Former Kangaroo Shannon Grant and Hayden Skipworth, who was on the Bombers list in 2009, will also fill full-time development roles.
Football manager Paul Hamilton said the club had decided to strengthen its focus on player development.
"As a club we have made a very strong strategic decision to put more resources into the development of our players, and with this in mind we have appointed Dean in a development capacity," Hamilton said.
"Dean has had enormous experience at St Kilda, Essendon and Fremantle and we know he has a real hunger to help improve individual players.
"It is important that we continue to build the best off-field team to support our coach James Hird and our playing group, and we believe Dean will bring valuable knowledge and experience to help us to do this."
Essendon has a development program for its first, second and third year players, the Jack Jones Development Academy, and recently appointed development manager Danny Corcoran will oversee it.
Hamilton said the academy was essential if the club was to keep up with others in the league.
"We are operating in a really competitive environment, particularly with the addition of the Gold Coast and GWS teams, and it is imperative that we maximise the development of the players that we bring into the system from the earliest stages in their careers," Hamilton said.
"We want to feel comfortable that we have given the players every resource and every opportunity to become the best possible player that they can be."
