Chief Engineer WSISS
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 15, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 21, 2026.
Salary Range: $142,188 - $190,000
Seeking a dual-hatted Senior General and Operations Manager to serve as the Chief Engineer on a major US Navy Aviation Services and Support contract.
The Chief Engineer will act as the primary technical interface to the Navy's Integrated Product Team (IPT) leads, Technical Directors, and program leadership, ensuring that all engineering workflows directly support fleet readiness and naval air warfare requirements.
In this critical role, you will lead multi-disciplinary technical teams, manage complex infrastructure, and ensure the engineering integrity and reliability of all deliverables. As the principal engineering champion, you will combine operational leadership with technical governance to drive high client satisfaction, solve complex system anomalies, and mentor the next generation of engineering and administrative professionals. We are seeking a senior-level, dual-hatted General and Operations Manager.
Essential Job Functions:
Direct daily engineering and support operations, resolve critical escalated system issues, and consistently meet or exceed Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Oversee performance monitoring tools to optimize systems, and deliverable accuracy.
Supervise, train, and evaluate technical support staff; assign daily operational tasks; and mentor lower-level engineering managers to support career growth.
Serve as a key technical advisor to government stakeholders and partner with external defense vendors to integrate hardware and software solutions, as directed.
Required Skills:
Due to the sensitivity of customer related requirements, U.S. Citizenship is required.
Masters Degree focused on aerospace engineering, computer science, or a closely related technical discipline with 20 plus years of experience.
Allowable Substitution: A Bachelor of Science (BS) degree with 24 plus years of related experience.
Ability to obtain Secret Clearance within 6-9 months of hire date with the ability to obtain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance.
Minimum of twenty (20) years of combined aviation and management experience.
Leadership: Minimum of three (3) years of direct management experience guiding and directing lower-level technical/engineering managers, as well as providing technical oversight on advanced engineering issues.
Domain Expertise: 20+ years of dedicated experience in technical support, complex systems management, or military aviation engineering leadership.
Proven track record in complex troubleshooting, cross-functional team leadership, and executive-level technical communication.
Accustomed to interfacing with contractors and both US and foreign government personnel.
Experience with the principles of Information Management, Process Improvement, and Quality Assurance management.
Management experience dealing with multiple, simultaneous systems engineering tasks.
Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Desired Skills:
Familiar with the systems and the functionality of F/A-18A-F and EA-18G.
Preferred former Military Aircrew.
Experience completing “Data Calls” and providing detailed presentations and solutions to tasks assigned by the customer in the NAWCWD environment.
Familiarity with government contracting and R&D contracts.
Active Security Clearance is preferred.
Work Location / Arrangement: Full-time on-site in China Lake, CA; hybrid and remote work are not available for this role.