Director of Piston Pin Engineering

ABOUT THE ROLE

Amsted Automotive Group, Piston Pin Business Unit, is looking for a Director of Engineering to provide hands‑on leadership driving manufacturing process design, standardization, and continuous improvement. Owns product application engineering, program management, and APQP execution while developing talent, building high‑performing teams, and delivering measurable gains in quality and efficiency. Shapes engineering strategy and fosters accountability and operational excellence.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing engineering team; drive accountability and continuous technical excellence.
• Standardize manufacturing processes across all piston pin facilities to eliminate defects and maximize efficiency.
• Foster a culture of data‑driven problem solving and continuous improvement.
• Ensure full compliance with internal standards and external requirements (IATF 16949, ISO 9001).
• Partner with Quality to resolve process nonconformances and implement robust corrective/preventive actions.
• Own business unit APQP, PPAP, and FMEA processes to ensure product and manufacturing process integrity.
• Drive process optimization initiatives to improve efficiency, global capacity, reduce cost, and eliminate waste.
• Champion Lean, Six Sigma, and other CI methodologies to increase throughput and reduce variation.
• Leverage key operating metrics to identify trends, diagnose issues, and drive performance.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and assess applicability to future operations.
• Communicate clearly with senior leadership on progress, risks, and strategic opportunities.

• Leadership and team development:
  Demonstrated ability to build, lead, mentor, and reorganize teams to improve performance.
• Education:
  
  Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field required; advanced engineering degree and/or MBA preferred.
• Automotive engineering experience: 10–15 years of automotive engineering management experience, preferably in cold forming, heat treating, CNC machining, centerless grinding, metals forming, machining, fabrication, or related manufacturing processes.
• Quality systems and core tools:
  Experience with AIAG and IATF tools, including implementation in an automotive manufacturing environment.
• Problem solving and analytics:
  Strong disciplined critical‑thinking skills with an analytical DMAIC approach; experience using statistical process capability methods and tools such as Minitab or other SPC analysis programs.
• Communication:
  Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Results orientation:
  Proven history of driving continuous improvement and financial improvement projects that deliver measurable business impact.
• Leadership and integrity:
  Highest ethical standards, with strong communication skills and the ability to motivate, lead, and develop individuals to perform at their best.
• Engineering career progression:
  Demonstrated career growth in engineering, including experience in manufacturing operations, manufacturing or product design engineering, and/or quality engineering.
• Continuous improvement and business impact:
  Proven history of executing continuous improvement projects related to manufacturing cost control, cost of quality, and product/process standardization, with clear ownership of projects that delivered measurable fiscal impact.
• Team building and performance:
  Demonstrated ability to build teams that achieve stretch results.
• Manufacturing process expertise:
  Familiarity with high‑precision metal manufacturing processes such as cold forming, heat treating, CNC machining, centerless grinding, metals forming, machining, or fabrication in a manufacturing environment, not assembly‑only operations.
• Automotive quality systems:
  Thorough understanding of the automotive business environment and related quality systems, including ISO/TS standards, APQP, DFMEA, PFMEA, and formal corrective action processes.
• Customer and technical communication:
  Strong customer communication skills, including the ability to deliver technical presentations in support of…