Engineering Director, Systems Engineering, Integration & Test (SEIT) Chief Engineer (ONSITE)

Overview

What You Will Do

• Provide executive-level technical leadership for all SAOC systems engineering, integration, verification, validation, and test activities.
• Govern the end-to-end technical baseline, ensuring requirements, architecture, interfaces, integration sequencing, and verification strategies remain aligned with program and customer objectives.
• Drive system-level integration from lab environments through HWIL/SIL, ground testing, and flight testing to ensure robust, mission-ready performance.
• Lead long-range technical strategy and forward-looking architecture planning to ensure mission resilience, system continuity, and evolving operational capability.
• Ensure strong alignment across IPTs and across engineering domains such as software, hardware, avionics, cyber, safety/airworthiness, and aircraft modification.
• Coordinate engineering execution with Program Management through EVMS, technical performance metrics, and integrated master schedule alignment.
• Lead engineering readiness events, major design reviews, integration milestones, and customer technical engagements.
• Responsible for technical direction across all SEIT functions with decision authority over technical execution, ensuring the system meets requirements and mission CONOPS.
• Evaluate and drive critical requirements into the program baseline, ensuring systems engineering, cybersecurity/IA, development, integration, test, and operational needs are satisfied to contract compliance.
• Provide oversight and review of engineering metrics, offering clear summaries and action plans to leadership and customer stakeholders.
• Lead Engineering Review Board (ERB) change management, integration of customer-driven change, defect management, and root-cause/performance-management actions.
• Oversee and manage the SEIT Risk & Opportunity process, leveraging enterprise capabilities to reduce risk and capture opportunities.

Qualifications You Must Have

• Experience as a SEIT IPT Lead, Chief Engineer, Program Engineer, or IPT Lead on a major program.
• Experience managing large software and systems development programs across multiple environments.
• Strong knowledge of multiple engineering disciplines, including large-scale software development, IPDS, and EVMS.
• Experience managing suppliers in technical or programmatic oversight roles.
• Experience across all phases of the program lifecycle.
• Experience leading geographically dispersed teams and operating effectively in a matrixed environment.
• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 14 years prior relevant experience, or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 12 years of experience.

Qualifications We Prefer

• Active and transferable U.S. government issued DoD Top Secret clearance is required prior to start date.
• Leadership experience on ACAT I-equivalent or multi-hundred-million-dollar programs.
• Experience applying MBSE, digital engineering, and model-based verification.
• Experience leading technical transformation efforts or process modernization initiatives.

Workplace & Security

• Position Role Type: Onsite.
• The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance is required.
• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
• Security Clearance Type: DoD Clearance: Top Secret.
• Security Clearance Status: Active and existing security clearance required after day 1.

Compensation

• The salary range for this role is 186,200 USD - 353,800 USD.
• The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels.
• Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees.
• Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution.
• Tuition reimbursement program and Student Loan Repayment Program.
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Optional coverages including pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, and ID theft protection.
• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits.
• Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions.

About Collins Aerospace