Defense Chief Engineer

Location: New Hudson, Michigan, United States. Hybrid work environment; leaders are expected to be in the office 50% or more depending on the program. Travel may be required.

Salary: $118,600–$204,000 annual target pay.

Company

Pratt Miller, an Oshkosh company, develops products and provides engineering and low-volume production solutions for motorsports, defense, and mobility industries.

What you will do

• Oversee engineering execution for defense projects, ensuring technical quality, customer satisfaction, schedule adherence, and profitability.
• Lead market intelligence, opportunity evaluation, customer discussions, and proposal development.
• Plan engineering programs, review product designs, and approve design changes, specifications, and drawing releases.
• Lead the identification of electrical and hybrid vehicle architectures, system partitioning, technical trade studies, and risk mitigation.
• Coordinate technical development, testing, resources, program management, recruiting, and internal and external communications.
• Mentor engineering teams, present technical solutions to customers and partners, and align programs with organizational goals and industry roadmaps.

Requirements

• BS or MS degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in the defense industry.
• Experience with full vehicle design and development, including chassis, propulsion, energy systems, subsystem integration, and vehicle architecture.
• Strong background in systems engineering, systems safety, functional safety, safety-critical software, and vehicle-system verification and validation.
• Experience with developmental and integrated test and evaluation strategies, lean product development, CAE tools, and optimization.
• Ability to obtain a security clearance; proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to convert strategic vision into operational plans.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience maintaining and repairing systems in the field.
• Expertise in weapon systems, combat vehicle engineering, fire control systems, turrets and ammunition handling systems, virtual environments and battlefield systems, or defense AI and software.

Culture & Benefits

• People-first culture with opportunities for professional growth and team development.
• Opportunities to support strategic partnerships and business-unit alignment.
• Competitive total rewards package.
• Flexible working hours may be required to meet project deadlines.