Design Engineering Manager

A bit about us:

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?

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.

Job Details

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…