This opportunity is located within our Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company business, a global leader of mission-critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions.Click here to learn more.
Job Description
Mechanical Design Engineering Manager
Location: Simsbury, CT | Reports to: Design Engineering Director
Build Mechanical Design Capability. Improve Design Execution. Deliver Production-Ready Products.
Position Summary
At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD), our products perform in environments where technical rigor, reliability, and safety are essential. The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager leads EBAD's Mechanical Design organization and strengthens mechanical design capability across the product-development lifecycle.
This leader owns the evolution of the mechanical design function supporting mission-critical aerospace and defense products, with responsibility spanning mechanical product design, enclosures, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping. The role builds the team, standards, capabilities, and operating practices needed to deliver production-ready designs with less rework while balancing manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliability.
What You'll Do
Build and Lead the Mechanical Design Organization
- Lead, coach, and develop the Mechanical Design team, with clear expectations, effective one-on-ones, candid feedback, development plans, accountability for results, and succession strength.
- Integrate the Simsbury and Moorpark Mechanical Design teams and activities—including product, enclosure, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping—under a common functional operating model.
- Build the team and capabilities needed for future growth by identifying critical skill gaps, supporting recruiting, and developing business cases for headcount and capital investment, including machining and 3D-printing capabilities.
Strengthen Design Standards and Execution
- Establish and improve mechanical design standards, methods, design reviews, release-readiness expectations, and operating cadence to make execution more consistent, scalable, and effective across sites and programs.
- Establish a consistent approach for prioritizing Mechanical Design resources across projects and aligning functional capacity with program needs.
- Strengthen Design for X (DfX) practices early in product development, balancing manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliability.
Improve Product Quality and Technical Outcomes
- Deliver production-ready designs with less rework through disciplined tolerancing, design reviews, early validation, DFMEA, rapid prototyping, and collaboration with Operations and Supply Chain.
- Provide technical credibility and judgment in problem-solving discussions by assessing feasibility and risk, challenging assumptions, broadening the solution space, and removing obstacles without needing to be the subject-matter expert in every detail.
- Use the EBAD Operating System (EBOS) to reinforce operating cadence, visual management, structured problem solving, and kaizen within Mechanical Design.
Influence Across the Business
- Partner across Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Operations, and customers to align mechanical design decisions with technical performance, manufacturability, cost, schedule, quality, configuration control, and customer outcomes.
- Influence product decisions from concept through production by enabling rapid prototyping and early validation and by resolving cross-functional tradeoffs before release.
- Translate complex mechanical design considerations into clear risks, recommendations, and business implications for senior leaders, customers, and cross-functional partners.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline.
- At least 10 years of progressive mechanical engineering and product-development experience supporting complex aerospace, defense, space, or similarly demanding engineered products.
- Proven people leadership, including setting clear expectations, providing candid feedback, holding people accountable, and building team capability and succession strength.
- Strong mechanical design and product-development experience across the lifecycle from concept through production, including practical application of DfX principles.
- Strong technical competence and judgment sufficient to engage engineers in substantive problem-solving discussions, assess feasibility and risk, and guide decisions.
- Experience establishing or improving engineering standards, design reviews, release-readiness practices, or development processes that improve quality, speed, rigor, and predictability.
- Experience using structured, data-driven problem solving and continuous-improvement methods to improve engineering performance.
- Strong influence and communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively across engineering, operations, programs, business development, and customers.
Experience That Would Set You Apart
- Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline preferred.
- Experience leading mechanical design organizations across multiple sites or product lines, including product design, enclosure design, tooling design, packaging design, and rapid prototyping.
- Experience with ordnance, energetics, satellite systems, launch vehicles, aerospace electronics, or other high-consequence aerospace and defense products.
- Experience with machining, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, configuration control, quality systems, DFMEA, GD&T, or qualification readiness.
- Experience working within a mature continuous-improvement or business operating system, including operating cadence, visual management, structured problem solving, and kaizen.
- Working knowledge of SolidWorks and PLM systems sufficient to review work, coach engineers, and support problem solving; daily hands-on tool use is not required.
Additional Requirements
- Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
- Must be eligible to support U.S. Department of Defense and ITAR-controlled programs.
Why This Role Matters
This is an opportunity to shape and lead EBAD’s mechanical design capability across two sites, with responsibility for mechanical product design, tooling design, and packaging design. The role also leads a rapid-prototyping center with machining and 3D-printing capabilities, creating meaningful influence from concept through production and a measurable impact on the quality, speed, and predictability of product development across complex, mission-critical aerospace and defense programs.
You will also develop as a leader through EBOS, our mature operating system for building organizational capability, improving performance, and sustaining results.
Compensation & Benefits
The anticipated yearly wage range for this position is $160,000 - $190,000. The salary range represents the range EBAD has established in good faith for this position and may vary based on qualifications, experience, education, skills, internal equity, and business needs.
EBAD offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; retirement benefits; paid time off and holidays; life and disability insurance; employee assistance and wellness resources; and incentive compensation eligibility, subject to applicable plan terms and conditions. Benefit eligibility may vary based on position, work location, employment status, and applicable plan provisions.
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.
