Senior Design Engineer- Tactical Armored Vehicles

Overview

The Senior Design Engineer leads the mechanical design, integration, and release of armored vehicle structures, chassis systems, crew-survivability features, and mission equipment from early concept through prototype, validation, production launch, and post-release engineering support. This role is intended for a senior-level engineer with deep experience in armored chassis, survivability-driven packaging, and system-level mechanical integration in a defense manufacturing environment.

Mission-critical responsibilities:

• Lead full product lifecycle execution for tactical armored vehicle hardware, from concept studies and trade analyses through detailed design, prototype build, verification, production release, and continuous improvement in manufacturing.
• Own 3D CAD models, assemblies, layouts, and 2D manufacturing drawings for hull structures, chassis components, crew-protection features, brackets, mounts, enclosures, and integrated subsystems using Solid Works.
• Perform tolerance stack-up analysis and apply GD&T in accordance with ASME Y14.5 or company standards to ensure interchangeability, manufacturability, and reliable vehicle-level fit-up across welded, machined, and fabricated assemblies.
• Develop and maintain engineering bills of materials and part structures in PDM system, ensuring accurate configuration control from prototype through production.
• Drive and document engineering changes through ECR/ECO/ECN workflows, including root-cause assessment, impact analysis, drawing/model updates, disposition of affected parts, and implementation tracking with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and program teams.
• Lead mechanical integration of armor packages, spall liners, blast-mitigation features, suspension interfaces, powertrain packaging, cooling hardware, crew equipment, and mission systems while managing weight, serviceability, and performance tradeoffs.
• Support prototype builds, design verification, failure analysis, troubleshooting, and validation testing for structural, environmental, mobility, and survivability requirements.
• Present design maturity, technical risks, and release status in peer reviews, design reviews, and cross-functional program meetings.

Additional leadership responsibilities:

• Mentor mid-level and junior engineers in design practices, release discipline, problem solving, and effective collaboration with manufacturing and test teams.
• Establish technical approaches for cost, manufacturability, and lifecycle support, including obsolescence review, supplier coordination, and replacement-part strategy.
• Coordinate schedules, engineering deliverables, and risk-burndown activities to support program milestones, customer reviews, and production readiness.

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field;
  Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of mechanical design experience, with significant experience in defense, armored vehicle, combat vehicle, military mobility, or closely related heavy vehicle programs.
• Demonstrated experience taking hardware from concept through prototype, qualification, and production in a regulated or mission-critical environment.

• Expert-level proficiency in Solid Works for complex assemblies, drawing creation, and engineering release.
• Strong working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance analysis, stack-up methods, and design-for-manufacture/design-for-assembly principles.
• Experience with armored chassis or hull structures, welded/fabricated vehicle assemblies, and system-level packaging of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and cooling interfaces.
• Experience integrating ballistic protection solutions such as armor modules, attachment schemes, and spall-liner provisions into vehicle architectures from the design phase.
• Solid understanding of materials and processes relevant to defense vehicle design, such as armor steels, aluminum structures, composites, weldments, machined parts, elastomers, and sheet metal.
• Experience managing BOMs and configuration data in PDM environments and executing formal ECR/ECO change control.
• Hands-on experience with prototype builds, troubleshooting, test support, root-cause analysis, and release corrections in production environments.

• Prior experience with tactical wheeled or tracked vehicles, MRAPs, armored support vehicles, or protected mobility systems.
• Familiarity with military vehicle procurement, DoD development processes, and customer technical reviews.
• Knowledge of subsystem integration considerations involving crew ergonomics, maintainability, survivability, thermal management, and harsh-environment durability.
• Experience with tolerance-analysis tools integrated with CAD platforms.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, program management, test, field service, and suppliers in an integrated product team environment.
• Excellent project scheduling and execution discipline, with the ability to manage…