Description
Director of Engineering
Orbion is seeking a Director of Engineering who will report to the Chief Technology Officer. The Director is responsible for execution of Orbion’s Product Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering activities. Given strategic direction from the CTO, the Director will have the responsibility to develop and deliver products and systems on-time and on-budget, and to provide the sustaining engineering required over the full product or system lifecycle. To achieve this, the Director will manage functional requirements, staffing, resource planning, recruiting, training, talent development, engagement, and retention of employees. This position requires attention to detail, the ability to compile and organize data from multiple internal/external sources, to synthesize the data to create schedules/plans and, ultimately, coordinate with other leadership to prioritize, lead, manage, and share staff. Demonstrated experience leading engineering organizations in spacecraft or other aerospace/defense industries is desired, but equivalent engineering leadership experience in non-aerospace environments is also qualifying. The ideal candidate has strong interpersonal skills, is self-motivated, and driven by a fast-paced, exciting, and collaborative work environment.
Responsibilities:
- Manage and develop a growing team that is currently approximately 30 mechanical, electrical, software, and system engineers
- Actively participate in strategic project planning and prioritization of efforts
- Work with the CTO to develop technical roadmaps
- Work with the CTO to identify and enforce engineering priorities
- Report progress against plans to CTO and internal executive leadership
- Reinforce a culture of innovation, creative and collaborative problem solving
- Identify and deploy processes and practices to improve team effectiveness and communication
- Work across departments, especially manufacturing, to transition products from concept to production
- Plan and ensure sufficient labor/resource capacity and capability are available to meet the business forecast
- Establish performance expectations, methods, and tools for the teams
- Support training and career development for the teams
- Other duties as assigned
Minimum Requirements:
- Must meet the definition of a United States Person
- 10+ years of experience with engineering, management, monitoring activities, and collaboration with other staff/leadership
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics or directly related degree
- Experience in a product development and/or production environment
- Proven ability to lead small- to medium-sized engineering teams
- Great communication skills, technical depth, and breadth across multiple engineering disciplines
- Willingness to travel on occasion (5%)
Preferred Qualifications:
- 15+ years of experience with development and production programs in aerospace, defense, or medical industries
- Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following technical areas: space hardware design, aerospace production, electronic design, electronics manufacturing, or aerospace systems engineering.
- Familiarity with common spaceflight hardware designs and issues
- Technical or management experience in multiple engineering disciplines
- Demonstrated experience working with in-house manufacturing that is producing a product at scale
- Solid understanding of applicable engineering principles, business practices, and experience working in production facilities
- Proven experience with engineering management tools
COMPENSATION/BENEFITS: Enjoy a very competitive starting salary based on your knowledge and experience. In addition to the excitement of making monumental changes to the aerospace industry, employees enjoy a flexible work schedule, company paid health insurance, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, paid time off (vacation, paid holidays, sick days), contribution matching retirement plan, short-term disability coverage, and life insurance coverage. The position is full-time and located in Houghton, MI. Relocation assistance is available.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by state or local law.
Skills Required
- Must meet the definition of a United States Person
- 10+ years of engineering and management experience with collaboration across staff and leadership
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or directly related degree
- Experience in a product development and/or production environment
- Proven ability to lead small- to medium-sized engineering teams
- Strong communication skills and technical depth across multiple engineering disciplines
- Willingness to travel on occasion (approximately 5%)
- 15+ years of experience in development and production programs in aerospace, defense, or medical industries
- Experience in space hardware design, aerospace production, electronic design, electronics manufacturing, or aerospace systems engineering
- Familiarity with common spaceflight hardware designs and issues
- Technical or management experience in multiple engineering disciplines
- Experience working with in-house manufacturing producing a product at scale
- Proven experience with engineering management tools
What We Do
Orbion Space Technology is a company that develops and manufactures plasma propulsion systems for small satellites. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Houghton, Michigan, the company provides standardized, mass-producible Hall-effect thrusters designed to improve satellite maneuverability and mission efficiency. Recently acquired by York Space Systems, Orbion continues to operate as a subsidiary, supporting both commercial and national security space programs with its flight-proven propulsion technology.









