Mechanical Engineering Manager in Hood River, Oregon at Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corporation

We are looking for a high-caliber Mechanical Engineering Leader who is as comfortable at a workstation as they are on the production floor. You will be the cornerstone of our mechanical team, bridging the gap between complex avionics concepts and physical, flight-ready reality. This is a "Player-Coach" role: you will lead by example, maintaining your own design work statement while mentoring a small, high-performing team of engineers.

• Serve as the benchmark for technical excellence. You will provide hands-on guidance to the team, defining what "good" looks like for CAD models, tolerance stack-ups, and structural analysis.

• Conduct regular 1-on-1s focused on technical skill-building and providing real-time feedback to level up the team’s output.

• Assist with staffing and onboarding a high-performing team.

• Lead the "Knowledge Transfer" for new hires, ensuring they are integrated into our specific "how-to" and engineering culture quickly and effectively.

• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in daily operations by implementing better tools, scripts, or refined processes.

• Monitor the "pulse" of the work—tracking sprints, deadlines, and daily quotas—to report accuracy and velocity to management.

• Perform rigorous reviews of work-in-progress to catch technical errors before they reach the final stage.

• Spot both "silent superstars" and underperformers. You will provide management with objective examples of output, addressing minor procedural slips immediately with the team while ensuring top performers are recognized.

• Establish, maintain, and control both allocated and derived requirements for complex avionics and electro-mechanical systems.

• Act as the bridge between high-level concepts and the production floor, utilizing DFM principles to ensure practical manufacturability.

• Act as both a Drafter and a Checker. Manage configuration control, BOMs, and detailed design documentation.

• Lead Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (DFMEA/PFMEA) and conduct structural/thermal validation via FEA and physical testing.

• Lead peer reviews and participate in Configuration Control Boards (CCB) and Material Review Boards (MRB).

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

• 8+ years of experience, with at least 2–3 years in a formal or informal leadership/mentor role.

• Track record of leading and developing mechanical engineering team members

• DO-254, DO-160, FAA & AIMS experience required

• Knowledge of RTCA standards (DO-254, DO-160, etc.)

• Experience with SolidWorks and PDM software

Due to the sensitive nature of the information and projects handled at this facility, this position requires U.S. citizenship. Candidates must be U.S. citizens to be considered for this role.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job in an office and manufacturing environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Essential functions may require maintaining the physical condition necessary for sitting, walking or standing for periods of time; operating a computer and keyboard; talk and hear at normal room levels; using hands to finger, grasp, and feel; repetitive motion; close visual acuity to prepare and analyze data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; lift, push, carry, or pull up to 20 pounds.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job in an office and manufacturing environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. Employee is exposed to the typical office environment with computers, printers and telephones.

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of:

• 401(k) plan with match with immediate vesting.

• Comprehensive suite of insurance benefits for employees (and their families) to include a variety of medical plan options (including an HSA with employer contribution), dental, vision, life and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Legal/Identity support plans, pet insurance.

• Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical and Dependent Care).

• Generous paid time off including 4 weeks of vacation per year, 11 paid company holidays, which includes a winter company shutdown from Christmas to New Year’s.