Director of Engineering

For nearly a century, Simmonds Precision has been helping shape the future of flight from our home in Vergennes, Vermont. Today, our technologies are trusted across hundreds of commercial and military aircraft platforms worldwide, helping aircraft operate safely, reliably, and efficiently.

At Simmonds Precision, we design and manufacture advanced sensing, monitoring, fuel management, and precision control technologies that solve some of aerospace’s most demanding challenges. Behind every solution is a team of talented people who bring together engineering expertise, advanced manufacturing, craftsmanship, and a drive to innovate.

When you join Simmonds Precision, you’re not just taking the next step in your career, you’re contributing to technology that takes flight around the world. Whether your expertise is in engineering, manufacturing, quality, operations, or business support, there’s an opportunity to make your mark.

Find your next opportunity where precision meets possibility—and build your career in aerospace with Simmonds Precision.

Position Summary

The Director of Engineering – Fuels and Proximity is responsible for translating business-unit strategy into effective engineering execution across the fuel sensing and proximity sensing product portfolios. This position supports the Business Unit Manager by providing technical leadership for the portfolio and ensuring that customer needs, product strategies, and business objectives are converted into clear engineering priorities and executable plans.

The Director will lead the development of robust technical solutions to customer problems and requirements while ensuring predictable delivery against schedule, cost, quality, and performance commitments. This role requires strong technical rigor, disciplined resource management, proactive risk identification, and close engagement with customers to understand their current and future needs.

The Director is also responsible for building a high-performing engineering organization by developing employees, strengthening technical and leadership capabilities, and establishing effective succession plans for key roles.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Business Unit Manager by leading the fuel sensing and proximity sensing portfolios from a technical and engineering perspective.
• Translate business-unit strategy, customer requirements, and product-growth objectives into engineering priorities, product roadmaps, milestones, and execution plans.
• Maintain a close working relationship with customers to understand their technical challenges, operational needs, emerging requirements, and future product expectations.
• Lead the development of robust, reliable, producible, and cost-effective solutions to customer problems and requirements.
• Ensure engineering programs and customer commitments are delivered predictably, meeting schedule, cost, quality, technical-performance, and regulatory requirements.
• Establish clear program objectives, engineering plans, resource requirements, and accountability for execution.
• Identify technical, schedule, cost, and resource risks early and drive mitigation actions before they affect customer or business commitments.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight for new-product development, product redesign, technology development, product sustainment, obsolescence management, and customer technical support.
• Ensure appropriate technical rigor through disciplined design reviews, analysis, testing, verification, validation, qualification, and configuration management.
• Partner across Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, and Finance to ensure alignment and successful execution of business-unit priorities.
• Drive engineering productivity through design reuse, standardization, design-to-cost, process improvement, and improved execution efficiency.
• Build and maintain the engineering capabilities, tools, processes, and technical expertise required to support the current and future product portfolio.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing engineering talent.
• Develop employees through meaningful assignments, regular feedback, career-development planning, and increased levels of responsibility.
• Establish succession plans for critical engineering leadership and technical roles and actively develop future leaders and technical experts.
• Create a performance-oriented engineering culture characterized by technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, customer focus, urgency, and a bias for action.
• Provide clear, fact-based communication on engineering performance, resource requirements, technical risks, and recovery plans to business-unit and site leadership.

The successful candidate will:

• Think and act like an owner, balancing customer needs, technical performance, risk, cost, and long-term business value.
• Maintain strong customer intimacy and use customer insight to guide technical priorities and product-development decisions.
• Set clear expectations and hold the organization accountable for predictable execution.
• Build trust through transparency, sound technical judgment, and consistent delivery.
• Develop people and organizational capability as deliberately as products and technologies.
• Create an environment where risks and problems are surfaced early, decisions are data-driven, and corrective actions are executed with urgency.
• Work with and collaborate with cross company engineering teams

Why Join Simmonds Precision?

At Simmonds Precision, you won't just be filling a position, you'll be developing skills in an industry where precision matters. You'll have the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals, gain hands‑on manufacturing experience, and contribute to products used in demanding aerospace applications.

Great work deserves great rewards—and benefits that support you both at work and beyond. Our comprehensive total rewards package is designed to help you stay healthy, build financial security, enjoy time away from work, and continue growing throughout your career.

• Health & Wellness: Take care of yourself and your family with comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, HSA and FSA options, and convenient access to an onsite cafeteria and fitness center.
• Invest in Your Future: Enjoy competitive pay, an annual bonus opportunity, and a 401(k)-retirement plan that includes up to a 4% company match plus an additional annual employer contribution starting at 3%. Company-paid life and disability insurance provide additional financial protection and peace of mind.
• Time to Recharge: We believe time away from work matters. Enjoy four weeks of vacation, plus five additional paid days during our annual holiday shutdown, paid sick leave, and paid maternity and paternity leave—giving you more time for the moments that matter.
• Grow Your Career: Keep building your skills and advancing your career with up to $20,000 in annual tuition reimbursement, along with ongoing professional development and learning opportunities.
• Benefits Beyond the Basics: Choose from additional programs designed to make life a little easier, including supplemental insurance, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), legal services, identity theft protection, discounted auto and home insurance, and pet insurance.

Your career is more than a paycheck. Join a company that invests in your health, your future, your growth, and your life outside of work.

Compensation Range

$170,000.00-$220,000.00

Full-time/Part-time

Full-time

Employer Privacy Policy

This Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by law. Information on race, gender and national origin will only be used for statistical and recordkeeping purposes, and will not be used in making any employment decisions. All information provided will be kept separate from your expression of interest. Providing this information is strictly voluntary, and you will not be subjected to any adverse action or treatment if you choose not to provide this information. If you do not choose to answer these questions, we ask that you select "Decline to Identify" for each question. Thank you for your voluntary cooperation.

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