Lead Project Engineer

Flight Safety International is the world's premier professional aviation training company and supplier of flight simulators, visual systems and displays to commercial, government and military organizations. The company provides training for pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals from 167 countries and independent territories. Flight Safety operates the world's largest fleet of advanced full-flight simulators and award-winning maintenance training at Learning Centers and training locations in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

Flight Safety is a global leader in developing and delivering high-fidelity flight simulation and training systems for both commercial and military aviation. We design advanced simulators and integrated training environments that help pilots and crews train safely, effectively, and efficiently. Our engineering teams work at the intersection of aerospace, software, and systems innovation to push the boundaries of realism, fidelity, and performance.

The Lead Project Engineer (LPE) is the primary technical leader responsible for the planning, execution, and delivery of complex military flight simulation programs. This role bridges technical engineering management and project execution-serving as the central point of contact for the engineering team, program management, and the military customer. The LPE ensures the flight simulation training device is designed, integrated, and qualified on schedule, within budget, and in strict compliance with defense and contractual requirements.

The following duties are essential to the successful and satisfactory performance of this job. Other duties may be assigned based on departmental needs.

• Technical Execution & Leadership: Lead the technical execution of complex military flight simulation projects from initial concept through final system delivery.
• Primary Point of Contact: Serve as the primary technical interface for internal multi-disciplinary engineering teams, external military customers, and prime contractors.
• Program Management
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Assist the Program Manager with the development and maintenance of technical project plans, master schedules, budgets, and customer support strategies.
• Cross-Disciplinary Coordination: Coordinate and align day-to-day technical efforts across software engineering, mechanical design, electrical engineering, visual systems, and simulator technicians.
• Milestone Tracking & Reporting: Track engineering progress and milestones using appropriate tools (e.g., Jira, MS Project) to identify critical path items and report project status to stakeholders.
• Risk & Change Management: Proactively identify technical risks, implement mitigation strategies to prevent schedule slips, and evaluate the scope impact of Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs).
• Integration & Lifecycle Management: Drive the master integration schedule, coordinating the transition from hardware fabrication and software builds to full system testing and military qualification.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance: Ensure all engineering work and system designs strictly align with customer specifications, military regulatory standards, and internal company quality requirements.
• Hands-On Problem Resolution: Facilitate rapid technical problem resolution and provide hands-on support during critical simulator integration and testing phases.
• Proposal & Business Development Support: Support the Systems Engineering team in proposal development, engineering cost estimation, and technical presentations for new projects and contract modifications.
• Operational Flexibility: Travel, shift work, and special work hours may be required to accomplish integration milestones, customer acceptance testing, and on-site deployment tasks.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, Computer, or Systems), Computer Science, or another highly relevant technical field.

• 5+ years of engineering experience in the aerospace, defense, or flight simulation industry, including at least 2 years in project leadership, cost-account management, or technical team lead roles.

• Required:
  • Proven experience leading cross-functional engineering teams through the full development lifecycle of complex aerospace or simulation hardware/software systems
  • Strong proficiency in engineering project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project,…