Configuration Manager, Engineering Operations

Configuration Manager Engineering Operations

Irvine CA (Hybrid)

Position Summary

Thales is looking for a Configuration Manager Engineering Operations to be responsible for defining and executing the enterprise strategy governance framework and operational direction for Software Hardware and Solution Configuration Management across the global InFlyt Entertainment & Connectivity (IFEC) engineering organization. Reporting to the Director of Engineering Operations you will provide leadership for the evolution standardization and optimization of configuration management capabilities supporting complex safety-conscious and highly integrated IFEC platforms across distributed international teams.

As the Configuration Manager Engineering Operations you will operate with a high degree of autonomy and accountability leading cross-functional initiatives that strengthen engineering operational excellence product lifecycle governance release integrity scalability and development efficiency across the full solution lifecycle. You will be responsible for establishing long-term configuration management roadmaps advancing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) strategies and driving continuous improvement initiatives that support business growth engineering transformation and global delivery objectives.

You will partner extensively with engineering program management quality product cybersecurity DevOps and global operational stakeholders to align configuration management strategies with organizational priorities compliance expectations and customer delivery commitments.

In this position you will also provide leadership and mentorship to globally distributed technical teams ensuring alignment to enterprise standards engineering best practices and future-state operational capabilities.

Current scope of responsibility includes engineering operations across Irvine Melbourne France and India with the potential for continued expansion based on evolving business and organizational needs.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Define and lead the enterprise Configuration Management strategy governance model standards and roadmap for Software Hardware and integrated Solution environments supporting IFEC systems; drive the evolution and implementation of scalable Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) release management and configuration governance processes aligned with Chorus methodologies and global engineering objectives.
• Establish and operationalize standardized configuration management frameworks policies tools workflows and best practices across geographically distributed engineering organizations; provide strategic oversight and technical leadership for configuration management tools repositories CI/CD integration build and release controls and engineering operational processes; ensure configuration management activities support regulatory quality cybersecurity and customer compliance expectations throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Partner with senior engineering and operational leadership to align configuration management capabilities with strategic business priorities product delivery objectives technology modernization efforts and long-term organizational transformation initiatives; collaborate with internal and external stakeholders including third-party development partners to ensure alignment of configuration management processes tooling strategies operational standards and delivery expectations.
• Lead cross-functional operational improvement initiatives focused on engineering efficiency release quality automation defect containment traceability compliance and lifecycle governance; drive adoption of modern engineering methodologies automation capabilities and industry best practices to improve scalability productivity reliability and quality across the software and solution delivery lifecycle; establish performance metrics operational KPIs and governance mechanisms to monitor effectiveness identify risks and drive continuous improvement initiatives across the engineering organization.
• Lead risk identification mitigation planning and escalation management related to release integrity configuration control operational readiness and product lifecycle activities; lead regular operational reviews stakeholder meetings and cross-functional governance discussions to ensure alignment transparency execution accountability and issue resolution.
• Provide leadership mentorship and functional direction to configuration management engineers and analysts across global teams fostering technical growth operational consistency accountability and organizational capability development; support workforce planning activities including organizational scaling skills assessments succession planning resource allocation and capability development aligned with business and technology roadmaps; partner with leadership to develop operational budgets tooling investment strategies and training plans supporting configuration management modernization and engineering operational excellence initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

• Masters degree in Artificial Intelligence Software Engineering Computer Science Cloud Computing or a related technical field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4 years of progressive experience in software engineering cloud engineering AI/ML engineering or related technical disciplines including 3 years of hands-on experience designing developing and deploying production-grade AI/ML solutions within enterprise or large-scale environments; demonstrated experience contributing to technical architecture decisions and influencing engineering direction across cross-functional teams with strong collaboration and communication skills and the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholder groups.
• Strong expertise in applied AI solution patterns including agentic architectures Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) orchestration frameworks evaluation pipelines and intelligent automation along with a solid understanding of modern AI system concepts including memory management planning tool orchestration model evaluation guardrails and responsible AI principles.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern application development technologies including APIs React and TypeScript with hands-on experience implementing scalable cloud-native applications and distributed systems supporting AI workloads; hands-on experience with AWS cloud technologies including serverless architectures infrastructure automation and AI/ML services such as Amazon Bedrock; experience with infrastructure-as-code and DevOps practices using technologies such as Terraform CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment frameworks; and strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to translate complex business needs into scalable technical solutions.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer at the time of hire. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or for assuming sponsorship of an employment visa now or in the future.

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 8am-5pm Hybrid 9/80 eligible.
• Physical Environment: Typical office environment.
• Physical Demands: Must be able to perform the essential functions of the role.
• Travel: Less than 10% travel may be required.
• Regulatory Compliance Requirements: None.

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We are an equal opportunity employer including disability and veteran status. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex race color religion national origin disability protected Veteran status age or any other characteristic protected by law.

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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

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including but not limited to the employees career path history competencies skills and performance as well as the companys annual salary budget the customers program requirements and the companys internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation depending on circumstances not related to an applicants status protected by local state or federal law.

(For Internal candidate if you need more information please reach out to your HR Shared Service 1st Point)

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 Dental Vision FSA/HSA Voluntary Life and AD&D Whole Group Life w/LTC Critical Illness Hospital Indemnity Accident Insurance Legal Plan Identity Theft and Pet Insurance

Retirement Savings Plan after 30 days of employment with a company contribution and a match and with no vesting period

Company paid holidays and Paid Time Off

Company provided Life Insurance AD&D Disability Employee Assistance Plan and Well-being Program