As a leading product development and manufacturing aerospace engineering company in Somerset West, we are committed to shaping the future of NewSpace Systems through strategic vision and a culture of continuous improvement. The Head of Engineering (HOE) for NSS RSA manages the South African engineering team. The HOE is responsible for the execution of the NSS RSA research and development plan that is defined in the NSS technical roadmap. In addition, the HOE must ensure that sufficient engineering support is provided to the other NSS departments (Sales, Marketing, Production, QA and Industrialization).
KEY TASK
Engineering:
• Lead the NSS RSA multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Ensure the team is set-up for long term success.
• Build a strong NSS RSA engineering culture that will support and enable the purpose and vision of the business.
• Responsible to ensure that the NSS RSA engineering team achieves its objectives.
• Establishes and maintains technical baselines, acting as the design authority for the NSS RSA developed products.
• Ensures that the products/projects are optimized to meet their contractual needs and can be executed within program budget and schedule
• Ensure effective use of design reviews, following Aerospace/Defence methodology, and achieve timely completion of all required reviews
• Ensure proper Engineering Risk management, ensuring engineering risks are captured, mitigation plans put in place, and risks managed in an effective manner
• Be an innovator in how the company develops so that it can achieve innovative goals.
• Collaborate on technology roadmaps with the CTO to ensure the engineering team has a clear direction and priorities
• Identify and promote capital expenditure on equipment, software etc. where there is a demonstrable RoI on such investments to improve the efficiency of the engineering department.
Sales Support:
• Support the sales team with technical input to questions, proposals and tender responses
• Support growth opportunities to turn that into captured new business
• Support Customers with technical after-sales enquiries
Budgets:
• Determine & monitor technical priorities to meet cost, schedule, quality & performance for engineering related projects
• Responsible for the Earned Value and/or financial management of the engineering content on a program.
• Organise and adhere to tight schedules and working with others to ensure everyone is on track to reach their assigned goals within the allocated time frame.
People Management:
• Monitor and trend staffing against planned work; proactively engage with Engineering functions to ensure adequate resource assignment.
• Encourage a diverse workforce by promoting diverse opinions and thought processes and through staffing
• Help employees grow through career development, coaching, and mentoring while guiding senior contributors to maximise their potential.
• Provide a clear path for progression through personal development plans, defining goals, perform evaluations, and collaborate with employees on their objectives.
• Work with the team to enhance skill levels where needed to improve the capacity and capability of the company resources
Quality:
• Be a role model for a quality-conscious culture
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
• Develop, introduce, and maintain new processes where none exist.
• Perform structured root cause analysis of any engineering process failures, and actively promote and manage Continuous Improvement within the Department
• Work with the Quality Assurance Office (QAO) to analyse and resolve manufacturing discrepancies and non-conformances in relation to root cause/corrective action investigations and problem containment, typically leading to implementation of Engineering Change Requests.
• Collaborate with the QAO to identify and drive quality-related initiatives and improvements.
• Liaise between production, quality, supply chain and design engineering staff for complex problem solving and process changes.
PREREQUISITES
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
Qualifications:
• B.Sc/B.Eng degree in Electronics/Mechatronics/Mechanical Engineering from a recognized institution.
• A Masters degree would be advantageous
• A Management qualification (Masters in Engineering Management or MBA) would be advantageous.
Experience & Knowledge (ideally within the aerospace or defence industry):
• Engineering research and development experience (in appropriate field). This pertains to actual designs that the applicant did.
• Experience with leading product development teams. Ideally, the result should be product(s) deployed in the field.
• Experience with leading and managing multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
• A good understanding of engineering research and development processes.
• A good understanding of quality processes.
Additional knowledge areas that would strengthen the application.
• Product development for space missions.
• Degree in Space Systems Engineering (optimal) or a Space Engineering background.
• Familiarity/experience designing, developing, and supporting satellite actuator and/or sensor subsystems (reaction wheel, sun sensor, magnetometer, etc.).
• Experience with compiling technical roadmaps.
COMPETENCIES & SKILLS
• Excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate and address future challenges.
• Results-oriented with a focus on driving measurable outcomes
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across all levels of the organization.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to develop and implement innovative HR solutions that drive business results.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making abilities, with a focus on continuous improvement
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