Engineering Manager

Job Title: Director of Engineering

Department: Engineering

Reports To: CEO

FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: Primarily onsite

Travel: Minimal, primarily local as needed

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Engineering is a hands-on technical leadership role responsible for serving as the company’s senior engineering authority while directly contributing to product design, technical problem-solving, engineering execution, regulatory coordination, and leadership of a small engineering team.

This is not a purely administrative or management position. The Director of Engineering is expected to remain actively involved in mechanical design, drawing review, product improvement, troubleshooting, technical decision-making, engineering documentation, and new product development.

The Director of Engineering works closely with Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality, Purchasing, vendors, customers, and outside testing laboratories to ensure that products are well-designed, manufacturable, properly documented, compliant with applicable standards, and aligned with business needs.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Hands-On Engineering and Technical Leadership

• Serve as the company’s senior technical authority for engineering matters.

• Personally contribute to product design, product improvement, troubleshooting, technical review, and engineering problem-solving.

• Review, check, and approve drawings, designs, specifications, engineering changes, and product documentation.

• Provide practical mechanical engineering expertise across sheet metal fabrication, mechanical assemblies, motors, castings, drives, and related components.

• Apply sound engineering judgment to evaluate how mechanical, electrical, and manufactured components work together in complete product systems.

• Provide technical direction and guidance to mechanical and electrical engineering personnel.

• Maintain and improve engineering standards, design practices, documentation quality, and technical review processes.

• Use SolidWorks and related engineering tools to support design, review, documentation, and product development activities.

• Support the use and improvement of SolidWorks PDM or similar product data management practices.

Product Development and Product Improvement

• Lead and manage engineering efforts for new product development, product enhancements, and improvements to existing product lines.

• Work with Sales and Marketing as a technical sounding board for new product ideas, customer needs, product opportunities, and product improvements.

• Proactively identify and recommend engineering-driven product improvements or new product concepts.

• Evaluate the technical feasibility of new product ideas, custom requests, product changes, and design alternatives.

• Partner with Sales and Marketing, who are responsible for commercial evaluation, to help determine whether product ideas are technically practical and supportable.

• Coordinate engineering priorities across new product development, custom engineering requests, production support, and product maintenance.

Regulatory, Certification, and Compliance Coordination

• Manage engineering responsibilities related to product compliance, certification, and technical documentation.

• Coordinate with outside testing laboratories for UL certification and related product testing.

• Support certified products, including products certified under UL 1204 and controls under UL 508, as applicable.

• Develop the ability to understand, interpret, and apply relevant UL, CSA, CE, RoHS, and other product-related requirements.

• Maintain organized compliance records, technical files, drawings, test documentation, and certification-related communications.

• Work with outside resources where appropriate for CE, RoHS, CSA, or other compliance requirements.

Engineering-to-Manufacturing Support

• Work closely with the Manufacturing Manager to ensure effective engineering-to-manufacturing handoffs.

• Ensure Manufacturing receives accurate drawings, bills of material, work instructions, specifications, and other technical documentation needed to build products correctly.

• Support Manufacturing in understanding and using engineering documentation properly.

• Help resolve production-related technical issues in a collaborative, fact-based manner.

• Promote constructive problem-solving between Engineering and Manufacturing, avoiding blame or finger-pointing.

• Support process improvements, quality improvements, and manufacturability improvements in partnership with Manufacturing and Quality.

Custom Engineering and Sales Support

• Serve as the first technical review point for custom engineering requests from Sales.

• Evaluate custom requests for technical feasibility, engineering effort, manufacturability, compliance impact, and fit with existing product platforms.

• Work with Sales, customers, vendors, and internal teams to clarify technical requirements and define practical solutions.

• Help balance customer-specific requests against production priorities, engineering capacity, and new product development goals.

Department Leadership and People Management

• Lead, coach, and supervise the engineering team, currently including mechanical and electrical engineering personnel.

• Provide clear priorities, technical guidance, and accountability to ensure engineering work stays on task, on target, and aligned with company needs.

• Support the development of engineering staff through coaching, training, feedback, and performance management.

• Foster a professional, collaborative, and solutions-oriented engineering culture.

• Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence, communication skills, and sound judgment when working across departments.

• Participate in hiring, selection, onboarding, and development of engineering staff in conjunction with the President / CEO.

• Recommend staffing, technology, equipment, software, and resource needs for the engineering department.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality, Purchasing, vendors, customers, and senior leadership.

• Help balance the competing needs of production support, custom engineering, compliance work, and new product development.

• Communicate technical issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Participate in project planning, priority-setting, cost evaluation, and resource planning for engineering initiatives.

• Support continuous improvement in product design, documentation, manufacturability, quality, and engineering processes.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

This position manages the engineering department and is responsible for day-to-day technical direction, prioritization, coaching, performance management, and staff development. The role also participates in hiring and staffing decisions in conjunction with company leadership.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering field.

• Approximately 10 years of progressive engineering experience, preferably in a manufacturing or product development environment.

• Strong hands-on mechanical engineering capability, including practical design, troubleshooting, drawing review, and product improvement experience.

• Experience with sheet metal fabrication, mechanical assemblies, motors, castings, drives, and manufactured product systems.

• Proficiency with SolidWorks.

• Ability to review and approve engineering drawings, specifications, technical documentation, and design changes.

• Basic practical understanding of electrical systems and the ability to work effectively with electrical engineering personnel.

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical work while also managing priorities, coaching engineers, and supporting team accountability.

• Strong problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and project management skills.

• Ability to work constructively with Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality, Purchasing, vendors, customers, and outside testing labs.

• Ability to learn and apply regulatory and certification requirements, including UL, CSA, CE, and RoHS-related requirements.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with SolidWorks PDM or similar product data management systems.

• Prior experience with UL-certified, CSA-certified, CE-marked, or otherwise regulated products.

• Experience coordinating with outside testing laboratories or certification bodies.

• Familiarity with UL 1204, UL 508, or similar product/control standards.

• Experience in a small or mid-sized manufacturing company where engineering leaders are expected to be hands-on and cross-functional.

• Experience mentoring engineers or leading a small technical team.

• Experience with Made2Manage or similar ERP/manufacturing systems.

• Experience supporting engineering-to-manufacturing handoffs, production documentation, and manufacturability improvements.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Hands-on technical engineering capability

• Mechanical design judgment

• Product development

• Technical problem-solving

• Drawing and documentation review

• Regulatory and compliance coordination

• Engineering project management

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Manufacturing support

• Team leadership and coaching

• Emotional intelligence

• Communication with technical and non-technical audiences

• Prioritization and accountability

• Continuous improvement mindset