Mechanical Design Engineering Manager

This opportunity is located within our Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company business, a global leader of mission-critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions.

Job Description

Mechanical Design Engineering Manager

Location: Simsbury, CT Reports to: Design Engineering Director

Position Summary

At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense (EBAD), our products demand technical rigor, reliability, and safety. The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager builds and develops our mechanical design organization to deliver higher-quality designs that can be produced more efficiently and predictably.

Across Simsbury and Moorpark, this leader establishes the standards and capabilities needed for mechanical product design, enclosures, tooling, packaging, and rapid prototyping across the product-development lifecycle.

What You'll Do

Build and Develop the Mechanical Design Organization

• Set the standard for how the Mechanical Design organization performs, including expectations for technical rigor, execution, accountability, and leadership.

• Build organizational capability by developing leaders, strengthening the talent pipeline and succession coverage, and shaping targeted investments in tools, equipment, and technical capabilities.

• Integrate the Simsbury and Moorpark Mechanical Design teams under common standards, priorities, and functional practices.

Strengthen Design Standards and Execution

• Establish common design standards, methods, design reviews, release-readiness expectations, and operating cadence to make execution more consistent across sites and programs.

• Establish a consistent approach for prioritizing design resources across projects and aligning functional capacity with program needs.

• Strengthen Design for X (DfX) practices early in product development to optimize tradeoffs among manufacturability, assembly, testability, cost, safety, performance, and reliability.

Improve Product Quality and Technical Outcomes

• Drive disciplined design practices, early validation, and resolution of technical risks before release to improve design quality and producibility and enable higher product yield.

• Build a culture of technical rigor by questioning assumptions and risk assessments and removing obstacles so teams can make sound decisions more quickly and deliver quality designs in less time.

Influence Across the Business

• Partner across Engineering and the business to align mechanical design practices with manufacturing capability, program needs, and customer requirements.

• Translate mechanical design risks, capability needs, and recommendations into clear implications for senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or another relevant technical discipline.

• At least 10 years of progressive mechanical design and product-development experience with complex engineered products from concept through qualification and production, including practical application of Design for X principles.

• Proven people leadership, including leading managers or technical leads, developing talent, setting expectations, driving accountability, and building succession coverage.

• Demonstrated experience establishing and sustaining engineering standards, design reviews, release-readiness practices, or other mechanisms that improve design execution.

• Demonstrated use of structured problem solving and continuous improvement to improve engineering performance.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

• Must be eligible to support U.S. Department of Defense and ITAR-controlled programs.

Experience That Would Set You Apart

• Experience leading mechanical design organizations across multiple sites or product lines.

• Experience with high-consequence aerospace and defense products, such as ordnance, energetics, or space systems.

• Experience with machining, 3D printing, or rapid prototyping.

• Experience working within a mature operating system that uses visual management and Kaizen.

Why This Role Matters

This role is central to building the mechanical design capability EBAD needs as its products, programs, and organization grow. The Mechanical Design Engineering Manager will shape a cross-site function, develop future leaders, and improve design quality and producibility so EBAD can bring products into production more predictably and meet its throughput and quality targets.

Compensation & Benefits:

The anticipated yearly wage range for this position is $160,000 - $190,000. The salary range represents the range EBAD has established in good faith for this position and may vary based on qualifications, experience, education, skills, internal equity, and business needs.

EBAD offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; retirement benefits; paid time off and holidays; life and disability insurance; employee assistance and wellness resources; and incentive compensation eligibility, subject to applicable plan terms and conditions. Benefit eligibility may vary based on position, work location, employment status, and applicable plan provisions.

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.