excellent written and interpersonal communication skills.
•    You must be able and comfortable with managing up and down the organization and contributing to a high volume, fast-paced, rapidly changing, results-oriented work environment.  
•    You should be an organized leader and individual able to work effectively with a variety of cross-functional individuals, departments and organizations with a positive attitude and disposition.
•    You must be able to work on ITAR defined products.