Senior Director of Engineering - Tactical Vehicles

Job Description

Job Description

CTR Group is seeking a Senior Director of Engineering - Tactical Vehicle Systems for a Manufacturing Company & Defense Contractor in the Greater Detroit, MI area.

A great career opportunity!

Salary Range: $200,000 - $210,000 a year with Outstanding Benefits.

SUMMARY

This role owns engineering delivery for the company, develops and leads the engineering team, and serves as the senior technical voice with customers and in new bid efforts. We are seeking a strong engineer with a clear record of career progression who is prepared to modernize how an established engineering organization works.

DESIRED TRAITS

• An AI-forward approach to engineering. A demonstrated interest in using modern tools to increase what a lean engineering team can deliver. Extensive experience is welcome but not required; curiosity, willingness to experiment, and a history of adopting new tools quickly matter more.
• Team leadership and on-time delivery.
• The ability to build enthusiasm within an experienced engineering group for working differently, while consistently closing programs on schedule.
• Cross-functional collaboration. A commitment to building a positive, collaborative engineering culture that partners effectively with Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing, Contracts, Finance, HR, BD and IT.
• A lean operating instinct. A track record of questioning inherited process, eliminating low-value steps, and achieving more with a small team.
• Hands-on technical credibility. Sufficient depth in vehicle systems to be able to engage personally in technical detail and provide assistance to the engineering team as needed.

TECHNICAL DEPTH

• We require demonstrated engineering strength in at least one of the following areas, with working knowledge of the others.
• Vehicle Systems engineering and integration. This role requires working familiarity with heavy truck, tactical vehicle, or comparable heavy-duty vehicle systems. Specialist depth in chassis or driveline is not necessary, but candidates must have sufficient command of vehicle-level integration to make sound technical and resourcing decisions.
• Software and embedded systems. Software-defined vehicle architecture, embedded computing, vehicle networks, controls software, and open architecture approaches, including the discipline required to manage software development within a hardware-centric organization. IP development experience preferred but not required.
• Electrification. High-voltage architecture, energy and power management, battery and power electronics integration, and thermal management.

ENGINEERING DELIVERY

• Lead the engineering function across new program starts, owning delivery on schedule, within budget, and to customer technical requirements. (Note: Program Management is embedded in the engineering function, and Engineering Technical Leads and PM’s report through the engineering organization.
• Participate directly in architecture and design decisions across mechanical, electrical, systems, software, and test disciplines.
• Function as a working engineer when workload overflow dictates.
• Assess engineering workload by program and discipline, translating scope into staffing plans, schedules, and external resource requirements.
• Work with contracts and compliance to ensure compliance with ITAR, export control, FAR/DFARS, MIL-SPEC/MIL-STD, CMMC, and program-specific CDRL requirements.

Team Development and Modernization:

• Build, develop, and lead a multi-disciplinary engineering organization spanning mechanical, electrical, systems, software, and test engineering.
• Guide the existing team into software-defined, electrified, and automated product development.
• Drive practical adoption of AI tools across engineering workflows, including requirements analysis, documentation, design trade studies, test case generation, and program reporting, with appropriate controls for ITAR-controlled and CUI technical data.
• Strengthen engineering’s working relationship with other functions through earlier and more consistent collaboration.
• Blend internal hires with contract engineers, engineering services firms, and specialty consultants to close capability gaps, including negotiation and management of SOWs, deliverables, quality expectations, and IP protection terms.

Customer Engagement and New Business:

• Serve as the senior technical voice in customer engagements, technical interchange meetings, industry days, and government stakeholder discussions.
• Lead engineering input to bid efforts, including technical volume development, basis of estimate (BOE) generation, and cost proposal support.
• Provide engineering assessment for bid/no-bid decisions.
• Establish Company’s technical credibility in markets where the company is expanding

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Systems Engineering discipline.
• Minimum 10 - 15 years of engineering experience demonstrated progression in scope and responsibility, with a minimum 5 years leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams with direct supervisory responsibility.
• Working familiarity with heavy truck, tactical vehicle, or vehicle systems integration.
• Demonstrated engineering depth in at least one of the following: software and embedded systems, electrification, or systems engineering and integration.
• Expertise and experience in hybrid-electric systems, Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS), exportable power capabilities, onboard vehicle power, and/or autonomy architecture.
• Experience with U.S. government or DoD contracts, including working familiarity with FAR/DFARS, ITAR, CMMC, and MIL-SPEC/MIL-STD requirements strongly preferred, but not required.
• Current use of AI tools in engineering or engineering management work is strongly preferred, but not required.
• Desire and eagerness to learn about and incorporate such tools are requirements.
• Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62).

CTR Group has been a leader in its industry for over 35 years and is rated highly on Google, Indeed and Facebook for being a great company to work for. If you enjoy being a part of a great team, apply today and check out our website for more information.

CTR Group is an equal employment opportunity employer. Candidates are selected based on qualifications and defined requirements of the job, not on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or any other protected status. Further, CTR Group encourages United States' Veterans and persons with disabilities to apply for positions for which they are qualified.

CTR group is a full-service employment & recruiting firm, matching the strengths and skills of thousands of candidates with employers.

Company Description

CTR group is a full-service employment & recruiting firm, matching the strengths and skills of thousands of candidates with employers.