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.