Director of Mechanical Engineering

Employer description

Company Overview

Red 6 is an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) technology startup leading the way in synthetic air combat training. Our primary technology, supporting our ATARS product, enables pilots to simulate the cognitive challenges of flying while accessing realistic, scalable training in dynamic outdoor environments.

Director of Mechanical Engineering

The Director of Mechanical Engineering provides strategic and technical leadership for the design, integration, qualification, and production of advanced mechanical systems supporting Red 6’s augmented reality (AR) aerospace products. This role oversees the end-to-end development of mechanical designs for human-worn systems, avionics hardware, optical assemblies, sensors, and aircraft-integrated equipment, ensuring mission-critical performance, environmental robustness, manufacturability, and maintainability.

This individual will lead the mechanical engineering functional teams responsible for developing lightweight, ruggedized mechanical solutions that operate reliably in demanding airborne environments. The Director will establish mechanical engineering best practices, drive technical innovation, and ensure mechanical designs meet performance, environmental, airworthiness, and production objectives while supporting rapid product development.

Key Responsibilities

Provide functional leadership and people management for the Mechanical Engineering organization, including functional capability, engineering standards, staffing strategy, technical skills development, staff career development and discipline performance.

Work with the CTO and Director of Systems Engineering to define and improve hardware engineering processes, design practices, analysis methods, and tools.

Enable hardware development and technical execution for ruggedized avionics and aircraft installed hardware. Ensure designs meet electrical, mechanical, environmental, thermal, vibration, EMI/EMC, and aircraft interface requirements.

Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain to drive design for manufacturing, producibility, supplier readiness, and cost reductions.

Identify gaps in hardware capability and drive strategic investments in tools, processes, laboratories, analytical methods, and emerging technologies that improve product performance across future programs

Participate in architecture reviews, peer reviews, SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, flight readiness reviews, and other major program technical milestones.

Perform as a technical leader on product development and integration programs, in a Chief Engineer, IPT Lead, or SME role as applicable.

Support bid and proposal efforts by defining solution architectures, performing engineering cost estimates for labor and material, and supporting technical volume writing.

Innovation & Technology Advancement: Drive adoption of advanced materials, manufacturing, and wearable system technologies.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related STEM discipline (master’s preferred).

12+ years of relevant experience and progressive leadership in developmental system hardware design in the defense, aerospace, or related industries.

Experience leading mechanical engineering through the complete product development lifecycle, from requirements development, through architecture, design, prototype, test and qualification.

Experience in ruggedized avionics hardware design, including SWaP-C optimization in military environments.

Expertise in relevant mechanical analysis and modeling techniques such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), including analysis validation such as hand calculation and test correlation, to evaluate structural, thermal and aerodynamic performance of mechanical designs.

Experience with aerospace environmental and qualification standards such as MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-1472, MIL-STD-882, MIL-STD-889, MIL-STD-130, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704, DO-160, or equivalent standards applicable to airborne hardware.

Demonstrated expertise with CAD, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration management using a PLM.

Demonstrated experience making complex technical trades involving performance, weight, power, thermal management, reliability, producibility, cost, schedule, and maintainability.

Demonstrated excellence in technical communication to leadership, customers, and between engineering disciplines.

Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Security Clearance, so much have US Citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with helmet mounted displays, augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, or other human worn aerospace systems.

Experience with opto-mechanical systems, near eye displays, head tracking, eye tracking, cameras, sensors, or precision optical alignment.

Experience supporting flight tests, aircraft qualification, military airworthiness using MIL‑HDBK‑516D, or other formal certification activities.

Experience applying Model Based Systems Engineering, Model Based Design, or other Digital Engineering methods to hardware development.

Experience with modularity, containerization, open architectures and similar approaches to system integration, optimization, and rapid deployment.

Experience with composites, lightweight materials, and additive manufacturing.

Active Secret or Top Secret DoD Security Clearance.

Estimated base salary range given work expereince $200,000 to $250,000

Full-Time Employee Benefits

Healthcare, Dental, and Vision (100% coverage for Employees)

Paid time off, including vacation, sick, paid holidays, and parental leave

Short and Long-Term Disability

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

401(k) Retirement Plan

Voluntary Worksite Benefits (Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity)

May be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus based on individual and company performance, subject to plan terms.

Note

Red 6 reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Red 6 has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications, and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment.

Red Six Aerospace, Inc, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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