JOB TYPE: Full-Time
LOCATION: South Africa, Somerset West, In Office
REPORT TO: Chief Technology Officer(CTO)
KEY PURPOSE OF JOB
The Engineering Lead is responsible for the tactical execution of the research and development plan that is defined in the NSS technical roadmap. Additionally, the Engineering Lead ensures that adequate engineering support is provided to the other NSS departments, including Sales, Marketing, Production, QA and Industrialization.
KEY TASKS
Engineering Operations:
• Collaborates closely with the CTO to translate long-term technology strategies into actionable plans for the engineering team.
• Leads the NSS multidisciplinary engineering team.
• Provides data-driven insights and recommendations to help the CTO make informed strategic decisions.
• Serves as a bridge between leadership and the engineering team
• Acts as a go-to person for complex engineering challenges, ensuring issues are resolved without always escalating to the CTO.
• Ensures the engineering team is set-up for long term success.
• Responsible to ensure that the NSS engineering team achieves its objectives.
• Guarantees that the products/projects are optimized to meet contractual needs and can be executed within program’s budget and schedule
• Oversees the effective use of design reviews, following Aerospace/Defence methodology, to ensure
• timely completion of all required reviews
• Manages engineering risks, ensuring risks are identified, mitigations plans are developed, and risks are managed effectively.
• Drives innovation in how the company develops so that it can achieve ambitious goals.
• Identifies and advocates for capital expenditures on equipment, software etc. where a demonstrable ROI exists to improve engineering department efficiency.
• Identifies inefficiencies in engineering workflows, implements process improvements, and promotes standardization.
Project Management:
• Ensures alignment between R&D, product development, and business objectives, tracking progress against technology roadmaps.
• Acts as a liaison between engineering and other departments (Production, Quality, Industrialization, etc.) to ensure smooth collaboration and integration of engineering outputs
• Assists in prioritizing and tracking technology development and innovation projects.
• Works with team leads to balance workload, optimize staffing, and address bottlenecks.
Sales Support:
• Provides technical input to the sales team for questions, proposals and tender responses
• Supports Customers with technical after-sales enquiries
Budgets:
• Determines and monitors 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.
• Organises and adheres to tight schedules, working with others to ensure everyone stays on track to
• reach their assigned goals within the allocated time frame.
HR:
• Monitors staffing trends against planned work.
• Proactively engages with Engineering functions to ensure adequate resource assignment.
• Encourages a diverse workforce by promoting diverse opinions and thought processes.
Quality:
• Serves a role model for a quality-conscious culture
• Ensures compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
• Develops, introduces, and maintains new processes where none exist.
• Conducts structured root cause analysis of engineering process failures, and actively promotes
• Continuous Improvement within the Department
• Work with the Quality Assurance Office (QAO) to analyse and resolve manufacturing discrepancies
• and non-conformances, leading to the implementation of Engineering Change Requests.
• Collaborates with the QAO to identify and drive quality-related initiatives and improvements.
• Liaises 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 was done by the applicant.
• Experience with leading product development teams. Ideally the result should be product(s) that are 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
LANGUAGE
• English
APPLICATION
If you meet the requirements of this vacancy, please send your cv to:
cv@newspacesystems.com OR contact us on +27 (0) 21 300 0160.
To learn more about NewSpace Systems, visit our website:
www.newspacesystems.com