Position Summary
AGSE is expanding its global Engineering organization to strengthen customer relationships, increase responsiveness, and accelerate development of aerospace ground support equipment for the European market. We are seeking an experienced Lead Product Development Engineer to become our first product development engineer based in Europe and a key member of our global Engineering team.
The successful candidate will work closely with European engine manufacturers, airlines, maintenance organizations, and strategic partners to understand operational needs and translate them into practical, innovative product solutions. The position will collaborate regularly with AGSE's established Engineering team in California, which will provide product training, engineering standards, technical guidance, and coordinated support for CAD modeling and project execution.
This is a senior individual-contributor role with significant customer-facing responsibility and substantial independence. As AGSE's European engineering activities grow, the position is expected to develop into the Engineering Manager - Europe role and help build a local engineering team aligned with AGSE's global standards and culture.
Primary Responsibilities:
Customer-Focused Product Development
- Work directly with European engine OEMs and other aerospace customers to understand technical, operational, safety, and lifecycle requirements.
- Translate customer needs into clear product requirements, concepts, and development plans.
- Lead development of new engine transportation stands and related aerospace ground support equipment from concept through design release, validation, and production introduction.
- Facilitate technical meetings, concept reviews, design reviews, and product-development coordination within the European time zone.
- Build trusted technical relationships that improve collaboration, responsiveness, and early visibility to future customer needs.
Mechanical Design and Engineering
- Develop mechanical concepts and detailed designs for fabricated structures, welded assemblies, machined components, mechanisms, and integrated mechanical systems.
- Prepare and review engineering calculations, tolerance analyses, load evaluations, design risk assessments, and technical documentation.
- Create or coordinate 3D models, manufacturing drawings, bills of materials, and product-release documentation using Autodesk Inventor and AGSE engineering systems.
- Apply sound engineering judgment to balance performance, safety, manufacturability, cost, maintainability, schedule, and product lifecycle requirements.
- Support prototype development, design verification, product testing, customer evaluations, and resolution of technical issues discovered during development.
Global Engineering Collaboration
- Operate as an integrated member of AGSE's global Engineering organization rather than as a separate regional function.
- Collaborate closely with the California Engineering team throughout the full product development lifecycle.
- Coordinate work packages, design ownership, technical reviews, and project priorities across locations and time zones.
- Follow and help improve AGSE engineering standards, development processes, configuration controls, and design practices.
- Share European customer insights with the California team to strengthen global product strategy and identify broader product opportunities.
Strategic Growth and Future Leadership
- Identify unmet customer needs and emerging product opportunities within the European aerospace market.
- Provide technical and market insight that can inform AGSE product roadmaps and strategic planning.
- Help define the capabilities, processes, and staffing required for a future European engineering team.
- Mentor and develop future European engineering hires as the organization expands.
- Progress toward leadership of the European engineering organization based on demonstrated performance, business growth, and organizational need.
Reporting and Working Relationships
Functional reporting
Director of Engineering / California Engineering leadership
Local coordination
Portugal Plant Manager for site-related priorities, administration, and local support
Key internal partners
California Development Engineering, Program Management, Sales, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing
Key external partners
European engine OEMs, airlines, MROs, suppliers, and strategic aerospace partners
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
- Typically 8 or more years of progressively responsible mechanical product development experience.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex mechanical products from customer need and early concept through design release and validation.
- Strong experience with fabricated structures, welded assemblies, machined components, and mechanical systems.
- Proficiency with a professional 3D parametric CAD system and the ability to become effective with Autodesk Inventor.
- Strong understanding of engineering drawings, GD&T, tolerance analysis, materials, manufacturing processes, and design for manufacturability.
- Experience working directly with customers to define requirements, resolve ambiguity, and communicate technical decisions.
- Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
- Ability to work independently with limited local engineering supervision while remaining highly collaborative with a geographically distributed team.
- Willingness and ability to travel within Europe and periodically to California or other AGSE locations.
Preferred Qualifications
- Aerospace, aircraft engine, aviation maintenance, or ground support equipment experience.
- Experience using Autodesk Inventor.
- Experience with structural analysis, FEA, load testing, product validation, or safety-critical mechanical equipment.
- Experience leading cross-functional development projects and customer design reviews.
- Previous mentoring, team leadership, or supervisory experience.
- Experience collaborating across countries, cultures, and time zones.
- Fluent in French, German, or Spanish.
Leadership Characteristics
- Customer-oriented and able to build credibility with senior technical stakeholders.
- Entrepreneurial and comfortable establishing a new capability within a growing global organization.
- Practical, hands-on, and able to turn ambiguous needs into executable engineering plans.
- Collaborative and committed to a one-team relationship with California Engineering.
- Capable of balancing immediate project execution with longer-term organizational development.
- Interested in growing from senior technical leadership into management as the European organization expands.
Measures of Success - First 12 to 18 Months
- Complete product, process, and systems training with the California Engineering team.
- Become a trusted and effective technical contact for assigned European customers.
- Lead or make substantial contributions to European product development programs.
- Improve the speed and quality of customer communication and technical coordination across time zones.
- Demonstrate consistent use of AGSE engineering standards and effective collaboration with California-based engineers.
- Develop a practical roadmap for future European engineering staffing, capabilities, and priorities.
Career Opportunity
This position is intended to be the foundation of AGSE's European product development organization. As customer demand and regional activity grow, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to recruit, mentor, and lead additional engineers and to progress toward the role of Engineering Manager - Europe.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: 58,000.00€ - 78,000.00€ per year
Education:
Experience:
- fabricated structures, weldment, and mechanical systems. : 1 year (Preferred)
- GD&T: 7 years (Required)
Language:
- French, German, or Spanish (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
