Head of Vehicle Engineering
- Compensation
- $165K–$245K / yr
- Location
- Long Beach, California
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- C level
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 8+ years
- Category
- Not specified
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Proven track record taking flight or mission-critical hardware from concept through qualification and field operations in aerospace, defense, or similarly high-stakes environments
- Direct management of engineering teams with accountability for hiring, performance, and career development
- Ownership of departmental roadmap and investment, with experience making cost/schedule/risk trade-offs across multiple programs
- Deep technical fluency in mechanical design, structural mechanics, fluid systems, manufacturing processes, GD&T, and DFM/DFA principles
- Strong analytical foundation across hand calculations and FEA/CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS, ABAQUS, NASTRAN); able to challenge analysis and red-team designs
- Excellent written and verbal communication; able to brief executive leadership, customers, and government stakeholders on technical scope, risk, and progress
Nice to have
- Prior experience as a Head, Director, or Senior Manager of hardware engineering at a launch, missile, satellite, or defense systems company
- Experience scaling a hardware engineering function from prototype to rate production, including the introduction of containerized or mass-producible designs
- Familiarity with U.S. missile defense, hypersonics, or tactical/strategic deterrent programs and the associated customer environment (MDA, DoD, allied partners)
- Working knowledge of major CAD platforms (NX, CATIA, CREO/Pro-E) and PLM systems (e.g., Teamcenter, Windchill)
- Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity and shifting priorities on aggressive, mission-driven schedules
- Active or recent U.S. security clearance (Secret or above)
Full description
Long Wall Company was created in 2024 to accelerate missile defense technology for the U.S. and our allies. We specialize in ballistic missile defense and are developing Cyclops, a low-cost, mass-producible interceptor. We also produce containerized launchers and offer low-cost targets for threat replication. The future of global security depends on defensive technology that redefines cost, magazine depth, and distribution to deter and defend against evolving threats. Join us.
WHAT WE LOOK FORMission-Driven Problem Solvers – The problems in missile defense demand ingenuity. We want engineers, technicians, and corporate professionals who approach challenges with curiosity, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and stay focused on delivering the best solution for the mission.
Total Ownership – We seek those who take full responsibility for delivering flight-ready work while recognizing that no one succeeds alone. The best engineers, technicians, and corporate professionals make their teammates better, knowing that complementary skills create force multiplication and drive mission success.
Head of Vehicle Engineering
DESCRIPTION
Long Wall is hiring a Head of Vehicle to lead the multidisciplinary team responsible for taking missile defense hardware from concept through flight. This leader owns the engineering vision, technical execution, and hiring, across the flight hardware design disciplines (e.g., structures, fluid systems, mechanisms), and coaches a team of engineers. They drive technical decisions across product lines and partner closely with propulsion, avionics, manufacturing, and mission assurance leadership to ensure flight-ready delivery on aggressive timelines. The role is hands-on enough to maintain technical credibility, but the principal contribution is multiplying the output of the team in a fast-moving, evolving-priorities environment.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own end-to-end engineering delivery of hardware products - structures, fluid systems, mechanisms, primary structure, avionics enclosures - from concept through manufacturing, qualification, and field support
- Lead, hire, develop, and mentor a team of engineers; set the bar for technical excellence and total ownership across the department
- Define and execute the technical roadmap for the Vehicle Engineering department, balancing flight-ready execution with the build-out of containerized, mass-producible product lines
- Own department headcount, schedule and planning; allocate resources to maximize mission impact per dollar
- Drive design reviews, qualification plans, and risk-based decision-making; serve as the senior technical authority on hardware architecture and major trade studies
- Partner cross-functionally with propulsion, avionics, GNC, manufacturing, supply chain, and test/launch leadership to integrate hardware into flight-ready systems on aggressive schedules