Engineering Manager

Core Responsibilities:

• Oversee all new product introduction engineering activities to ensure that milestones, budgets, and technical customer's expectations are met, while fostering a culture of timely project completion and accountability to prevent scope creep.
• Plan, organize, and direct the activities of the engineering staff ensuring they provide the necessary technical support to sales, manufacturing, and quality to achieve division objectives.
• Ensure that all manufacturing special processes and tooling conform to customer, organizational, and governmental standards.
• Direct the development of new manufacturing processes and the revision of existing processes to facilitate the improved manufacturing of parts.
• Develop, coach and mentor team of engineers to ensure the highest level of performance and standards of excellence; foster knowledge transfer in teams with experience gaps (senior level to juniors); adapt motivation strategies to individual team members via Emotional Intelligence.
• Manages by way of Leadership Effectiveness (EI). Recognizes his/her emotions and that of his/her team and develops actions to motivate, inspire and direct in a more effective manner.
• Experience with financial modeling (Revenue stream vs. product costs vs. capital costs).
• Coordinate the development of tooling and N/C programs to support the processing of parts.
• Manages/supports inventory and accountability for customer owned property (tooling).
• Drive continuous improvement efforts to reduce costs to produce legacy product.
• Drive project prioritization using financial modeling (e.g., Pareto analysis, ROI/payback calculations from ERP data) to ensure timely completion and resource allocation; eliminate indefinite project delays.
• Lead Six Sigma audits and Lean initiatives focused on manufacturing efficiency (e.g., tool accessibility, waste reduction, process flow optimization, poka-yoke for manual operations); benchmark processes with peer sites (e.g., Lansing).
• Lead on-the-floor process observations to identify and eliminate inefficiencies, such as tool accessibility issues or unnecessary steps, driving measurable gains in speed, quality, and cost savings.
• Collaborate on tooling modifications/design for easier loading/unloading and error-proofing; support hands-on process improvements in manual manufacturing environments.
• Minimal travel for benchmarking/customer visits.

Core Qualifications:

• 7 to 10+ years of overall manufacturing and/or mechanical engineering - including extensive knowledge of process engineering and industrial engineering principles.
• 3 to 5 years of supervisory experience. Demonstrated leadership effectiveness. Must be an effective change leader; balances consistency with flexibility and willing to change ideas in the face of new information.
• Aerospace industry experience preferred but open to transferable industries like automotive (focus on efficiency/cost reduction).

Leadership/Supervisory Experience:

• Must have proven enjoyment of management (e.g., handling difficult conversations); high-energy, decisive mindset (80/20 rule, avoid analysis paralysis); creative problem-solving for "behind-the-times" processes.
• Experience adapting leadership style to individual team needs, inspiring innovation while maintaining high standards and ethical integrity.
• Knowledge of financial modeling (revenue stream vs. product costs vs. capital costs).
• Understanding of ERP systems and engineering's role within the system - proficiency in using data for quick ROI assessments. - Syteline ERP experience preferred (rare but ideal for quick cost pulls).
• Experience with benchmarking/cross-site collaboration.
• Seeks ideas for continuous improvement and change; suggests and encourages innovative ideas for products and processes.
• Highly professional and ethical, with unquestioned integrity.
• Excellent communication skills required and ability to communicate change(s) effectively. Has the ability to influence, build commitment, and overcome resistance to drive change initiatives.

Engineering Experience:

• Hands-on expertise in mechanical/manufacturing engineering, including metal forming, machining, and tooling design/modification.
• Strong knowledge of process and industrial engineering principles (e.g., process flow optimization, cell setup, waste reduction).
• Demonstrated experience or robust knowledge in process and industrial engineering, emphasizing manufacturing efficiency through techniques like workflow optimization, cell design, lean principles, and mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) to enhance manual operations and reduce operational steps.
• Experience with AS9100, aerospace customer contracts, system requirements, and Nadcap preferred.
• Manage the design and build of all tooling for both internal and external build.
• Proven ability to generate creative, out-of-the-box improvements (e.g., automation ideas, leveraging spec allowances to reduce rework) from practical, hands-on manufacturing experience.

Education & Other Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required in engineering. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Strong emphasis on Lean/Six Sigma application in manufacturing; Black Belt certification highly valued for audits and efficiency drives.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and MS Project.