Location: Syracuse, United States of America

Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning, to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems, to extended protection across the entire battle-space including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems and Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.

Engineering Delivery Manager

Syracuse, NY or Arlington, VA (Hybrid)

Position Summary

The FAA’s Brand-New Air Traffic Control System and other initiatives related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Air Mobility are fueling the growth of Thales’ Airspace Mobility Solutions team. We are expanding our teams in Arlington, Virginia and Syracuse, New York and seek talented individuals who want to be part of these ambitious initiatives shaping the future of aviation.  We are looking for people with a passion for aviation and ready to deliver innovative solutions built to the nation’s highest safety and security standards. America’s aviation moment is now. Thales has the solutions, experience and expertise to execute now.  Come join our journey.

Thales is looking for an Engineering Delivery Manager, who serves as the single-point engineering authority for highly complex, software-centric bids and delivery programs and who is the accountable owner of the end-to-end engineering solution, defining, governing, and continuously optimizing the engineering strategy, system lifecycle, operating model, and enabling processes and tools to ensure the successful realization of technically robust, certifiable, and commercially competitive solutions.

In this position, you will provide hands-on technical and leadership direction to orchestrate engineering activities across the full lifecycle—including requirements definition, software and system development, qualification, integration, validation, and deployment—establish and enforce best-in-class engineering practices with a strong Design-to-Cost and Design-for-Performance mindset, develop and consolidate reusable cost and instantiation models, challenge estimates through historical data and capitalization analysis, support pricing strategy, bid shaping, and capture activities, lead and align cross-functional teams, partners, and suppliers across a highly matrixed, international environment, secure appropriate engineering capabilities and resources, drive execution through engineering performance plans, KPIs, and governance, apply advanced planning and control techniques including WBS/OBS structuring, milestone management, dependency mapping, and Earned Value Management (EVM), ensure full compliance with safety, software assurance, regulatory, and certification standards, manage technical risk, coordinate technical reviews and approvals in support of customer acceptance and delivery, and contribute to the consistent delivery of competitive, high-quality, and certifiable engineering solutions achieved on time, within budget, and in alignment with customer and business objectives.

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

• US - CUI Regulatory Compliance Requirement – Must be a US Person as defined in applicable law.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Serve as the senior engineering authority at all Bid and Program Gate reviews (BL/GBU), representing engineering interests and accountability by ensuring full technical validation prior to Cost Commitment Reviews and formal Gate approvals; actively engage in bid governance forums and client-facing meetings to articulate and defend the engineering solution, delivery strategy, and integrated schedule; and act as the primary technical interface with customer engineering organizations, partners, and suppliers, ensuring alignment on architectures, interfaces, certification readiness, and delivered/installed baselines across integrated solutions.
• Define, govern, and deliver the Engineering Solution Strategy, including the end-to-end system development lifecycle and the tailoring of project-specific engineering processes, practices, methods, and toolchains derived from domain and corporate reference frameworks; author, maintain, and govern the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) and associated engineering management documentation; structure and lead co-engineering activities; and approve, cascade, and enforce lower-level engineering plans, subcontractor engineering requirements, and technical statements of work.
• Provide end-to-end leadership across the full engineering lifecycle, including requirements and specifications management, software and systems engineering, qualification, integration, verification, validation, certification, and operational deployment; ensure engineering designs, safety cases, software assurance, and technical certifications are complete, coherent, and approval-ready; and coordinate internal and external reviews to support company authorization and customer acceptance.
• Consolidate customer, contractual, and technical inputs to establish a complete and validated engineering baseline; align stakeholders to define and document project assumptions and constraints; coordinate cross-functional contributors to produce credible, defensible, and auditable engineering cost estimates; define, implement, and control reusable engineering instantiation and cost models; and leverage prior capitalizations, benchmarks, and historical performance data to rigorously challenge estimates, drive estimate accuracy, and support bid competitiveness.
• Champion and enforce Design-to-Cost and Design-for-Performance principles; apply and govern advanced planning, scheduling, and control disciplines including WBS/OBS structuring, milestone and dependency management, workload and capacity planning, cost modeling, and Earned Value Management (EVM); define, monitor, and actively use engineering KPIs and dashboards; and lead engineering Risk and Opportunity management in close partnership with the Bid or Project Manager.
• Define required engineering competencies and resource profiles in collaboration with line management; secure appropriately skilled resources; provide hierarchical and functional leadership to Software Engineering Managers (SWEMs), engineering leads, and technical work-package owners; lead complex, multi-disciplinary, multi-site, and multi-country engineering execution; drive innovation, industrialization, reuse, standardization, and continuous improvement; capture lessons learned; contribute to engineering capitalization and knowledge-management processes; ensure deployment of the enterprise Engineering Performance Plan; and support bid and commercial leadership by contributing engineering expertise to bid management and pricing activities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, with a minimum of 9 years of relevant professional experience, or 10+ years of experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams, or an equivalent combination of education and experience; and extensive, demonstrated track record of successfully leading the delivery of large-scale, highly complex, software-intensive systems within industries relevant to Thales, such as aerospace, defense, air traffic management / air navigation, telecommunications, or similarly regulated, mission-critical environments.
•  Proven leadership experience managing and governing large, multidisciplinary engineering organizations, including direct hierarchical accountability for engineering managers, technical leads, and senior subject-matter experts across multiple domains; and demonstrated success operating within highly complex, matrixed organizations, coordinating across disciplines, functions, suppliers, partners, and customers in multi-site and multi-country environments.
•  Deep, end-to-end mastery of the engineering lifecycle, encompassing system and software architecture, requirements and specification engineering, development, integration, qualification, verification, validation, certification, and deployment of operational systems; and significant experience leading deployment and operational readiness for complex software-centric solutions, including phased and large-scale multi-site and geographically distributed rollouts, transition to operations, and sustainment considerations.
• Advanced and sustained application of planning, scheduling, and control disciplines, including WBS/OBS structuring, milestone and dependency management, workload and capacity planning, cost and schedule modeling, and Earned Value Management (EVM), with a demonstrated ability to produce and defend credible cost and schedule estimates.
• Substantial experience with safety-critical and software assurance frameworks, including hands-on involvement in certification and compliance activities aligned with standards such as DO-178B/C, ED-109A, or equivalent domain-specific safety and assurance regulations.
• Proven participation and influence in Bid, Capture, and Proposal cycles, including the ability to shape engineering strategies, challenge assumptions, defend technical solutions, and partner effectively with Sales and Bid teams to secure competitive and executable offers.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer at the time of hire. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or for assuming sponsorship of an employment visa now or in the future.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of the national airspace system and/or an understanding of unmanned aircraft systems.
• Experience working on technology-centered programs for US Federal Gov’t Agencies (with a strong preference for FAA, DoD/DoW and/or DHS).
• Strong knowledge of aeronautical and Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems, data, and operational environments, including familiarity with industry standards, safety culture, and applicable regulatory frameworks.
• Working knowledge of FAA operations and maintenance policies, procedures, and governance models, including compliance, audit, certification, and reporting requirements.
• Certifications such as PMP/Prince2, INCOSE Systems Engineering, DO‑178 awareness/qualification or equivalent.
• Experience supporting pricing teams and producing price sheets for complex bids.

Special Position Requirements

• Schedule: Either 9/80A - 1st (9hrs Mon-Thu, 8hrs 2nd Fri, Start @ 09:00AM) (United States of America) or USA -  5/40 - 1st (8hrs Mon-Fri) (United States of America).
• Travel: US and to Europe periodically is preferred, approximately 20% travel anticipated annually.

If you’re excited about working with Thales, but not meeting the requirements for this position, we encourage you to join our Talent Community!

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This position will require successfully completing a post-offer background check. Qualified candidates with [a] criminal history will be considered and are not automatically disqualified, consistent with federal law, state law, and local ordinances.

We are an equal opportunity employer, including disability and veteran status. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales, please contact us at talentacquisition@us.thalesgroup.com.

The reference Total Target Compensation (TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between

Total Target Cash (TTC) 148,794.00 - 249,270.00 USD Annual

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including – but not limited to – the employee’s career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company’s annual salary budget, the customer’s program requirements, and the company’s internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s status protected by local, state, or federal law.

(For Internal candidate, if you need more information, please reach out to your HR Shared Service, 1st Point) 

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 30 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:

•Elective Health, Dental, Vision, FSA/HSA, Voluntary Life and AD&D, Whole Group Life w/LTC, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Plan, Identity Theft, and Pet Insurance

•Retirement Savings Plan after 30 days of employment with a company contribution and a match, and with no vesting period

•Company paid holidays and Paid Time Off

•Company provided Life Insurance, AD&D, Disability, Employee Assistance Plan, and Well-being Program