Are you interested in being a chief engineer on a major flight vehicle, working for UDRI, a national leader in scientific and engineering research, serving government, industry and nonprofit customers? Our Power & Energy Division invites qualified candidates to apply for our Distinguished Chief Engineer opening!

This position is contingent upon contract award expected December 2022. The successful candidate will lead integration engineering on a major flight vehicle. This includes direct interaction with all major flight equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. Duties include direction and guidance of both physical and software interface definitions and designs, including model based system engineering efforts; establishing and validating compliance to applicable open standards, confirming, refining and flowing down requirements; overseeing mission analysis; developing and overseeing detailed technical comparisons between competing designs; understanding multiple approaches and developing strategies for integration of common components, supporting the updates of common standards to support new technology insertion into the future. A successful candidate will be able to work with a heavily matrixed team of national leaders in their respective fields, and be able to navigate regulatory, legal, and intellectual property realities along with developing technical solutions. Travel to industry partners will be required.



Minimum Qualifications
• B.S. degree in electrical or mechanical engineering
• 20 years of relevant experience
• Successful experience in the following:
*Working with defense contractors
*Working both Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Air Force Research Labs
*Engineering leadership
*Managing large and complex technical design teams
*Working with open standards
*Developing and flowing down requirements
• Strong background working within a secure environment
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Valid drivers license with low risk driving record
• Due to the nature of this position, U.S. citizenship is required and the candidate is required to have an active top secret clearance.


Preferred Qualifications

While not everyone may possess all of the preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

• Master’s degree in business and or management field
• Experience in both industry and government engineering and/or leadership roles
• Experience as a chief engineer on an air breathing flight vehicle

Special Instructions to Applicants

To apply please submit a cover letter addressing each minimum qualification and applicable preferred qualifications that you meet.

A federal court on December 7, 2021, issued a ruling that suspends the COVID-19 vaccine requirement that applies to federal contractors nationwide. With this development, the University will pause any enforcement action against employees who have not complied with the requirement to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, 2021 or to have requested an exemption to maintain their employment status.

The University will continue to monitor the state of the pandemic on campus and in the community as well as developments in federal and state requirements, and also will continue to regularly consult with public health officials and our medical panel. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, our protocols and requirements are subject to change depending on conditions on campus or in our community, and government requirements.


Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity, achieve equitable outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. As an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, we will not discriminate against minorities, women, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, or on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.