Chief Executive Officer — Interim, Aerospace Engineering GCC

The mandate

Forty-five transferred engineers are in temporary accommodation while work packages, licences and employer infrastructure remain unresolved.

The interim CEO must start within four weeks for twenty-four months, taking the centre from legal formation to stable scaled delivery. The role ends after a globally recruited permanent leader completes a three-month induction in the fully operational centre.

Handover requires 1,200 hired employees, all controlled-technology environments independently certified, ninety-five per cent milestone adherence across the first six programmes, and a successor who has chaired two global portfolio and one India board cycle.

The CEO may approve hiring within the workforce plan, award setup contracts below ₹4 crore and accept work packages that meet approved risk criteria. Site leases above ₹25 crore, defence-controlled scope and deviations from the global security architecture need board consent; the CEO cannot pursue external India revenue.

Aircraft certification authority, core product design ownership and global supplier selection are excluded. This centre is an internal engineering capability, not a regional business-development vehicle or independent design approval organisation.

Why this seat is open

Partner failure removed the planned operating route at the same moment executive sponsorship changed. The parent needs a leader able to create the legal, security and engineering institution together. A finite builder is preferred because the steady-state centre will require a different leadership profile after scale and accreditation.

What you will own

• Establish the India entity, board calendar, delegation framework and statutory control environment for first operations.
• Decide the build-versus-partner route for facilities, secure engineering zones and corporate services within approved capital.
• Sequence work-package migration by export classification, engineering dependency, talent readiness and delivery exposure.
• Hire the first three leadership layers against a capability architecture rather than inherited job-title demand.
• Certify controlled-technology access, data segregation, visitor handling and supplier boundaries before programme intake.
• Govern six lighthouse programmes through earned milestones, defect escape, utilisation and customer acceptance evidence.
• Transfer board, portfolio and regulatory authority to the permanent CEO through a documented three-month induction.

Candidate qualifications

• Twenty-eight-plus years in aerospace or defence engineering with prior P&L, delivery and regulated-site executive authority.
• Built an Indian GCC or engineering centre above 750 employees from entity formation through stable programme delivery.
• Operational knowledge of export controls, controlled technical data, aviation design assurance and secure facility accreditation.
• Experience negotiating complex work migration with global business units that are reluctant to relinquish scope.
• Proven ability to hire senior engineering leaders while creating an institution that does not depend on expatriate supervision.
• Board-level command of India statutory, employment, tax, security and third-party operating risks.
• Track record completing a builder mandate and transitioning gracefully to a steady-state chief executive.