Chief Engineer

JOB SUMMARY

The Chief Engineer serves as GMRE's independent enterprise and portfolio technical authority, protecting technical integrity, airworthiness and safety across current and future programs. The position provides objective assurance that significant technical decisions, risks, reviews, and readiness determinations are supported by sufficient evidence and appropriate engineering rigor. The Chief Engineer works across programs with the Engineering Team to ensure technical rigor and reviews for program specific solutions and provides technical support for senior leadership at the corporate level. The Chief Engineer works directly with the Director of Engineering, who is responsible for the engineering personnel, capability, staffing, and execution. This ensures GMRE’s technical capabilities support its strategic growth in the DoD aviation industry. 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Reports administratively to the Vice President and works as a peer of the Director of Engineering
• Serve as a senior technical advisor to GMRE leadership and customers while preserving the independence required for objective technical assurance.
• Provide independent technical oversight across GMRE's program and technology portfolio and assess overall technical health and engineering rigor.
• Provide independent technical assessments for major proposals, new technologies, strategic initiatives, acquisitions, and enterprise capability decisions.
• Review significant, high-consequence, novel, safety-critical, or mission-critical technical decisions, risks, architectures, failures, and readiness determinations.
• Conduct or chair independent technical reviews and evaluate whether the technical evidence is sufficient to support major conclusions and program milestones.
• Establish enterprise expectations for technical rigor, evidence-based decision-making, technical-risk characterization, and engineering accountability.
• Identify systemic technical risks, recurring engineering weaknesses, cross-program dependencies, and opportunities for common solutions or improved practices.
• Provide technical escalation and independent adjudication when significant technical disagreements cannot be resolved at the program or discipline level.
• Determine and approve document technical concurrence, conditional concurrence, or non-concurrence and recommend additional analysis, testing, mitigation, or corrective action when warranted.
• Mentor Lead Systems Engineers and other senior technical leaders in systems thinking, engineering judgment, technical leadership, and risk-based decision-making.
• Advise the Director of Engineering and senior leadership regarding significant technical risks, engineering capability gaps, and priorities for organizational investment.
• Promote cross-program lessons learned, technical knowledge sharing, reuse of proven approaches, and prevention of recurring technical problems.

WHY WORK FOR GMRE?

GMRE is a small veteran-owned company who cares about our employees. We offer health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), vacation, Paid Time Off (PTO), or Paid Sick Leave (PSL) based on state laws, paid holidays, and life insurance to all permanent full-time employees. GMRE’s mission is to provide high-quality engineering and technical services to help our customers grow and succeed. 

GMRE is an equal opportunity employer. GMRE is committed to making employment decisions based on valid requirements, without regard to age 40 and over, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other applicable status protected by state or local laws.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice. 

REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Extensive knowledge of complex system design, development, integration, verification, validation, testing, production, sustainment, and technical risk management.
• Strong systems-engineering knowledge, including requirements, architecture, interfaces, technical baselines, trade studies, configuration control, and lifecycle considerations.
• Working knowledge of airworthiness, system safety, and qualification processes for DoD aviation.
• Exceptional independent engineering judgment and the ability to evaluate evidence, assumptions, uncertainty, consequences, and residual technical risk.
• Ability to lead independent technical reviews, assess technical readiness, investigate significant failures, and recommend proportionate corrective action.
• Ability to hold a technical position under schedule and financial pressure, and to influence decisions across programs and organizations.
• Strategic and cross-program systems thinking, including the ability to identify systemic risks, common dependencies, capability gaps, and enterprise opportunities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and technical-presentation skills for communicating complex issues, risk, and recommendations to engineers, executives, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor senior technical leaders and collaborate effectively with program, functional, production, manufacturing, quality, and business organizations.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in systems engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, computer engineering, or another applicable engineering discipline is required; a master's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline is preferred.
• Twenty or more years of progressively responsible experience in the design, development, integration, verification, testing, production, or sustainment of complex aerospace or defense systems, including significant experience with airborne or aviation systems is required.
• Five or more years of senior technical-leadership experience as a Chief Engineer, Lead Systems Engineer, system architect, independent reviewer, or equivalent technical authority is required.
• Demonstrated experience leading major technical reviews, assessing program technical health and readiness, resolving complex technical risks, and advising senior leadership or customers is required.
• Experience with Department of Defense acquisition and engineering environments, applicable military and industry standards, safety- or mission-critical systems, and multidisciplinary hardware/software integration is preferred.

SECURITY CLEARANCE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Must have a minimum of an active U.S. SECRET clearance and be subject to a government security investigation.
• Driving or renting a vehicle for company business may be required; a valid driver's license is required when operating a vehicle on company business.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• This position does not normally have routine direct personnel-management responsibility unless separately assigned by organizational leadership.
• Lead independent technical-review teams, technical boards, and focused engineering assessments through delegated technical authority and professional influence.
• Mentor Lead Systems Engineers and senior technical personnel on systems thinking, engineering judgment, and risk-based decision-making. The Director of Engineering retains personnel management and performance evaluation.
• Coordinate with the Director of Engineering and Functional Engineering Leads when technical findings identify competency, staffing, performance, or capability concerns requiring organizational action.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

• Occasional travel may be required for customer meetings, independent technical reviews, program assessments, testing, training, and site visits. Estimated up to 15%.
• Travel may include out-of-state and overnight assignments based on program and customer needs.

MEASURE OF SUCCESS

• Technical issues found before, rather than after, milestones and deliveries.
• Completion of mandatory reviews on time without becoming a schedule bottleneck.
• Reduction in recurring technical problems across programs.
• Quality and traceability of documented concurrence and non-concurrence decisions.
• Growth in the technical capability of Lead Engineers and senior technical staff.