Innovation Engineer

Innovation Engineer

Irvine CA (Hybrid)

Position Summary

Thales is looking for an Innovation Engineer to assist withInnovation projects necessary to obtain up-to-date technical knowledge assess the technical feasibility of ideas and potential solutions mature characterize and de-risk preferred solutions to enable optimal technical choices in preparation for the launch of new product development. This activity supports competitiveness and business growth for Thales IFEC (Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity) Business Line is central to supporting Thales strategic focus on profitable growth. This position leads Innovation projects using his/her own technical skills Thales internal and/or external expertise as needed to accomplish the task and includes management of a small team of Junior Engineers.

Innovation activities in Thales focus on exploration incubation and maturation of our systems sub-systems equipment and Digital Services from low maturity to high maturity allowing their formal Product Launch by the Product Delivery Teams. Innovation activities include technical information research feasibility studies proof-of-concepts characterization and prototyping with the intent to investigate optimum solutions and characterize the technical and business risk profile prior to the formal development. They also include the organization of focus groups customer workshops focused on Innovation collaboration with all internal stakeholders (Engineering Strategy Product Delivery Customer Success Services and Support) to define and prioritize the Innovation Roadmap maximizing the ROI and the alignment with business needs and BL strategy.

In this position you will also be responsible for the execution delivery and demonstration of assigned Innovation projects. The scope includes project coordination with Engineering Product Marketing and/or partners and suppliers requiring the combination of strong communication and influencing skills as well as demonstrated technical and/or information technology experience. An agile goal oriented mind set and ability to work effectively with remote external partners is essential.

Finally the Innovation Engineer being in the CTO team acts as a catalyst for creating and fostering an innovation culture within the Business Line. Associated activities include organizing periodic Innovation Days coaching technical leaders (Product Owners Chief Engineers/architects) to help maturing their innovation projects working with start-ups or other Thales entities on Proof-of-Concepts participating in dedicated Innovation Events such as AI Centech and DIS incubation Programs.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Research and engage in new or adaptable technologies that support the IFEC vision and objectives in line with the Strategy Team Product Delivery and Customer Success and strong partnership with the technical community; Manage multiple concurrent Innovation projects including management of scope schedule cost resources and risk.
• Coach and guide the technical leaders during all phases of their Innovation projects from concept Exploration through Incubation (ensuring concept feasibility viability and acceptability) and leading to Product Launch via Maturation (preparing the organization mitigating/identifying risks and finalizing all pre-development activities).
• Maintain and present Innovation project status dashboards on a regular interval as defined by the governance; Complete the final project deliverables including white papers prototypes Initial Gates (IG) Main Gates (MG).
• Help establish prioritize and implement the Innovation plan to audiences at various levels of understanding internally to colleagues leadership GBU and externally to aircraft OEMs airline customers technical committees symposia as agreed; Assist in finding opportunities to leverage external funding and grants and develop collaborative RT&I partnerships including access to academic researchers internships industry and start-ups.
• Support the protection of IP working in close collaboration with the IP Manager of the Business Line; Embrace knowledge capitalization and extensive sharing across IFEC. Coordinate with GBU innovation counterparts.
• Support the annual Multi Year Budget (MYB) process to propose budget requirements for Innovation projects; Direct management of a small team of Junior Engineers including objective setting performance management and career development.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in a Science or Technology field of study including Systems /Network Engineering Software Engineering Computer Science Information Technology and Telecommunications Systems.
• 7 years or more in Innovation associated activities including 2 years of project leader experience in an agile environment.
• Demonstrated technical ability in one or more of the following areas - system engineering systems or computing architecture embedded software prototyping and modelling telecommunications wireless networks IOT digital technologies human-system integration.
• Applied knowledge of Product Design ideation methods and concept development tools and techniques (C-K theory User Experience design Lean Start-Up).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in the English language with the ability to present information and key messages to wide ranging audiences from the detail-oriented technical community to senior leaders.
• High level of tenacity genuine passion for innovation and comfort with ambiguity.

If youre excited about working with Thales but not meeting the requirements for this position we encourage you to join our Talent Community!

Special Position Requirements

• Schedule: Core Business Hours Monday-Friday 8 a.m. 5 p.m.
• Travel: This position may require domestic travel up to 5%.
• Regulatory Compliance Requirements: None.

What We Offer

The anticipated TTC range for this role is $138161.25 - $184215.00 USD Annual. The Company reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation depending on circumstances not related to an applicants status protected by local state or federal law.

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 30 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents including the following:

• Elective Health and Dental plans.
• Retirement Savings Plan with a company contribution and a match and without vesting period.
• Company paid holidays vacation days and paid sick leave.
• Company provided Life Insurance.

Why Join Us

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The reference Total Target Compensation(TTC) market range for this position inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target is between