Director of Systems Engineering - Integration & Testing

Who We Are:

• CAE Vision: Our vision is to be the worldwide partner of choice in defense and security, and civil aviation by revolutionizing our customers’ training and critical operations with digitally immersive solutions to elevate safety, efficiency and readiness.

• CAE Defense & Security Mission: CAE's Defense and Security business unit focuses on helping prepare military customers to develop and maintain the highest levels of mission readiness.
• CAE Values: Empowerment, Innovation, Excellence, Integrity and OneCAE make us who we are and we strive to make a difference in the world while helping each other succeed.

 What We Have to Offer:

• Comprehensive and competitive benefits package and flexibility that promotes work-life balance

• A work environment where all employees are valued, respected and safe

• Freedom to succeed by enabling team members to deliver, take initiatives and make decisions

• Recognition, professional development, advancement and having fun!

Summary

The Director of Systems Engineering, Integration & Test (SEIT) is a senior technical and

organizational leader responsible for establishing, guiding, and assuring CAE’s integrated systems engineering, system architecture, verification, validation, and test execution activities across assigned programs. This role provides unified leadership over requirements development, change management, systems design, integration readiness, test program planning, and product acceptance assuring all engineering processes, artifacts, certifications, and test outcomes meet CAE, customer, and regulatory standards.

The SEIT Director leads a multidisciplinary team spanning systems engineers, architects,

integration engineers, test directors, instructional design, systems/software/hardware interface specialists, cyber engineering contributors, and verification/validation personnel. The Director

sets vision, defines processes, enforces engineering rigor, and drives execution excellence across the full lifecycle.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic & Organizational Leadership

• Establish and champion CAE’s SEIT strategy, operating model, workflows, and technical standards across programs.

• Lead the SEIT organization, overseeing staffing, skill development, resource forecasting, and team performance.

• Serve as the authority for engineering processes, systems engineering plans, integration plans, test approaches, and verification/validation frameworks.

• Ensure alignment and seamless coordination between product IPTs, Test IPT, Chief Engineers (CE), and Program Management as required.

• Develop, update, and enforce SEIT-related policies, plans, and work instructions.

Systems Engineering Leadership

• Oversee requirements analysis, decomposition, allocation, management, and traceability throughout the full lifecycle.

• Ensure rigorous baseline control, configuration management, and proper change-control processes.

• Guide system architecture development, interface definition, and system/subsystem design integration.

• Champion the technical review process, co-lead major technical reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, TIMs, etc) with the IPT and CE teams, and ensure readiness artifacts meet required quality standards.

• Promote adoption of modern SE methodologies (MBSE, MOSA principles, DevSecOps-aligned development, digital engineering).

• Ensure engineering products meet cost, technical performance, schedule, cybersecurity, availability, supportability, and quality metrics.

Integration & Test Leadership

• Oversee development and execution of Integration and Test plans (STP), Acceptance Test Procedures (ATPs), readiness assessments, and integration milestones.

• Ensure early involvement of integration/test leadership during subsystem development phases to drive holistic readiness.
• Direct system-level integration activities, including Hardware/Software Integration (HSI), Contractor Engineering Verification Test (CEVT), and customer acceptance events.
• Establish entry/exit criteria, deficiency tracking processes, and issue-resolution methods in collaboration with QA, Test IPT, and customer organizations.

• Ensure test artifacts are complete, accurate, updated, and compliant with all configuration/data management requirements.

Program Execution & Governance

• Support Bid & Proposal efforts through requirements screening, WBS development, risk identification, BOEs, and SEIT scoping inputs.

• Participate in program start‑up, ensuring requirements validation, verification planning, and engineering readiness meet SEIT process and quality standards.

• Provide technical leadership and decision support across cross-functional engineering teams and customer engagements.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, engineering efficiency, and standardized process execution across programs.

Stakeholder & Customer Engagement

• Serve as a senior technical interface for system engineering and test matters as needed.

• Support customer technical reviews, acceptance events, audits, and on‑site integration/test activities as needed.

• Ensure clear communication of technical risks, issues, mitigations, and decision paths in close collaboration with the CE and program teams.

Measurable Team Performance

• Quality and completeness of SEIT artifacts and reviews

• Integration/test schedule adherence and acceptance success

• Requirements traceability accuracy

• Issues/deficiencies closure performance

• Team competency development and organizational health
  
• Stakeholder satisfaction and customer acceptance outcomes 

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• 12+ years (with Bachelor of Science degree) or 10+ years (with Master of Science degree) of industry experience in complex, relevant systems engineering-related roles and functional leadership; supporting degree must be in engineering or a relevant technical discipline.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing system architecture, verification/validation processes, and system/subsystem integration.

• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary engineering teams and IPT structures and demonstrated experience in complex systems-software-hardware applications, architecture, components, and technology.

• Full understanding of relevant business concepts and processes to effectively manage organizational budget and schedule performance

• Expertise in systems engineering standards, configuration management, MBSE, integration/test frameworks, and specialty engineering domains.

• Experience running major reviews and ensuring compliance with contractual, technical, and regulatory requirements.

• Strong communication, negotiation, team building, leading through influence, and decision-making skills.

• Ability to travel as required for program, business, and/or functional support.

• Experience with Systems Engineering, Software Development, Hardware / Software Integration and product testing.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously through proper delegation skills and selective personal involvement.

• Demonstrated ability to motivate and facilitate effective organizational change.

• Eligible for a US DoD Security Clearance

• Due to U.S. Government contract requirements, only U.S. citizens are eligible for this role.

Preferred Skills

• Previous experience as a Systems Engineering Manager

• Master’s degree in systems engineering

• 10+ years experience in the Aerospace & Defense Sector

Security Responsibilities

Must comply with all company security and data protection / usage policies and procedures.

Personally responsible for proper marking and handling of all information and materials, in any form. Shall not divulge any information, or afford access, to other employees not having a need-to-know. Shall not divulge information outside company without management approval. All government and proprietary information will be accessed and stored electronically on company provided resources.

• Incumbent must be eligible for DoD Personal Security Clearance.

Due to U.S. Government contract requirements, only U.S. citizens are eligible for this role.

 Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for their job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

CAE USA Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to any protected characteristic, including disability and

protected veteran status, as defined under federal, state, or local laws.

Applicants needing reasonable accommodations should contact their recruiter at any point in the recruitment process. If you need assistance to submit your application because of

incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [email protected]

About CAE

At CAE, our mission is clear: to help make the world a safer place. For nearly 80 years, we’ve driven innovation in simulation, training, and mission readiness to support critical operations worldwide. By leveraging advanced technologies, we empower our customers to operate smarter, faster, and more sustainably. Join a purpose-driven organization where bold ideas are encouraged, collaboration drives progress, and your growth fuels our shared success.

Position Type                      

Regular

Equal Opportunity Employer

CAE is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other  characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. At CAE, everyone is welcome to contribute to our success. Applicants needing reasonable accommodations should contact their recruiter at any point in the recruitment process. If you need assistance to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [email protected].

Data Privacy

Privacy Statement | CAE

As part of our process, we may use AI‑supported tools to help review applications, with human decision‑making at every step. CAE thanks all applicants for their interest. However, only those whose background and experience match the requirements of the role will be contacted.