Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department Associate Director at The Aerospace Corporation — El Segundo, CA

As part of the Enterprise Design Subdivision (EDS), the Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department (VGCD) drives responsive and comprehensive space vehicle and ground system preliminary/conceptual design, trades, and evaluation. Working closely with corporate program offices, VGCD delivers integration leadership and capabilities for conceptual design activities across the space enterprise. The department serves US Space Force, Intelligence Community, NASA, NOAA, and commercial/international customers. The Associate Director of the Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department will work with the Director to lead these efforts, build partnerships with customers, and ensure the team is staffed with top talent to solve complex challenges.

Work Model:

This full-time position requires 100% onsite work in El Segundo CA.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Assist the Director in developing the vision and direction for the department to execute and enhance corporate capabilities that responsively inform our customers’ space and ground acquisitions and architectures.
• Drive new technology adoption (e.g., generative and agentic AI) and adapt these to enhance systems engineering workflows.
• Identify new partnerships for growth in customer impact.
• Ensure Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department and related corporate activities fully leverage expertise from across Aerospace, incorporating best practices in enterprise systems engineering.
• Manage direct reports, including staff performance reviews, resource allocation, and personnel management, and recommend performance improvements, career development, personnel actions, and awards. Staff are currently located in Chantilly, VA; Albuquerque, NM; Colorado Springs, CO; and El Segundo, CA.
• Serve as a primary contact for program office inquiries, frame problems, develop implementation plans, and identify appropriate personnel based on expertise.
• Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, maintain robust relationships with peer organizations, and lead multi-discipline design teams.
• Coordinate and manage complex technical tasks among customers, ensuring quality and accuracy of work products.
• Recruit, onboard, and develop staff through performance management, mentoring, and coaching.
• Collaborate with subdivision leadership to cultivate an effective national organization
• Lead technical activities, organize project teams, and execute a variety of conceptual design, evaluation, and analysis activities.

What You Need to be a Successful Associate Director, Vehicle and Ground Concepts Department.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or a related field; or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and equivalent technical experience
• Typically 10 or more years demonstrated experience leading engineering studies and analysis teams, managing/coordinating complex technical tasks among team members, and translating customer needs into actionable tasks for engineers
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary teams involving system design, acquisition and/or operations in one or more of the following areas: space systems, ground systems, launch systems, or operations
• Experience in hiring, supervising, mentoring, and inspiring staff
• Proven ability to initiate and lead project teams, develop project plans, identify high-impact deliverables, and manage schedule commitments
• Exceptional time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and to lead cross-functional teams
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to present methods and results effectively
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, adapt quickly to change, manage ambiguity, and demonstrate initiative under pressure
• Ability to travel approximately 15-25% of the time
• This position requires a current and active TS/SCI clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government, and the ability to pass a CI Polygraph. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

• A graduate degree or extensive work experience in relevant fields
• Experience with concurrent engineering, spacecraft design, ground system design, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), digital engineering, and/or enterprise systems engineering/architecting
• Experience with generative and/or agentic AI technologies
• A reputation for expanding the knowledge and/or application of the concurrent engineering design discipline, literature, tools, and processes
• Prior experience with related Aerospace architecting and design capabilities (CDC, PDST, MBSE, Digital Engineering), or similar experience at another company
• Experience leveraging or integrating commercial capabilities/services into space mission architectures
• Experience collaborating with multiple Aerospace program offices and customers
• Strong interpersonal networks within Aerospace and customer organizations
• Strong connections and working experience with the National Security Space Community
• Experience with or supporting the acquisition of spacecraft, payloads, ground systems, launch systems, missile systems, nuclear weapon systems, and/or aircraft systems
• A proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with contractors, customers, and corporate staff
• Experience leading or managing a geographically distributed team, including remote employees
• Demonstrates enterprise-level perspective with prior Program Office(s) and ETG experience

(Min - Max)

$168,200.00 - $252,400.00

Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

Equal Opportunity Commitment