VP of Engineering

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionVice President of EngineeringLocation: Cedar Rapids area, Iowa (on-site)|U.S. citizenship requiredOur client is an established designer and manufacturer of radio and communications electronics for aerospace, defense, and government customers. They are seeking a Vice President of Engineering to become the technical leader of their engineering team: someone who sets technical direction, owns design quality, and builds the processes and people that will carry the team for years to come, while staying hands-on.POSITION OVERVIEWReporting to the President, you will lead the engineering team directly and own all technical baselines. You will guide internal research and development (IR&D), turn customer needs into winning designs, and partner with Operations to take products smoothly into production.A typical split: about 40% program and product design and development, 30% people leadership, 15% customer engagement, and 15% company and executive engagement.WHAT YOU’LL DO· Serve as the technical authority on complete radio designs, owning architecture and system-level decisions· Lead, mentor, and develop the engineering team, growing engineers into independent designers· Own the IR&D budget and execution, and turn that investment into products that sell· Lead the team in turning customer needs into system-level requirements and specifications· Take products through the full lifecycle, from requirements through qualification and production· Manage product obsolescence, engineering change orders, and form-fit-function replacement designs· Partner with Operations to optimize design baselines for production· Lead technical discussions with aerospace primes, government, and FAA customers, and partner with the President on proposals and new programs· Lead design reviews and put engineering processes and documentation standards in placeWHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR· 15+ years of radio and communications electronics design, with proven technical leadership· Experience leading programs, design teams, or an engineering function, not just contributing to them· Deep, practical expertise in modulation techniques and the ability to guide engineers in choosing and implementing them· Expert-level knowledge of how customers use radios in the field, including setup, configuration, integration, and qualification as complete systems· Experience in new product development, including materials selection, design approach, and requirements capture· Experience owning an IR&D budget and successfully transitioning that investment to sales· Strong knowledge of MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-810, and DO-160· A transparent communicator who holds themselves and their team to high standards and earns customers’ respect· BS in Electrical Engineering required; MS preferred. 15+ years of proven technical RF system leadership may be considered in place of a specific degree· U.S. citizenship requiredNICE TO HAVE· Software engineering, firmware, or software-defined radio (SDR) experience· Power amplifier design· Experience building engineering processes and documentation standards at a small company· Experience across multiple markets, such as defense, cellular, or medicalWHY YOU’LL LOVE WORKING HERE· Technical leadership: Be the go-to technical authority for the company and its customers.· Lasting impact: Shape the engineering team, its processes, and its products for years to come.· Hands-on work: Stay close to the design work rather than managing from a distance.· Complete systems: Design full radio systems for aerospace, defense, government, and FAA customers.· Small company: Work directly with ownership, without layers of bureaucracy.