Director of Engineering

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With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

PURPOSE/SCOPE:

Engineering Director for Prototype, Validation, and PLM

• The Director of Protype, Validation, and PLM is responsible for the overall direction, management and process execution of Test Engineering, Prototype Development Lab (PDL), and Shared Engineering Services including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools, processes, and professionals.
• This position will provide technical strategic roadmaps and drive the tactical implementations in the domains of PDL, Test Engineering, and Quality Control processes. This leader will lead the team to create test automation, refine process to boost efficiency, evaluate and introduce best fit tools and technologies into the organization.
• Work closely with global engineering leaders to define and drive the best fit strategies of lab, testing, and processes to support global product development. Proactively fine tune and adjust the strategy to reduce the cost and time. Candidates should have a continuous improvement and LEAN mindset for productivity and efficiency improvement.
• The total span of control for this Leader of Product Validation is roughly 40 employees and an annual spend of $5.5M, including facilities and equipment for metal fabrication, prototype development, and validation testing.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build, refine, and assimilate the global vision, mission and strategy for Global Test, Engineering Services, and PDL within Tennant and its focus on technology advancement applications, lean principles and results orientation.
• Participate regularly with peers and engineering VP to develop and implement strategic and tactical plans including on resource utilization and execution.
• Understand the bottlenecks of R&D NPD test and validation. Define the goal and technical path for the team toward solving these bottlenecks. Actively drive the implementation; deliver results on time; balance the global resources including talents, training, lab, equipment, etc. to support global projects.
• Coordinate, develop, and manage the Global Test, Engineering Services, and PLM budget.
• Handle people management processes effectively, ensure goals and objectives are clear, provide appropriate feedback, deliver timely and accurate performance appraisals.
• Build and support a culture that is consistent with Tennant’s values of stewardship, accountability, trust, honest, respect, and quality.
• Build trust, treat employees as individuals, understand and value diversity, work to create a respectful and inclusive environment.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE &

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with demonstrated success and progressive responsibility in a product development related field with proven experience in engineering design, development, problem solving, and product management.
• Product Design & Test Engineering management/supervisory experience
• Experience in using simulation and accelerated test methodologies to shorten validation cycles.
• Experience with roll-out of process improvements in large organizations, including implementation of engineering standards (best practices) and methodologies.
• Comprehensive knowledge in testing methods for components, systems, and complete machines.
• Full knowledge and proficiency in testing programs to support product development programs.
• Ability to interpret complex regulatory and technical standards and succinctly communicate to leadership.
• Six Sigma Black Belt Certified strongly desired.
• Able to effectively interface with testing agencies such as UL, ETL, and TUV. Experience managing a third-party certified lab is strongly…