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Job Description: Engineering Manager – Configuration Management &
Applications Engineering
Company: Ontic
Department: Engineering
Location: Chatsworth
Reports To: Engineering Director
Position Summary
The Engineering Manager – Configuration Management & Applications Engineering is responsible for leading two critical engineering functions that ensure technical integrity, regulatory compliance, and successful execution of customer requirements throughout the product lifecycle.
This role provides strategic and operational leadership for the Configuration Management (CM) organization and the Applications Engineering (AE) team. The manager ensures company design and manufacturing intellectual property is maintained in accordance with ANSI/EIA-649 Configuration Management principles while overseeing contract technical reviews, proposal support, and customer technical engagement to ensure customer requirements are accurately understood, flowed down, and executed.
The position serves as a key interface between Engineering, Program Management, Business Development, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing, and customers to support new business opportunities, sustainment programs, and lifecycle product management.
Essential Responsibilities
Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop Configuration Management and Applications Engineering personnel.
- Establish departmental objectives, performance metrics, and continuous improvement initiatives aligned with business goals.
- Manage staffing, workload prioritization, budgets, and resource allocation across both functions.
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and customer focus.
Configuration Management
- Establish and maintain Configuration Management processes compliant with ANSI/EIA-649 and applicable aerospace industry standards.
- Ensure integrity, control, and traceability of product configuration throughout the product lifecycle.
- Manage engineering baselines, product structures, Bills of Material (BOMs), engineering drawings, specifications, and technical data packages.
- Lead Engineering Change Proposal (ECP), Engineering Change Notice (ECN), and Change Control Board (CCB) processes.
- Ensure configuration identification, change management, status accounting, and configuration verification activities are effectively executed.
- Protect and maintain company design and manufacturing intellectual property.
- Support audits related to AS9100, customer requirements, and regulatory agencies.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations to ensure controlled implementation of engineering changes.
- Develop and improve CM policies, procedures, and digital workflows supporting product lifecycle management (PLM).
Applications Engineering
- Lead technical review of customer Requests for Quotation (RFQs), Requests for Proposal (RFPs), and contracts.
- Ensure customer technical requirements and contractual flow-downs are thoroughly reviewed for feasibility, compliance, and risk.
- Coordinate cross-functional engineering inputs supporting proposal development.
- Develop engineering labor estimates, technical schedules, and cost inputs supporting proposal and program budgeting.
- Identify technical risks associated with new business opportunities and recommend mitigation strategies.
- Serve as the engineering focal point supporting customer technical inquiries before and after contract award.
- Support resolution of technical issues including:
- Parts obsolescence
- Alternate component qualification
- Legacy product support
- Design clarification
- Technical data interpretation
- Product sustainment
- Coordinate technical responses supporting customer requests, engineering investigations, and product improvement initiatives.
- Ensure engineering deliverables satisfy contractual technical requirements.
Cross-Functional Responsibilities
- Partner with Business Development to support capture strategies and proposal efforts.
- Collaborate with Program Management to ensure technical commitments are achievable.
- Support Operations and Manufacturing with implementation of engineering changes.
- Work closely with Supply Chain and Procurement on component substitutions and supplier technical issues.
- Coordinate with Quality and Regulatory Compliance to ensure customer and industry requirements are satisfied.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean principles and best engineering practices.
- Support digital transformation initiatives involving PLM, ERP, document control, and engineering workflows.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; in lieu of degree a minimum of 15-years industry experience in related capacity.
- 8+ years of engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or highly regulated manufacturing.
- 3+ years of engineering leadership or management experience.
- Demonstrated experience with Configuration Management principles and processes.
- Working knowledge of ANSI/EIA-649 Configuration Management Standard.
- Experience supporting engineering change management processes.
- Experience reviewing customer technical requirements and contractual flow-downs.
- Experience supporting proposal development and engineering cost estimation.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing, product lifecycle management, and engineering documentation.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
Preferred
- Experience with AS9100 quality systems.
- Familiarity with military specifications and defense contracting requirements.
- Experience with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
- Experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or similar.
- Knowledge of export compliance requirements (ITAR/EAR).
- Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement experience.
- Experience supporting legacy aerospace products and sustainment programs.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Strong understanding of configuration identification, change control, status accounting, and configuration audits.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and technical documentation.
- Strong analytical and systems-thinking capabilities.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills.
- Ability to evaluate technical risk and make sound engineering decisions.
- Strong customer-facing communication skills.
- Ability to influence across functional organizations.
- Demonstrated leadership in developing high-performing technical teams.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and engineering information systems.
Key Performance Indicators
- Configuration change cycle time
- Engineering change implementation effectiveness
- Configuration audit compliance
- Proposal technical review turnaround time
- Accuracy of engineering cost and schedule estimates
- Customer technical response timeliness
- Contract technical compliance
- Engineering resource utilization
- Team engagement and development
Working Relationships
This position regularly interfaces with:
- Engineering
- Program Management
- Revenue Management / Sales Team
- Operations / Manufacturing
- Supply Chain / Procurement
- Quality Assurance
- Contracts
- Customers
- Regulatory agencies
Leadership Expectations
The Engineering Manager is expected to:
- Champion technical integrity and disciplined engineering execution.
- Promote collaboration across departments.
- Develop and mentor engineering talent.
- Drive continuous improvement through data-driven decision making.
- Balance customer responsiveness with sound engineering judgment.
- Protect Ontic's technical intellectual property while ensuring customer commitments are met safely, efficiently, and compliantly.
Work Environment
This position operates in a combination of office, engineering laboratory, and aerospace manufacturing environments. Occasional travel (10–25%) may be required to support suppliers, customers, or Ontic manufacturing locations.
Why Join Ontic?
At Ontic, we sustain the world's aerospace fleets by manufacturing and supporting critical products that keep aircraft flying safely for decades. You'll have the opportunity to lead technically challenging projects that directly impact commercial and defense aviation while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams in a highly regulated, mission-driven environment.
Compensation Pay Range
$135K-$175K
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Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing Inc. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected Veteran
Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
This position must meet export control compliance requirements. To meet export control compliance requirements, a “U.S. Person ” as defined by 22. C.F.R. §120.15 is required. “U.S. Person” includes U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee.
