What are the responsibilities and job description for the Environments Lab Manager position at Kratos Defense and Security Solutions?
Job Description
GENERAL JOB SUMMARY:
The Environments Lab Manager would lead a team responsible for shock, vibration, and environmental durability testing across a range of hypersonic components and flight systems. This role oversees test strategy, operations, personnel development, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure products meet rigorous performance for acceptance or qualification. The manager combines technical expertise with strong leadership to drive reliability, efficiency, and continuous improvement within the test organization.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Leadership & Team Management
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:
Yes.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
Kratos Defense is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer. EOE, Minorities, Females, Vet, Disabled, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or any other protected class. All qualified job seekers are encouraged to apply. Kratos Defense is committed to America's veterans by providing opportunities for them to continue contributing after service to our nation. We also work to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.
EEO Is The Law
Disability Accessibility Accommodation
If you require an accommodation to navigate or apply to our careers site, please send your request to HRAccessibility@kratosdefense.com or call 858-964-2916. Any inquires not related to requesting an accommodation will be discarded.
Pay Transparency
The company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.
Job Applicant Privacy Notice
For applicants in the EU and California residents, please review our privacy notice.
GENERAL JOB SUMMARY:
The Environments Lab Manager would lead a team responsible for shock, vibration, and environmental durability testing across a range of hypersonic components and flight systems. This role oversees test strategy, operations, personnel development, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure products meet rigorous performance for acceptance or qualification. The manager combines technical expertise with strong leadership to drive reliability, efficiency, and continuous improvement within the test organization.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of environmental test engineers and technicians.
- Set priorities, allocate resources, and manage workload across multiple concurrent test programs.
- Foster a culture of safety, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Conduct performance reviews, support career development, and guide hiring decisions.
- Define test strategies, methodologies, and best practices for shock, vibration, and environmental qualification.
- Review and approve test plans, setups, instrumentation strategies, and data analysis approaches.
- Provide technical guidance on interpreting applicable standards.
- Support root-cause investigations and reliability improvement initiatives.
- Oversee daily operation of test facilities.
- Ensure equipment calibration, maintenance, and readiness.
- Manage lab scheduling, capacity planning, and resource optimization.
- Ensure compliance with safety protocols and regulatory requirements.
- Partner with design, integration, manufacturing, and program management teams to define test requirements and timelines.
- Communicate test results, risks, and recommendations to engineering leadership and stakeholders.
- Support customer interactions, audits, and technical reviews.
- Identify opportunities to enhance test capability, throughput, and data quality.
- Drive investments in new equipment, software, and process automation.
- Develop and maintain documentation, procedures, and training materials.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:
Yes.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
- Significant hands-on experience with shock, vibration, and environmental testing.
- Strong understanding of structural dynamics, vibration theory, and signal processing.
- Demonstrated leadership experience (formal or informal) in an engineering or lab environment.
- Proficiency with data acquisition and analysis tools.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
- Bachelors degree from an accredited college in a technical discipline
- 10 years of experience in flight vehicle environment testing
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance Coverage
- Life/ADD & Short/Long Term Disability Insurance
- 401(k) Savings Plan
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
- Paid Time-Off (PTO)
- Holidays
- Education Reimbursement
Kratos Defense is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer. EOE, Minorities, Females, Vet, Disabled, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or any other protected class. All qualified job seekers are encouraged to apply. Kratos Defense is committed to America's veterans by providing opportunities for them to continue contributing after service to our nation. We also work to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.
EEO Is The Law
Disability Accessibility Accommodation
If you require an accommodation to navigate or apply to our careers site, please send your request to HRAccessibility@kratosdefense.com or call 858-964-2916. Any inquires not related to requesting an accommodation will be discarded.
Pay Transparency
The company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.
Job Applicant Privacy Notice
For applicants in the EU and California residents, please review our privacy notice.