Vice President of Engineering

AeroVironment

Vice President of Engineering leading scalable defense and autonomous systems development at AeroVironment. Establishing technical governance, productization, and engineering organizations across national security programs.

Posted 8/5/2026full-timeAlbuquerque • Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $245,500 - $393,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates extensive engineering leadership in defense and aerospace sectors, with a focus on systems engineering, product development, and transition to manufacturing. Proven ability to implement enterprise engineering strategies and collaborate across diverse organizational functions to drive technical execution and product solutions.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Engineering LeadershipSystems EngineeringProduct DevelopmentDigital EngineeringTop Secret/SCI Clearance

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Systems EngineeringProduct DevelopmentTechnical Review ProcessesCybersecurityReliability EngineeringManufacturing ReadinessModel-Based Systems EngineeringRapid PrototypingTransition to ManufacturingRF Systems

Soft Skills

Strong Communication SkillsCollaborationLeadership

Tools & Technologies

Digital Engineering ToolsCommon Product Frameworks

Certifications & Qualifications

Top Secret/SCI ClearanceU.S. Person Under ITAR/EAR

Industry Keywords

DefenseAerospaceSpaceDirected EnergyNational SecurityAutonomous SystemsAcquisition ProgramsOperational DeploymentProduction Scale-UpFast-Paced Technology Organizations

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Cyber Security

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as the senior engineering authority across the Space, Cyber and Directed Energy Segment portfolio
Establish engineering standards, technical review processes, and development rigor for services and product organizations
Align technical execution with customer mission requirements, affordability targets, schedules, and product strategy
Drive engineering best practices across systems engineering, software, hardware, integration, testing, cybersecurity, reliability, and manufacturing readiness
Lead independent technical assessments and support executive decisions on technical risk, investments, and program execution
Transition bespoke engineering efforts into scalable, repeatable product solutions
Promote modular architectures, common product frameworks, reuse strategies, and product commonality
Partner with manufacturing and operations to improve producibility, reliability, and lifecycle affordability
Partner with the CTO to implement enterprise engineering strategies, processes, tools, governance, digital engineering, and MBSE
Support workforce planning, hiring strategies, succession planning, capability development, and future Chief Engineer structures
Collaborate with business unit leaders, program management, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, growth, security, and contracts
Support customer engagements, technical roadmap discussions, milestone reviews, strategic captures, program reviews, investment reviews, and annual operating planning

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field required
15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience in defense, aerospace, space, directed energy, RF systems, autonomous systems, or related national security sectors
Demonstrated experience leading complex engineering organizations supporting development and production environments
Strong background in systems engineering, product development, and transition to manufacturing
Experience in high-growth, fast-paced technology organizations
Ability to balance technical rigor with speed and execution urgency
Experience collaborating across enterprise engineering and business leadership organizations
Strong communication skills for engaging executives, customers, and technical teams
Top Secret/SCI clearance or ability to obtain a clearance
Experience supporting defense acquisition programs, rapid prototyping, and productized defense systems preferred
Familiarity with digital engineering, model-based systems engineering, and modern product development environments preferred
Experience scaling engineering organizations following acquisition or integration activities preferred
Background transitioning products from R&D into operational deployment and production scale-up preferred
Must qualify as a U.S. person under ITAR/EAR or be eligible for an export license
Some positions require current U.S. citizenship due to contract requirements

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
401(k) with company matching
9/80 work schedule
Paid holiday shutdown