Director of Engineering Job at VES (Aberdeen Proving Ground)

Job Description

The Director of Engineering is the senior technical execution leader responsible for ensuring that engineering across all VES programs is delivered with technical integrity, architectural coherence, and operational excellence. This role serves as the primary technical execution authority across programs and acts as the first point of technical escalation for complex, cross-domain engineering challenges. The Director partners closely with the CTO to translate technical vision into executable reality, while independently resolving the majority of day-to-day technical and integration challenges that arise across the portfolio. The Director of Engineering is a deeply technical systems-level leader, capable of understanding and reasoning about complex software, systems, infrastructure, and security concerns, and of guiding teams through difficult technical decisions under delivery pressure.

Job Responsibility

Lead and oversee engineering execution across multiple concurrent programs, ensuring solutions meet cost, schedule, performance, quality, and architectural expectations
Serve as the primary technical execution lead across the organization, with authority to make technical decisions necessary to unblock delivery and resolve engineering challenges
Act as the first escalation point for complex technical problems, integration failures, and cross-program dependencies, independently driving solutions for the majority of issues before CTO involvement is required
Apply deep systems-level technical judgment to diagnose, frame, and resolve difficult engineering problems spanning software, systems, infrastructure, deployment, and security
Ensure engineering decisions made under delivery pressure preserve long-term system maintainability, reliability, and scalability
Develop and maintain a deep understanding of VES engineering processes, standards, and technical expectations, and ensure they are applied consistently across programs
Partner with Principal Engineers to review and approve system architectures, technical approaches, and major design decisions
Ensure architectural consistency and technical coherence across programs while allowing appropriate flexibility to meet mission and customer needs
Identify systemic technical issues, recurring failure modes, and architectural debt across the portfolio and drive corrective action
Work closely with Principal Engineers (Mission Command, Land Systems, Emerging Technologies, Cyber Security, Systems Engineering) as domain technical authorities
Leverage Principal Engineers as deep subject matter experts while integrating their input into cohesive, executable cross-domain solutions
Challenge and validate technical recommendations through informed technical discussion and systems-level analysis
Drive alignment and prioritization of Principal Engineer efforts in support of engineering execution and organizational objectives
Collaborate with Program Managers to align technical execution with program plans, staffing, and delivery commitments
Own engineering execution risk across programs, including technical feasibility, integration complexity, and delivery sustainability
Intervene directly in programs when technical execution, system integrity, or delivery outcomes are at risk
Monitor engineering health across programs and drive corrective actions as needed
Support business development and capture activities by contributing to technical solutioning, estimates, and proposal development
Ensure proposed technical solutions are realistic, executable, and aligned with VES technical capabilities and standards
Identify opportunities for technical reuse, internal R&D, and capability development to support long-term growth
Provide functional leadership and technical mentorship to engineering managers, technical leads, and senior engineers
Develop engineering leadership depth by modeling strong technical judgment, disciplined execution, and systems-level thinking
Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field (Master's degree preferred)
15+ years of engineering experience, including significant hands-on technical responsibility for complex systems
7+ years in senior technical leadership roles, such as Principal Engineer, Chief Engineer, Lead Architect, or equivalent
Demonstrated ability to independently solve complex, cross-domain technical problems involving software, systems, infrastructure, and security
Strong understanding of software engineering, systems engineering, integration practices, and modern deployment environments
Experience implementing and enforcing SDLC, configuration management, and quality standards
Experience working in a government contracting or regulated environment, including DoD or Federal programs
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to engineers, program leadership, executives, and customers
Excellent written and oral communication skills with respect to the above requirements
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance

Nice to have

Active U.S. Government security clearance
Experience in a small-to-mid-size government contracting organization
Hands-on experience with Linux-based systems, containerized environments, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise deployments
Familiarity with NIST 800-171, CMMC, and related compliance frameworks
Experience supporting software-intensive or mission-critical systems in defense, aerospace, or national security domains
Proposal and capture experience, including technical volume authorship

What we offer

401(k) match
Highly Competitive Salary
Up to 15 Paid Vacation days / year
11 Paid Holidays
Flexible work/life balance culture

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Director of Engineering

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