Engineering Director, Ammunition

Job Description

Job Description

The Engineering Director - Ammunition Operations provides strategic and technical leadership for all ammunition activities, with a key focus on production capability, product performance, manufacturing quality and test. This role is responsible for building and sustaining advanced, flexible, and modular manufacturing systems that enable safe, reliable, and efficient production across all ammunition product lines. The ideal candidate combines deep process and production engineering experience with strong leadership in high-reliability, defense manufacturing environments. This position drives excellence in process control, product consistency, and performance assurance to meet demanding customer and mission requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

Manufacturing & Process Leadership

• Lead all engineering and technical functions supporting ammunition manufacturing, including process, industrial, automation and test engineering.
• Develop and optimize production systems designed for scalability, flexibility, and repeatable performance.
• Drive manufacturing readiness through robust process control, equipment capability, and production standardization.
• Oversee modernization and capital improvement projects that enhance throughput, cost efficiency, and system reliability.

Product Performance & Production Quality

• Ensure production processes consistently achieve required ballistic and functional performance specifications.
• Partner with Quality and Operations teams to improve first-pass yield, defect reduction, and product conformance to specification.
• Lead implementation of in-process controls, real-time monitoring, and data analytics to verify and sustain product quality.
• Champion initiatives that strengthen traceability, process validation, and continuous quality improvement across all manufacturing lines.
• Collaborate with test and evaluation functions to align process parameters with product performance targets and customer requirements.

Continuous Improvement & Safety

• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and SPC methodologies to eliminate variability, reduce downtime, and optimize equipment effectiveness.
  • Promote a culture of operational discipline, safety, and continuous improvement throughout the engineering and production teams.
• Ensure compliance with defense, environmental, and process safety standards, including the safe handling of energetic materials.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of engineers and technical specialists.
• Partner with Production, Quality, and Supply Chain to align engineering resources with manufacturing priorities.
• Support audit and compliance activities by providing process validation and engineering documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Chemical Engineering required; Master's preferred.

• 15+ years of engineering or manufacturing leadership experience in ammunition, defense, or precision manufacturing environments.

• Proven record of improving product quality, process capability, and manufacturing performance in high-reliability operations.

• Strong expertise in automation, process control, and data-driven performance management.

• Demonstrated success leading capital and modernization projects in a regulated manufacturing environment.

• Knowledge of SAAMI, MIL-SPEC, and NATO STANAG standards and applicable DoD safety regulations.

• Work Environment

This position operates within a defense manufacturing environment involving industrial equipment, high-reliability systems, and energetic materials. Work involves both office and production floor engagement, requiring strict adherence to safety, quality, and regulatory standards.

Travel to production and customer sites is required as business needs dictate, approximately 25%.