Position Overview
We are seeking a Mission Development Engineer to turn customer mission needs into actionable engineering concepts. This role combines technical problem-solving, customer engagement, and early-stage design development.
You will work directly with customers to understand their operating environments, identify challenges, and translate their needs into documented design requirements. You will develop initial concepts, coordinate their transition to a detailed design team, and remain involved through design reviews to help ensure the resulting solution meets customer expectations.
The ideal candidate has a mechanical or aerospace engineering background, communicates effectively with technical and nontechnical audiences, and brings a professional, collaborative approach to customer relationships.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage customer relationships: Build trust, maintain regular communication, and serve as a technical point of contact during requirements gathering and concept development.
- Understand mission needs: Visit customer sites to learn about operational objectives, existing equipment, environmental conditions, and design constraints.
- Gather and document requirements: Translate customer discussions into clear engineering requirements, including performance objectives, interfaces, physical constraints, and acceptance criteria.
- Develop concept designs: Create preliminary sketches, layouts, models, or technical presentations to communicate potential solutions.
- Evaluate design approaches: Work with internal engineering teams to assess feasibility, identify technical risks, and explain design tradeoffs.
- Coordinate design handoffs: Provide the detailed design team with organized requirements, concept materials, assumptions, and supporting customer information.
- Support design reviews: Participate in internal and customer reviews, communicate feedback, track open questions, and help resolve technical issues.
- Maintain alignment: Document changes to customer needs and coordinate with the design team to understand their impact.
- Represent the company: Attend conferences, industry events, and customer meetings to build relationships and identify emerging mission needs.
Required Qualifications
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.
- Availability for full-time employment.
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
- Willingness and ability to travel to customer sites and conferences.
- Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to present technical ideas clearly to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
- Professionalism, sound judgment, and discretion when working with customers and sensitive information.
- Ability to translate open-ended customer needs into structured requirements and practical design concepts.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with engineering teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Background or service experience with the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, or Navy.
- Active government security clearance.
- Experience supporting defense, aerospace, or mission-focused engineering programs.
- Familiarity with CAD tools and preliminary mechanical design.
- Experience with requirements documentation, technical presentations, or design reviews.
- Understanding of manufacturing methods and how production considerations influence design decisions.
What Success Looks Like
- Customers feel understood and receive clear, timely communication.
- Engineering requirements accurately capture customer needs and constraints.
- Design concepts provide a practical foundation for detailed engineering.
- Design handoffs give the engineering team sufficient context to move forward.
- Customer feedback and outstanding technical questions are tracked and addressed through design review.
