The Role
An EL 2.2 Engineering Executive will exercise a significant degree of independence and perform an important leadership role. They will be responsible for:
- Providing strategic leadership of the Engineering function, ensuring alignment with Defence values and behaviours and drive delivery and transition of ASCA’s mission to accelerate innovative asymmetric capabilities.
- Leading and developing a high-performing, integrated engineering team by setting clear strategic objectives, fostering a culture of accountability and collaboration, and ensuring consistent communication and professional growth across ASCA.
- Applying sound engineering judgment and executive decision-making to identify and resolve complex technical challenges, collaborating with industry to develop innovative, risk-informed solutions.
- Cultivating influential relationships and strategic networks across Defence, regulatory agencies and industry to champion ASCA’s objectives, secure priority support, and embed collaborative approaches to enable capability acceleration and assurance.
- Overseeing rigorous technical evaluations to ensure operational and acceptance risks are identified, assessed, and managed within ASCA’s and Defence’s defined risk appetite.
- Driving high-impact stakeholder engagement through workshops, technical reviews, and executive-level presentations to inform strategic decisions and communicate progress.
- Providing authoritative engineering advice for tender evaluations and lead program teams through key systems engineering milestones, including Design Reviews or Test Readiness Reviews.
- Ensuring products comply with legislative, policy, and regulatory frameworks while challenging conventional approaches to certification and collaborating with Capability Managers and Regulators to develop novel pathways and risk-informed concessions that enable rapid operational deployment.
- Driving continuous uplift of engineering capabilities within ASCA, advocating for advancements in principles, methods, and regulatory practices to support Defence innovation and agility.
- Exercising delegated engineering and technical regulatory authorities as a recognised domain expert, applying decision-making powers that would support a Technical Authority.
- Leading the establishment and governance of Test, Evaluation, Certification, and Systems Assurance pathways, ensuring compliance with Defence standards and alignment with ASCA mission objectives.
- Owning and managing risks associated with capability transition to operational acceptance, ensuring alignment with senior stakeholder expectations and the Defence Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
About our Team
The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator's (ASCA) mission is to accelerate the development and transition of asymmetric capabilities to the Australian Defence Force through innovation, in order to meet Defence priority needs.
Working in close collaboration with the defence industry and research organisations — ASCA’s priorities are shaped by the National Defence Strategy, the Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy, and AUKUS Pillar II – Advanced Capabilities.
Since its launch on 1 July 2023, ASCA has played a key role in the most significant reshaping of defence innovation in decades, designed to deliver vital capabilities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Priorities are delivered through three programs – Missions, Innovation Incubation, and the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT) program.
The Engineering function exists within ASCA’s Capability Transition Branch (CTB) and is responsible for ensuring the acceleration and pull-through of capability to acquisition through effective design, testing, certification and acceptance into programs at high material and integration readiness levels. Recognised for its agency to maneuver and learning fast approach, this new function establishes the consensus amongst Defence stakeholders for the certification basis, assurance and acceptance necessary to enable rapid capability transition pathways.
The Executive Director of Engineering is a senior leadership role and demands considerable independence and a high degree of professional judgement. You will provide leadership and stewardship across complex engineering programs that carry strategic, political, and operational significance for Defence. The role requires assuming accountability for outcomes, guiding multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring alignment with organisational objectives. You will be expected to develop and deliver pragmatic, strategic advice that informs decision-making at the highest levels, while fostering innovation and resilience within critical capability areas. An outstanding communicator, you may be requested to act in place of the Branch Head from time-to-time, representing ASCA and exercising delegated authority with confidence and integrity.
Our Ideal Candidate
ASCA is seeking candidates who thrive in a high-tempo and dynamic environment. Within ASCA, staff are encouraged and empowered to evaluate and take calculated risks; and challenge the status quo whilst acting with integrity. To succeed in this role, you must be an adaptable and resilient individual, show initiative and be a team player who contributes to a respectful workplace.
Our ideal leader will operate with a high level of self-direction and is comfortable with fast-pace environments where experimentation and uncertainty is considered business as usual. They will have and maintain an expert-level understanding of the Defence enterprise, with a deep focus on the Defence regulatory and certification requirements and/or capability development to support ASCA and its vendors navigate the complex ecosystem of capability and delivery management stakeholders, and governance and assurance frameworks.
Success in this role hinges on your ability to navigate ambiguity and identify opportunities to reshape pathways for greater efficiency and impact. Where processes are unclear or evolving, you will lead the work to define and implement leaner, more effective approaches without compromising compliance or assurance. This requires applying extensive knowledge of legislative and regulatory frameworks, government policy, and Defence requirements to ensure engineering solutions meet rigorous standards. Your expertise will enable Defence to achieve operational readiness and strategic objectives while embedding compliance, adaptability, and continuous improvement into complex work programs.
You will be comfortable leading without authority across services and delivery groups and representing ASCA to identify and negotiate adaptive or novel routes to accelerate capability into service and ensure test, evaluation, acceptance and experimentation events are conducted safely and securely.
Application Closing Date: Thursday 12 March 2026
For further information please review the job information pack, reference ADFHQ/00126/26 on Defence Careers
