Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department Associate Director

The Enterprise Effects Division (EED) drives integration of Aerospaces strategic capabilities across the national space enterprise. The divisionleveragesa broad array of engineering disciplines against a dynamic portfolio of programs customers and national challenges. EED spans the capability lifecycle from concept and architecture design to performance assessment to application of space and space-enabled capabilities.

As part of the Enterprise Design Subdivision (EDS) theVehicle and Ground Concepts Department(VGCD)drivesresponsive and comprehensivespace vehicle and ground system preliminary/conceptual design trades and evaluation.Working closely with corporate program officesVGCDdeliversintegration leadership and capabilities for conceptual design activities across the space enterprise. The department servesUS Space Force Intelligence Community NASA NOAA and commercial/internationalcustomers.TheAssociateDirector of theVehicle and Ground ConceptsDepartment willwork with the Director tolead these efforts build partnerships with customers and ensure the team is staffed with top talent to solve complex challenges.

Work Model:

This full-time position requires 100% onsite work inEl Segundo CA.

WhatYoullBe Doing:

• Assist the Director in developingthe vision and direction for the department to execute and enhance corporate capabilities thatresponsivelyinform our customersspace and ground acquisitions and architectures.

• Drivenew technologyadoption (e.g.generativeand agentic AI)and adapt these to enhance systems engineering workflows.

• Identifynewpartnershipsforgrowth in customer impact.

• EnsureVehicle and Ground ConceptsDepartment and related corporateactivities fullyleverageexpertisefrom across Aerospaceincorporating best practices inenterprise systems engineering.

• Managedirect reports including staff performance reviews resource allocation and personnel management and recommend performance improvements career development personnel actions and awards.Staff are currentlylocatedinChantilly VA; Albuquerque NM; Colorado Springs CO; and El Segundo CA.

• Serve asaprimary contact for program office inquiries frame problems develop implementation plans and identifyappropriate personnelbased onexpertise.

• Foster a culture of innovation and collaborationmaintainrobust relationships with peer organizations and lead multi-disciplinedesignteams.

• Coordinate and manage complex technical tasks among customers ensuring quality and accuracy of work products.

• Recruit onboard and develop staff through performance management mentoring and coaching.

• Collaborate with subdivision leadership to cultivate an effective national organization

• Lead technical activities organize project teams and execute a variety of conceptualdesignevaluationandanalysis activities.

What You Need to be a SuccessfulAssociateDirectorVehicle and Ground ConceptsDepartment.

• Bachelors degree in engineering scienceor a related field;or a bachelors degree from an accredited institution and equivalent technical experience

• Typically10 or more yearsdemonstratedexperience leading engineering studies and analysis teams managing/coordinating complex technical tasks among team members and translating customer needs into actionable tasks forengineers

• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary teams involving system designacquisitionand/or operations in one or more of the following areas: space systems ground systems launch systems or operations

• Experience in hiring supervising mentoring and inspiring staff

• Proven ability toinitiateand lead project teams develop project plansidentifyhigh-impact deliverables and manage schedule commitments

• Exceptional time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and to lead cross-functional teams

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to present methods and results effectively

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment adapt quickly to change manage ambiguity anddemonstrateinitiative under pressure

• Ability to travelapproximately 15-25% of the time

• This position requires a current and active TS/SCI clearance which is issued by the U.S. government and the ability to pass a CI Polygraph. U.S. citizenship isto obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• A graduate degree or extensive work experienceinrelevant fields

• Experience withconcurrent engineering spacecraft design ground system designmodel-based systems engineering (MBSE) digital engineering and/or enterprise systems engineering/architecting

• Experience with generative and/or agentic AI technologies

• A reputation for expanding the knowledge and/or application ofthe concurrent engineering designdiscipline literature tools and processes

• Prior experience with related Aerospacearchitecting and design capabilities (CDC PDST MBSE Digital Engineering) or similar experience at another company

• Experienceleveragingor integrating commercial capabilities/services into space mission architectures

• Experience collaborating with multiple Aerospace program offices and customers

• Strong interpersonal networks within Aerospace and customer organizations

• Strong connections and working experience with the National SecuritySpaceCommunity

• Experience withor supporting the acquisition ofspacecraft payloads ground systems launch systems missile systems nuclear weapon systems and/oraircraftsystems

• A proven ability toestablishand maintain effective working relationships with contractors customers and corporate staff

• Experience leading or managing a geographically distributed team including remote employees