Project Engineer Department Manager

Firehawk Aerospace is a leading propulsion-focused aerospace and defense company located in Addison, TX. Our innovative approach empowers us to design and manufacture cutting-edge solid and hybrid rocket motors and engines. We aim to push the boundaries of propulsion technology to serve both commercial and defense sectors.

This position will be full-time located at our Addison, TX facilities with occasional travel potentially required to other Firehawk sites (approximately 10%).

Firehawk Aerospace is seeking a Project Engineer Manager to lead and technically manage the development of novel propulsion systems. The Project Engineer Manager will supervise and work alongside a team of project engineers that interface with our research, design, manufacturing, and test teams to ensure that technical and schedule milestones are met. The Project Engineer Manager will also coordinate with Program Management and other Senior Leadership communicating technical, schedule, risk, and cost performance.

The ideal candidate should be an effective communicator who works well in teams and can communicate well with all levels of the organization. They should possess broad knowledge and experience with hardware development within a defense or aerospace environment and have previous experience as an Integrated Product Team (IPT) Lead or equivalent responsible role. The position will report directly to the Chief Engineer and will support all areas of the organization (Design, Development, Testing, Manufacturing, and Production).

• Manage a department of project engineers and prioritize workload of the team
• Perform functional management duties: timecards, indirect budgets, and performance reviews
• Lead small, multi-disciplinary team in the design, development, integration, and test of novel solid and hybrid rocket propulsion systems
• Own integrated planning and day-to-day team execution across requirements, design, analysis, prototyping, test, manufacturing readiness, and transition to production
• Drive program execution to technical, cost, schedule, and risk targets
• Prepare and maintain integrated plans, schedules, risk registers, and metrics
• Support Earned Value and baseline change control where applicable
• Coordinate across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Test Operations, and Safety to meet program requirements
• Deliver technical reviews, status, and risk/opportunity updates
• Make project decisions considering technical merit, safety, cost, and schedule
• Ensure entry/exit criteria are met for key technical decision gates (e.g., SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR)
• Apply systems engineering rigor: requirements development and traceability, interface control, verification and validation

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (e.g., Mechanical, Aerospace, Systems) or Engineering Management
• 8+ years of professional experience in research or engineering, including hardware development in aerospace or defense
• Demonstrated project planning and management skills in a fast-paced R&D environment
• Strong technical background in one or more: mechanical design, structural analysis, thermal analysis, internal ballistics/SRM performance, combustion/CFD, or test engineering
• Experience leading cross-functional teams (matrix leadership), with clear communication across all organizational levels
• Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to produce clear technical documents, reviews, and status reports
• Commitment to safety, reliability, innovation, efficiency, and teamwork
• Ability to travel to other Firehawk sites and supplier/test locations (~10%) to support project needs
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance

• Advanced degree in Engineering or Engineering Management
• 12+ years of demonstrated leadership as an Integrated Product Team (IPT) Lead or Project Lead
• Experience as a personnel manager supporting performance reviews
• Experience with project management tools and integrated schedules and generating plans, schedules, and risk registers
• Experience with proposal development, writing, and BOEs; familiarity with estimating and basis of estimate best practices
• Hands-on experience with propulsion development and test, including test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis
• Well-versed in systems engineering practices: requirements management, verification/validation, risk management, and configuration management
• Experience working on DoD/NASA programs with technical reviews (SRR/PDR/CDR/TRR/FRR)
• Active or previous DoD security clearance

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Employees in these positions must possess…