Experience: Manager
Salary: $130,000 - $140,000 per year
Job Details
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The Design Engineering Manager is responsible for leading overall product design processes, objectives, and deliverables, including design requirements, workflows, planning, implementation, scheduling, regulatory oversight, and documentation for new and existing products. This role also supports product design related to automation, manufacturing processes, and production readiness.
This person will work closely with manufacturing, quality, sales, marketing, finance, suppliers, vendors, customers, and senior leadership to ensure products are designed to meet customer requirements, regulatory standards, quality expectations, manufacturability needs, and cost targets. The role requires strong leadership, project management, mechanical design expertise, and a high degree of welding engineering knowledge.
Key Responsibilities
Engineering Leadership & Team Management
Provide leadership and direction for existing and emerging product and application technologies based on customer needs, business goals, and market requirements.
Manage, coach, and develop a team of engineers and technical staff.
Provide technical leadership to the design team, helping solve complex engineering challenges and guide key design decisions.
Supervise and review the work of direct reports while supporting training, development, accountability, and performance.
Meet regularly with engineering staff to review priorities, project status, technical issues, timelines, and resource needs.
Lead technical projects while managing multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations.
Product Development & Design Ownership
Lead the product development process from concept through production, including brainstorming, conceptualization, design, prototyping, testing, validation, and finalization.
Own product design development and engineering schedules while balancing budget, resource constraints, product features, manufacturability, and product cost.
Ensure product requirements are properly documented and understood by all stakeholders early in the development process.
Ensure final products are fully and accurately documented, including drawings, specifications, technical reports, and related design records.
Manage the full product lifecycle from initial design through updates, revisions, enhancements, and obsolescence management.
Generate new concepts and innovative ideas in product designs and manufacturing processes to create competitive advantage.
Welding, Fabrication & Manufacturing Design
Apply strong welding engineering knowledge to support the design of sheet metal products, weldments, large assemblies, pressure vessels, and non-code vessels.
Ensure designs are practical, manufacturable, cost-effective, and aligned with production capabilities.
Use CAD software to create and support drawings for welding projects, components, assemblies, and manufacturing requirements.
Support proposed manufacturing designs, product/process improvements, and production ramp-up activity.
Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure designs can be built efficiently, consistently, safely, and at the required quality level.
Drive design decisions that support quality, cost effectiveness, production flow, and long-term manufacturability.
BOM, ERP & Production Support
Manage on-time delivery of designs, drawings, and instructions to support BOM creation, item release, and production schedule needs.
Work within ERP systems to support product data, engineering releases, documentation, and production readiness.
Coordinate with manufacturing, quality, and production teams to ensure engineering deliverables are available when needed to support production schedules.
Support new product introduction, including process validation, capacity planning, production ramp-up, and cross-functional readiness.
Identify requirements for product changes, design enhancements, and process improvements.
Process Optimization & Continuous Improvement
Analyze and optimize design processes to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance product quality.
Develop and deploy best practices for product design, documentation, engineering workflows, and manufacturing support.
Foster a culture of innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement within the engineering team.
Stay current on industry trends, emerging technologies, materials, manufacturing methods, and design practices.
Contribute ideas to improve workflow, engineering processes, product quality, manufacturability, and cost performance.
Quality, Risk & Regulatory Compliance
Ensure designs meet quality standards, customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and internal specifications.
Support compliance with relevant industry standards and certifications, including DOT, ASME, and ISO requirements.
Identify potential risks and challenges in the design process and implement mitigation strategies through design reviews, testing, validation, and documentation.
Partner with Quality and Manufacturing to implement quality controls throughout the design and production process.
Ensure products are designed with safety, quality, compliance, and customer requirements in mind.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Collaborate with manufacturing, quality assurance, sales, marketing, finance, purchasing, and other departments to ensure design specifications meet stakeholder needs and are feasible for production.
Develop strong relationships across departments to improve communication, execution, and alignment.
Engage closely with sales, marketing, and customers to understand explicit and latent market needs, identify opportunities for innovation, define process requirements, and develop practical solutions.
Work as a technical consultant with customers to finalize engineering project specifications.
Present engineering plans, project status, technical updates, and progress reports to leadership, customers, and internal stakeholders.
Supplier, Vendor & Cost Management
Collaborate with external suppliers and vendors for components, materials, and services related to design and engineering projects.
Promote ongoing dialogue with suppliers to identify innovative alternatives in mechanical design, material selection, and assembly methods.
Partner with Finance and leadership to develop and manage design project budgets.
Identify opportunities to reduce material costs, assembly costs, and overall product cost without compromising quality, safety, or performance.
Review and approve proposals, expenditures, and engineering-related project needs as appropriate.
Project Management & Execution
Direct and manage multiple concurrent engineering projects from concept through completion.
Establish project timelines and communicate expectations to engineering staff and cross-functional stakeholders.
Ensure engineering projects meet objectives, milestones, budget expectations, customer requirements, and production needs.
Perform administrative leadership responsibilities including policy enforcement, resource planning, staffing decisions, and approval of proposals or expenditures.
Problem-solve and communicate effectively with work teams to support project execution and continuous improvement.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Welding Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or an equivalent technical field.
Demonstrated experience in product development, design, manufacturing, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of supervisory experience and project management expertise.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in sheet metal, welding, weldments, large assemblies, or related manufacturing environments.
High degree of welding experience with sheet metal, weldments, and large assemblies.
Knowledge of ASME pressure vessels and non-code vessels is required.
Experience with ERP systems and engineering documentation processes.
Experience using CAD software to create drawings for welding projects, components, and assemblies.
Working knowledge of CAD software required; experience with Inventor is a plus.
CWI certification preferred.
Strong understanding of mechanical engineering principles, manufacturing processes, product design, and production support.
Strong communication, leadership, planning, organization, and project management skills.
Ability to manage multiple project schedules, deadlines, priorities, and cross-functional requirements.
Ability to communicate effectively with senior leadership, customers, suppliers, vendors, engineers, and manufacturing teams.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is a hands-on design engineering leader with strong mechanical design, welding, fabrication, and manufacturing experience. This person should be comfortable leading engineers and technical staff while also staying close to the details of product design, drawings, BOMs, ERP releases, production support, and customer requirements.
The right candidate will understand how to design products that are not only technically sound, but also practical to manufacture. They should bring strong experience with welded assemblies, sheet metal, large assemblies, pressure vessels or non-code vessels, CAD, documentation, and cross-functional project execution. They should be able to work closely with customers, suppliers, sales, manufacturing, quality, and leadership to turn product requirements into cost-effective, high-quality, production-ready designs.
This person should be innovative, organized, deadline-driven, and able to think outside the box to solve complex technical and manufacturing challenges.
Physical Requirements & Safety
This role requires the ability to work in a manufacturing environment. Employees may be required to stand, walk, sit, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, handle materials, and occasionally lift or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities include close vision.
Employees are required to wear all assigned PPE in designated work areas. Safety glasses, steel toe or non-slip safety shoes or boots, and hearing protection are required at all times on the production floor. This is a drug and alcohol-free work environment. Being impaired or under the influence of legal or illegal drugs is strictly prohibited while working.
A bit about us:
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Our client is a highly respected manufacturer specializing in engineered metal products for demanding industrial applications. The organization is known for technical precision, quality, safety, and manufacturing excellence. Their products require strong design discipline, welding knowledge, regulatory awareness, and close collaboration between engineering, production, quality, sales, and customers.
Why join us?
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This is a highly visible engineering leadership opportunity for someone who wants to have a direct impact on product design, manufacturability, quality, cost, and innovation. The Design Engineering Manager will lead a team of engineers and technical staff while owning design processes from concept through production. This role is ideal for a hands-on engineering leader with deep experience in welded products, sheet metal, weldments, large assemblies, pressure vessels, CAD, ERP, and manufacturing support.
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