Director of Engineering and Documentation

Description

TITLE: Director of Engineering and Documentation

Reports To: President

Supervise: Documentation Supervisor and Engineers

Salary: Negotiable with the right candidate

JOB SUMMARY

This role provides strategic leadership and oversight for the sustainability engineering functions and documentation and configuration management. Guiding and directing a documentation and a team of engineers. This role is accountable for the sustainability engineering and full documentation disciplines — from tactical execution quality to long-term strategic direction. This role also partners closely with senior leadership, program management, and key stakeholders to align sustainability of product adoptions within business growth objectives, drives enterprise-wide process transformation initiatives, and ensures the organization meets its highest standards for compliance, data integrity, and operational excellence. Supports the interaction between engineering, manufacturing operations, and program management. This role requires the vision to see the future state, the credibility to influence it, and the execution discipline to deliver it.

COMPLEXITY & PROBLEM SOLVING

Works on issues where analysis of situations or data requires conceptual thinking and an in-depth knowledge of organizational objectives. Problems are not clearly defined and lack strategic direction. Implements policies and select methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results. Drives the strategy and success of larger projects which contribute to multiple areas of the organization. 

This role may also work on complex issues where problems are not clearly defined and where fundamental principles do not fully apply. Translates business segment strategy into functional plans and guides execution. Participates in corporate development of methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for projects, programs, and people. Ensures budgets (partial) and schedules meet corporate requirements.

SCOPE OF MANGEMENT & SUPERVISION

Manages activities of two or more disciplines within a department. Oversee experienced level professionals and/or may be responsible for subordinate supervisors. Frequently advises team(s) on moderately complex matters. Accountable for department budget which may be broad and have far reaching impact on the business segment. Directs the activities of a functional areas through team and team supervisor. Leads team(s) to develop new methods and solve complex matters. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Development

• Define and execute the multi-year documentation and configuration management strategy, aligning functional capabilities with the organization's growth, quality, and compliance objectives.

• Build a culture of excellence, ownership, and continuous improvement that attracts and retains top documentation talent.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers and technical staff, providing regular feedback, career guidance, and professional development opportunities

• Serve as a key contributor to department strategy development, translating organizational goals into actionable team objectives and initiatives

• Ability to think and draw conclusions quickly, adapt to change, be open to new ideas, take on new responsibilities, handle pressure, and adjust plans and priorities to meet changing needs

• Plans for and uses resources efficiently, looks for ways to reduce costs, creates accurate and realistic budgets, tracks and adjusts budgets, contributes to budget planning

• Effectively communicate project expectations to project team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion. 

• Facilitate the definition of project goals, tasks, and resource requirements; resolve or assist in the resolution of conflicts within and between projects or functional areas; develop methods to monitor project progress

Enterprise Documentation & Configuration Management

• The document control focus specializes in implementing and maintaining an engineering change notice system. These changes will include product improvements, obsolescence management and product development.

• Own enterprise documentation standards, policies, and governance frameworks applicable across all programs, sites, and customers.

• Drive cross-site configuration management maturity — establishing consistent CMP frameworks, CCB governance models, and CM audit cadences.

• Serve as the organization's senior escalation point for the most complex documentation, change control, and configuration disputes requiring executive engagement.

• Lead the documentation function through major organizational events — ERP migrations, PLM platform transitions, new site launches, or large program onboards.

• Ensures all contractual requirements pertaining to configuration management are implemented and followed on a given program.

Customer, Program & Executive Engagement

• Represent the documentation function at the executive and customer level, participating in program reviews, contract negotiations, and strategic planning sessions.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key customers, serving as the senior point of contact for documentation-related performance, corrective action, and capability discussions.

• Translate customer and market requirements into functional capability investments and process improvements.

• Collaborate with product/program managers and cross-functional teams to identify customer needs, allocate resources, and deliver projects on schedule and budget

ITAR, Compliance & Risk Management

• Own the enterprise ITAR compliance posture for the documentation function; ensure Technical Data Control Plans, training programs, and audit processes are current, effective, and audit-ready at all times.

• Identify and manage documentation-related compliance risks across the enterprise; develop mitigation strategies and present risk posture to executive leadership.

• Maintain current knowledge of evolving ITAR/EAR regulations, AS9102 standards, and CMMC requirements; proactively adapt organizational practices accordingly.

• Ensure compliance with industry standards, local regulations, and safety requirements.

• Reviews audit information and guides audits of systems to verify the baseline documentation is accurate and complete. Obtains customer acceptance of baseline documentation through formal configuration verifications and audits, such as functional configuration and physical configuration audits. 

Technology & Process Transformation

• Lead enterprise-level PLM and ERP transformation initiatives, from strategy definition through implementation governance and adoption measurement.

• Champion digital transformation of documentation workflows including paperless manufacturing, and AI-assisted document processing.

• Establish enterprise KPIs, benchmarks, and maturity models for the documentation function; report on progress to the executive team.

• Build technical depth across the sustainment engineering staff through targeted training, knowledge sharing, and hands-on mentoring in in various engineering disciplines.

• Ability to conceptualize initial component and system designs with schematics and block diagrams; lead project team execution of assembly, test, debug, and optimization; and organizing results for design reviews and customer presentations.

• Provide technical leadership and hands-on contributions across the sustainment engineering lifecycle, including concept development, design, test, and integration activities

• Experience designing and developing engineering solutions to overcome component obsolescence 

• Ensures validation of engineering drawings, specifications, contract deliverables, various software documentation, contract modifications, and design release documents to confirm compliance with customer contract requirements.

Requirements

MINIMUM EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• Must be a U.S. Person as defined under 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) due to access to ITAR-controlled technical data.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Technical Management, Business Administration, or a related field; or equivalent work experience.

• 12+ years of progressive experience in documentation control, configuration management, or related technical management within EMS, PCBA, or defense/aerospace manufacturing, including 5+ years managing managers or multi-site teams.

• Strong knowledge of ITAR, NIST-800 and relevant compliance regulations as they relate to the business objectives.

• Strong understanding of AS9100, IPC standards, and PCBA manufacturing processes — sufficient to set enterprise-wide standards and make authoritative decisions.

• Demonstrated ownership and strategic direction of enterprise PLM and ERP systems across multiple programs or sites.

• Strong configuration management authority — CMP development, multi-site CCB governance, and strong working knowledge in relevance to Defense Manufacturing. 

• Strong communication across leadership levels and team development.

• Experienced business acumen —managing departmental budgets and building business cases.

• Experience in a leadership role, communicating with and influencing stakeholders at all levels.

• Working knowledge of contract requirements identification, engineering design documentation, and build and test processes

• Proficient written and verbal communication skills to allow effective communication with both technical and non-technical teams

• Critical thinking, analytical, able to draw conclusions quickly, open to new ideas, take on new responsibilities, handle pressure, and adjust plans and priorities to changing needs.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in Engineering Management, Business Administration, or a related discipline.

• CMII certification or equivalent senior compliance credential.

• PMP or equivalent program management certification.

• Experience with CMMC Level 2/3 documentation requirements and CUI handling.

• Track record of leading enterprise PLM or ERP platform transitions.

• Experience building documentation functions at new manufacturing sites or during major business integrations.

• Willingness to adapt, grow and work through challenges for continuous improvements within a maturing organization.

Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.