Demo

Director of Engineering, Product Engineering

AV
Simi Valley, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 12/27/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 1/25/2026
Worker Type

Regular

Summary

Job Description

The Director of Engineering leads a highly innovative, enterprise wide, multi-discipline engineering organization, which develops world class products & solutions within a defined fast paced R&D development process, with highest levels of safety, reliability, innovation and lowest cost for multiple applications and across multiple business areas. In this role, the Director of Engineering is responsible for leading AV's sustaining engineering and engineering services of UAV systems for military and commercial applications.

Position Responsibilities

  • Develops and leads an engineering organization, which in addition to other capabilities, is also capable of:
    • Fast & effective prototyping of select development projects/programs in order to meet customer needs
    • While at the same time, transitioning some of them to fully manufactural/production ready products
  • Develops, implements and continuously improves engineering tools, best practices, capabilities, and capacity to support multiple Commercial & Defense businesses within AV in global and emerging markets.
  • Develop, implement, and maintain configuration and data management plans, policies, and procedures.
  • Effectively plans and manages engineering budgets and financial objectives consistent with Annual Operating Plan (AOP).
  • Manages the engineering resources and staffing level consistent with the business's strategic plan & AOP.
  • Coordinates R&D & Sustaining projects with customer facing organizations (Business Unit) and Operations in order to effectively meet program and project objectives.
  • Creates and promotes an environment where our engineers and employees can grow professionally and become the BEST at what they do
  • Participates with other senior managers to establish strategic plans and objectives. Makes final decisions on administrative or operational matters and ensures operations effective achievement of objectives.
  • Regularly interacts with executives and/or major customers. Interactions frequently involve special skills, such as negotiating with customers or management or attempting to influence senior level leaders regarding matters of significance to the organization
  • Other duties as assigned
Basic Qualifications

  • 12 years of successful engineering experience including 5 years in leading Engineering organizations, managing an engineering team across multiple IPT’s.
  • Aerospace hardware and software engineering experience required
  • Proven & successful experience managing & leading a multi-disciplined engineering organization (Aero, Electrical, Video Processing, Remote Sensing, Embedded and Application Software, Mechanical-Design, Mechanical-circuit board design, Systems, Configuration Management, Data Management, Design & Drafting).
  • Knowledge of ANSI EIA-649, GEIA-859, DRM, ASME Y14.100 and/or related industry standards
  • Knowledge of PLM, ERP, MRP and other enterprise related system
  • Experienced with group motivation and discipline skills & demonstrated competence in the development of a high quality, motivated workplace.
  • Experienced leader who has demonstrated people development skills
  • Proven track record of developing and implementing engineering processes, tools, and best practices
  • BS degree in an engineering or technical/scientific discipline required.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

  • Graduate and post-graduate degrees in a technical/scientific discipline is highly preferred.
  • Strong communication (verbal and written) skills
  • An experienced leader and team player
  • Skilled at working on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth knowledge of the company
  • Uses vision to think beyond the immediate situation, explore multiple potential paths, and adapt decision-making style based on the situational circumstances
  • Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to deliver organizational goals, while also delivering value back to employees
  • Brings organizational values to life using personality, uniqueness and the creation of a shared vision
  • Champions the process of change and promotes a culture of quick adaptation while helping others deal with the effects of change
  • Demonstrates the ability to develop and maintain internal and external trusting, professional relationships
  • Assesses the degree of risk and opportunity in plans or actions and takes appropriate action to mitigate them or makes plans to build on the opportunity

Physical Demands

  • Ability to work in an office environment (Constant)
  • Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent)

Special Requirements

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) or asylee/refugee status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) required.

The Salary Range For This Role Is

$176,000 - $249,480

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.

Who We Are

Based in California, AeroVironment (AVAV) is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Founded in 1971 by celebrated physicist and engineer, Dr. Paul MacCready, we’ve been at the leading edge of technical innovation for more than 45 years. Be a part of the team that developed the world’s most widely used military drones and created the first submarine-launched reconnaissance drone, and has seven innovative vehicles that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.

Join us today in developing the next generation of small UAS and tactical missile systems that will deliver more actionable intelligence to our customers so they can proceed with certainty – and succeed.

What We Do

Building on a history of technological innovation, AeroVironment designs, develops, produces, and supports an advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition.

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. Must be willing to work on government contracts and have the ability to obtain a security clearance.

Salary : $176,000 - $249,480

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Director of Engineering, Product Engineering?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Director of Engineering, Product Engineering career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$143,577 - $173,918
Income Estimation: 
$188,688 - $232,750
Income Estimation: 
$190,687 - $235,769
Income Estimation: 
$218,238 - $263,470
Income Estimation: 
$213,354 - $274,761
Income Estimation: 
$213,354 - $274,761
Income Estimation: 
$277,105 - $362,555
Income Estimation: 
$151,448 - $188,145
Income Estimation: 
$203,425 - $249,816
Income Estimation: 
$213,375 - $267,876
Income Estimation: 
$190,687 - $235,769
Income Estimation: 
$97,457 - $126,589
Income Estimation: 
$150,467 - $192,499
Income Estimation: 
$149,289 - $190,988
Income Estimation: 
$124,420 - $155,868
Income Estimation: 
$176,972 - $219,172
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at AV

  • AV Albuquerque, NM
  • Worker Type Regular Job Description The Program Chief Engineer will serve as the technical lead for one or more SRFS phased-array programs in development. ... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • AV Huntsville, AL
  • Worker Type Regular Job Description AV is looking for a highly talented Counter-Countermeasure and Threat Discrimination Analyst to join our team! In this ... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • AV Melbourne, FL
  • Worker Type Regular Summary Job Description The Software QA Automation Engineer III designs automated solutions to perform applicable software validations.... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • AV Huntsville, AL
  • Worker Type Regular Job Description Job Summary: The primary role of the Network Engineer is to provide planning, design, implementation, operation, and su... more
  • 14 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Director of Engineering, Product Engineering jobs in the Simi Valley, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • Ojai valley inn Ojai, CA
  • Posted Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 5:00 AM The Chief Engineer is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Engineering Department including, but n... more
  • 24 Days Ago

  • Gables Engineering, Inc. Camarillo, CA
  • Lucix Corporation, a subsidiary of HEICO's Electronic Technologies Group has steadily evolved to become the world leader in RF Active and Passive Units, Su... more
  • 20 Days Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!