Directed Energy Sr Operations Engineering Manager

Worker Type

Regular

Job Description

Summary

The Directed Energy Sr. Operations Engineering Manager will lead operations engineering activities across the entire product lifecycle from concept development and design introduction through production, deployment, sustainment, modification, and end-of-life. This role will ensure products are designed for manufacturability, testability, reliability, serviceability, scalability, and cost effectiveness.

The successful candidate will lead cross-functional teams, establish operational strategies, improve manufacturing readiness, and drive continuous improvement throughout the product lifecycle. This position will work closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, program management, field operations, and customers to ensure products meet operational, technical, quality, schedule, and cost objectives.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead operations engineering strategy and execution across the complete product lifecycle.
• Develop and implement processes that support new product introduction, production ramp-up, sustainment, upgrades, and end-of-life activities.
• Partner with design engineering to ensure products are designed for manufacturability, assembly, test, inspection, service, and cost effectiveness.
• Establish product and manufacturing readiness criteria, metrics, and review processes.
• Lead design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly reviews.
• Develop manufacturing processes, work instructions, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, and production methods.
• Support product development from early concepts and prototype builds through qualification, production release, and full-rate production.
• Coordinate cross-functional efforts to resolve technical, manufacturing, quality, and operational issues.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to production, field performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Develop strategies to improve production capacity, throughput, yield, quality, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Collaborate with supply chain and suppliers to improve component availability, manufacturability, cost, quality, and lead times.
• Support supplier qualification, process validation, production part approval, and supplier performance improvement.
• Establish and maintain manufacturing bills of material, routings, process specifications, and configuration-controlled documentation.
• Ensure manufacturing and operations engineering changes are properly evaluated, documented, approved, and implemented.
• Lead production readiness reviews, manufacturing design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and lifecycle planning activities.
• Support test development, production acceptance testing, inspection planning, and equipment qualification.
• Develop and track lifecycle metrics, including cost, quality, schedule, yield, defects, escapes, rework, reliability, and service performance.
• Drive standardization and continuous improvement across products, programs, and manufacturing sites.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Support product configuration management, change control, obsolescence management, and component lifecycle planning.
• Partner with field service and sustainment teams to improve maintainability, repair processes, technical documentation, and product support.
• Establish end-of-life plans, including last-time buys, replacement components, repair strategies, and transition requirements.
• Mentor and develop operations engineers and technical personnel.
• Manage priorities, resources, budgets, schedules, and performance objectives for the operations engineering organization.
• Communicate program status, risks, recommendations, and operational performance to senior leadership.

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Competencies)

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 5-10 years of experience in operations engineering, manufacturing engineering, product lifecycle management, or a related field.
• 5-10 years of experience leading engineering or operations teams.
• Demonstrated experience supporting the full product lifecycle, including new product introduction and production sustainment.
• Experience working in complex, regulated, high-reliability, or advanced manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes, production systems, quality methods, and engineering change management.
• Experience with design-for-manufacturability, design-for-assembly, process development, and production readiness.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and resolving complex technical and operational issues.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Experience with ERP, PLM, MES, MRP, or manufacturing data-management systems.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

• Master's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, unmanned systems, electronics, or other high-reliability industries.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, or other continuous-improvement methodologies.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Project Management Professional certification or equivalent experience.
• Experience with configuration management, systems engineering, reliability engineering, and sustainment planning.
• Experience managing products through qualifications, low-rate initial production, full-rate production, field deployment, and retirement.
• Knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, FAA, DoD, or other applicable quality and regulatory standards.
• Experience with product lifecycle, requirements management, and configuration-management tools.

Core Competencies

• Strategic product lifecycle leadership
• Manufacturing and operational excellence
• Cross-functional collaboration
• New product introduction
• Design for manufacturability and assembly
• Root-cause analysis and corrective action
• Risk management and decision-making
• Process improvement and standardization
• Team leadership and employee development
• Technical communication
• Cost, quality, and schedule management
• Customer and stakeholder focus

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Improved product and manufacturing readiness at each lifecycle phase.

• Successful transition of products from development into production.

• Improved production yield, throughput, quality, and cost performance.

• Reduced manufacturing defects, rework, delays, and field issues.

• Effective implementation of engineering changes and configuration control.

• Improved supplier performance and material availability.

• Strong execution of product sustainment and lifecycle-extension activities.

• Development of a high-performing operations engineering team.

• Consistent achievement of program, operational, quality, schedule, and cost objectives.

Physical Demands

• Ability to work in an office, engineering, laboratory, and manufacturing environment.
• Ability to occasionally walk through production areas and observe manufacturing operations.
• May require occasional lifting of equipment or materials weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Occasional travel to suppliers, customers, manufacturing sites, or company facilities may be required.

Clearance Level

Secret

The salary range for this role is:

$128,000 - $195,250

AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

ITAR Requirement:

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits: AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

Principals only need apply. NO agencies please.

About AV:

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best.

We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve.

Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next.

If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR

U.S. Citizenship required