Associate Director - Mechanical Engineering Discipline Lead; Onsite

Position Overview

Associate Director, Mechanical Engineering Discipline Lead – strategic defense solutions hardware organization. Onsite role for U.S. citizens only, requiring a DoD Secret clearance. This position will be located in Richardson, TX (alternate locations: Sterling, VA, Binghamton, NY, Cedar Rapids, IA) and reports to the Director of Engineering for Strategic Defense Solutions.

• Coordinate efforts across portfolios within Strategic Defense Solutions, ensuring a unified approach to meeting business needs.
• Participate in Requirements and Architecture Reviews, Independent Reviews and Non-Advocate Reviews to ensure designs and plans are aligned with requirements and manufacturing feasibility.
• Partner with Engineering Leadership to develop talent and meet portfolio commitments.
• Provide directorate leadership over the entire life cycle: bids, program management, requirements capture, design, implementation, integration, verification, and certification.
• Connect geographically distributed teams, identify best practices, and execute as a seamless organization.
• Travel to SDS HW sites across the organization to engage with teams.
• Identify, develop, track and deploy KPI’s within discipline to foster predictable performance.
• Foster a culture of technical rigor, collaboration, and continuous improvement for mission-critical delivery.
• Communicate with Engineering, Program Management, internal leadership, and customers.
• Spend 25–50% of week on programmatic technical tasks and oversight.
• Explore industry developments and incorporate AI into engineering disciplines for execution efficiency.
• Align initiatives with Mission Engineering & Technology HW Discipline Lead.

• Opportunities to communicate with executives to showcase mechanical capabilities.
• Enhance leadership skills through tactical and strategic planning and coordination.
• Potential for career advancement within Engineering leadership roles.

• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain/maintain a U.S. government‑issued security clearance, specifically DoD Secret clearance.
• 12+ years of relevant experience in STEM field or 10+ years with an advanced degree.
• Experience leading cross‑functional technical teams and developing people.
• Strong mechanical engineering background with a proven record of developing products across program life cycles.
• Demonstrated leadership of end‑to‑end product development lifecycle.

• Active DoD security clearance.
• Experience with Special Access Programs.
• Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning techniques.
• Track record of driving team accountability for meeting project deadlines, budgets, and quality standards.
• Experience problem‑solving, decision‑making, stakeholder management, and maintaining customer‑centric approach.
• Experience building, mentoring, and growing high‑performing teams.
• Experience in fast‑paced, dynamic, and creative work environments.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees.
• Generous 401(k) plan with employer matching and separate employer retirement contribution.
• Lifetime Income Strategy option.
• Tuition reimbursement program.
• Student Loan Repayment Program.
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Optional pet, home, auto, additional life, accident, critical illness, group legal,  protection.
• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits.
• Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning.
• Adoption Assistance.
• Autism Benefit.
• Employee Assistance Plan (up to 10 free counseling sessions).
• Healthy You Incentives and wellness rewards program.
• Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits.
• Bright Horizons, child and elder care services.
• Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program.
• Relocation allowance possible.

Salary ranges from $157,200 USD to $298,800 USD. The actual offer will be based on experience, location, education, and other factors.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified individuals with a disability and protected veterans in compliance with applicable laws.