Associate Director of Engineering – Systems, Safety, and Project Engineering Department Leader - Space Systems (Onsite)

Date Posted:

2025-08-01

Country:

United States of America

Location:

01: Building 01 Windsor Locks One Hamilton Road, Windsor Locks, CT, 06096 USA

Position Role Type:

Onsite

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements:

U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access information under this program/contract.

Security Clearance:

None/Not Required

Associate Director of Engineering – Systems, Safety, and Project Engineering Department Leader - Space Systems (Onsite)

Collins is seeking a leader for the Systems, Safety, & Project Engineering Department within Civil Space Engineering. The Department leader will be accountable for discipline health, staff allocation to programs, proposal BOE inputs and approval, and execution to those estimates for all Systems, Safety, and Project Engineering within Civil Space. The Engineering Department Leader facilitates the interface between engineers within the department and the cross functional Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) tasked to design, develop, procure, assemble, test, deliver, and support customers within an approved budget and schedule.  The Department Lead is a leader of leaders who plays a critical role in supporting project execution while ensuring overall discipline health and process within the hardware domains.  

The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in matrix organization leadership and technical capability in design and development of complex, safety critical space products. The candidate will have successfully led teams to deliver technically compliant and producible products in accordance with stakeholder requirements within an allocated budget and schedule.

What You Will Do:

• Lead the systems, safety, and project department in the overall successful execution of all assigned scope areas
• Partner with relevant stakeholders (Chief Engineers, Program Managers, etc) to ensure that program goals are met
• Proactively communicate goals, objectives, status, accomplishments, issues, and risks
• Accountable for systems, safety, and project engineering technical approach, cost inputs, and Basis Of Estimates (BOEs) for proposals using approved templates
• Accountable for execution of assigned and agreed to systems, safety, and project engineering scope within cost / schedule / performance budgets
• Perform staffing coordination and employee skill development to ensure an acceptable skill mix of engineering disciplines, including hiring and performance development
• Support root cause investigations, corrective action, and continuous improvement efforts
• Lead and support continuous improvement efforts
• Encourage and lead a proactive risk-mitigation culture
• Help to develop and enforce standardized engineering practices, processes, tools, and methods across all products.
• Apply a high degree of advanced technical, mission and product area knowledge

Qualifications You Must Have:

• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 12 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 10 years of experience or in absence of a degree, 16 years of relevant experience
• Experience with project, program, and/or task planning
• Experience performing on and/or managing a large (20+) multidisciplinary team

Qualifications We Prefer:

• BS in Engineering or Computer Science w/ 12 + years of experience
• MS in Engineering, Computer Science, or MBA degree w/ 10+ years of experience
• Experience in the design, development, and qualification of space-qualified ECLSS, thermal management, or similarly complex systems
• Exceptional organizational, analytical, written, and verbal communication skills
• Ability to multi-task with a focus on daily issues and longer-term strategies
• Solid interpersonal skills with experience in employee management, coaching, and mentoring
• Strong computer skills to include extensive use of Microsoft Office
• The following skills are desirable; Leadership, critical thinking, business discernment, innovation, collaboration, customer focus, attention to detail, ability to manage risks and seek out opportunities
• Proven ability to partner with senior leaders and influence the decision-making process
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across the organization and operate effectively within a matrix environment by resolving conflict and influencing others

Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches acr