Chief Engineer

Title:

Chief Engineer

Belong. Connect. Grow. with KBR!

Around here, we define the future.

We are a company of innovators, thinkers, creators, explorers, volunteers, and dreamers. But we all share one goal: to improve the world responsibly and safely.

KBR is seeking to identify a candidate for a Chief Engineer position within the Human Health and Performance Contract (HHPC) at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, TX.

As a Chief Engineer, you will be using your skills and expertise to support the execution of the Human System and Engineering Department (HSED) strategy, and provide technical leadership, guidance, and oversight for our integrated team including overseeing activities throughout the product lifecycle from design concept phase to delivery. You will apply technical knowledge to solve broader system issues, anticipate technological risk, and develop a technical strategy to integrate multiple components. This position requires multi-discipline strengths within engineering to lead designs, drive system level decisions, and represent the contract at JSC. This position requires the ability to communicate difficult concepts and negotiate with others to influence decisions under uncertainty. It will require the use of sound engineering principles and provide disciplined guidance to ensure successful execution of technical plans and goals while communicating effectively on operational and design decisions, technical risk identification and mitigation, definition and achievement of requirements, and overall end-to-end system definition.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Establish and maintain clearly documented policies and procedures, supplemented by discipline-specific guidance materials, to promote technical excellence among HSED workforce
• When failures occur, actively support identification of the root cause, resolution, and systems updates to prevent repeats (from a process perspective).
• Support Discipline Leads to establish and maintain an effective training and development program, with emphasis on knowledge of the engineering lifecycle and risk-informed decision making.
• Serve as advisor to HSED Department Manager in areas of technical readiness and execution.
• Lead internal process audits within all HSED disciplines (Project Management, Project Engineering, Systems Engineering, Test Engineering, Design & Fabrication).
• Participate in external quality audits (ISO9001, AS9100), including resolution of any findings.
• Ensure team’s technical approach is sound, meets requirements, and potential issues are being considered and/or mitigated
• Help maintain technical excellence for the department by facilitating cross project and department coordination and knowledge sharing
• Identify technical risks and ensure technical risks and issues are driven to resolution.
• Assist the Department Manager with strategic planning.
• Business development - develop relationships with commercial providers/opportunities and proposal development
• Establish relationships with existing customers
• Participate in strategic discussions regarding NASA agency design standards (e.g. digital engineering) to effectively evolve department infrastructure systems to facilitate delivering products, services and solutions that anticipate customer needs and expectations.
• Collaborate with Department Manager to identify and implement investments in engineering infrastructure which align with strategic objectives of the customer base. 
• Lead identification of strategic capabilities for the systems development lab, assist with auditing and resolution of findings, participate in safety walkthroughs, and supports lab/operations manager with maintenance program for unique/specialized lab equipment.
• Develop department strategic capability roadmaps to align and define Agency roadmaps. 
• Pursue initiatives for KBR Internal Research and Development (IRAD), with particular emphasis on strategic capabilities that align with agency roadmaps.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A BS degree in Engineering or in a related field with 15 years' experience (at least 10 years in hardware development)
• Working knowledge of aerospace engineering design standards (NASA and equivalent industry), NASA technical and quality standards, NASA program requirements (ISS, Orion, Gateway, HLS)
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to clearly express technical concepts in verbal and written forms; ability to tailor conversations to adapt to technical vs. non-technical audiences
• Capable of identifying risks and issues, reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options for mitigation and implement solutions
• Experience with NASA or similar industry systems
• Excellent critical thinking,
•  Experience in understanding system boundaries and the impacts of external system influencers
• Experience leading technical personnel performing complex engineering activities; and solving complex problems

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Previous working experience with NASA or a NASA contractor
• Extensive experience with Flight Hardware Development processes as outlined in EA-023 and SA-014
• Previous experience with integration of systems with a spaceflight vehicle
• Familiar with quality audits (ISO 9001, AS 9100), including resolution of findings.
• Familiarization with Lean Sigma, process improvements, fault tree analysis

KBR Benefits​

KBR offers a selection of competitive lifestyle benefits which could include 401K plan with company match, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&D, flexible spending account, disability, paid time off, or flexible work schedule.  We support career advancement through professional training and development.​

Click here to learn more:  KBR Benefits | KBR

Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR
At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture.  These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company.  That commitment is central to our team of team’s philosophy and fosters an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver – Together. 

KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.