Vice President of Automation Engineering (HYBRID)

THE COMPANY

Our client is a premier, founder-led Tier-1 aerospace and defense manufacturer specializing in high-precision, custom engineering-to-order (ETO) components, massive composite structures, and advanced machining solutions. Operating over one million square feet of advanced manufacturing space, the company is built on a culture of hands-on innovation, technical grit, and an absolute commitment to long-term excellence. Driven by surging demand across defense modernization, space, and commercial aerospace programs, the organization is currently executing an ambitious $800M+ multi-site expansion, including a new flagship campus designed to house the world’s most advanced automated manufacturing capabilities.

THE POSITION

The Vice President of Automation Engineering is a high-visibility executive mission tasked with architecting, designing, and deploying the technology foundation for a revolutionary, fully automated metallic machining facility. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer during the initial design and build phase, this leader will oversee a dedicated enterprise of ~45 multidisciplinary engineers spanning mechanical machine design, electrical engineering, software, and industrial automation. The core impact of this role goes far beyond simple system integration; this executive will direct the ground-up engineering and fabrication of proprietary, large-scale 5-axis CNC equipment and autonomous manufacturing cells, setting a new global standard for aerospace production throughput, precision, and capital efficiency.

Main Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Greenfield Execution

Partner directly with executive leadership to define, program-manage, and execute the technology roadmap for a greenfield, fully automated manufacturing plant.

Own capital project execution schedules and multi-million-dollar CapEx budgets from initial concept design through machine build, factory acceptance testing (FAT), and site commissioning.

Align multidisciplinary engineering efforts across multiple geographic facilities to ensure seamless equipment fabrication, testing, and deployment.

Machine Design & Custom Equipment Engineering

Provide overarching technical authority for the design and build of proprietary, high-precision metallic machining centers, custom 5-axis CNC equipment, and robotic cells.

Oversee mechanical structure design, motion control architectures, spindle systems, end-effectors, and material handling platforms tailored for complex aerospace alloys.

Guide engineering design reviews to resolve complex mechanical, thermal, and dynamic machine tool challenges before production release.

Controls, Software & Systems Integration

Direct the architecture and development of advanced PLC/SCADA systems, motion control frameworks, and HMI platforms for custom machinery.

Lead the integration of shop-floor machine automation with manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resources planning (ERP), and real-time IIoT data networks.

Oversee the deployment of automated in-line inspection and metrology technologies (laser trackers, CMM, machine vision) into automated production cells.

Operational Governance & Team Development

Lead, mentor, and scale a 45+ person engineering organization comprising directors, lead mechanical designers, electrical engineers, controls developers, and project managers.

Build a culture of technical rigor, safety compliance (ANSI/RIA, ISO, OSHA), and continuous improvement across all automation engineering disciplines.

Drive reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) principles and design-for-maintainability standards into all custom equipment builds.

THE CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a visionary yet deeply grounded “engineering architect” who combines hands-on mechanical machine-building depth with executive gravitas. Having personally led large technical teams in custom engineering-to-order (ETO) or capital equipment manufacturing environments, this individual thrives on getting into the technical details alongside elite engineers and executive leaders. They possess the rare ability to balance high-level strategic program management with shop-floor problem-solving. Unfazed by high stakes or greenfield complexity, they bring a humble, collaborative, and low-ego approach that earns immediate respect from senior machine designers, operational teams, and C-suite executives alike.

Key Candidate Requirements

10–15+ Years of Engineering Leadership: Demonstrated track record leading large, multidisciplinary technical engineering teams (40+ engineers) in complex manufacturing environments.

Custom Equipment & Machine Building: Direct experience managing the ground-up mechanical design, build, and deployment of custom machinery, high-precision 5-axis CNC equipment, or automated production cells.

Capital Program Management: Proven success delivering large-scale automation, FMS, or capital equipment buildout projects ($10M–$50M+) on schedule and within budget.

Technical Requirements

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) required; Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or Systems Engineering strongly preferred.

Clearance & Citizenship: U.S. Person status required per ITAR/EAR export regulations. Secret security clearance and eligibility preferred.

Core Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of metallic machining mechanics, kinematics, 5-axis CNC architectures, industrial robotics, PLC/controls, and automated metrology systems.

Functional Skills

Program Management: Capability to program-manage cross-functional, multi-site engineering schedules with strict stage-gate governance.

Data-Driven Problem Solving: Ability to interpret raw operational data, machine performance metrics, and equipment capacity models to drive decisions.

Executive Communication: Skill in translating complex mechanical design and automation concepts into clear capital investment strategies for executive leadership.

Culture Fit

Socratic & Low-Ego Leadership: Leads through influence, technical authority, data, and collaborative problem-solving rather than corporate rank or top-down autocracy.

Grit & Hands-On Mentality: Thrives in a down-to-earth, approachable, “no jerks / no fear” environment where executive authority is earned on the shop floor (“passes the Beer Test”).

Executive Mentorship: Possesses emotional intelligence and professional maturity to advise rising organizational leaders and build cohesive cross-functional alignment.