Director of Product Line Engineering

The Director of Product Line Engineering provides technical and lifecycle leadership for Zinc Five’s released battery-based power solutions. This role sets engineering direction and drives cross-functional initiatives to improve product performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, serviceability, and end-of-life circularity. Responsibilities include but are not limited to change governance, continuous improvement, cost engineering, field and service support, and technical roadmap development. This role will work onsite at Zinc Five’s headquarters in Tualatin, Oregon, and reports to the VP of Engineering.

• Leads cross-functional alignment on product improvements, cost reduction initiatives, new service opportunities, upgrade pathways, and end-of-life strategies
• Lead, develop and manage a team of electrical and chemical engineers
• Represents released product lines' technical requirements in executive, operational, and engineering forums
• Ensures product architecture, design intent, technical documentation, and configuration integrity remain current and consistent
• Oversees engineering change governance, including ECO/ECN processes, while ensuring compliance with regulatory, reliability, and quality standards
• Drives lifecycle management for released products, including continuous improvement roadmaps, field upgrades, and end-of-life transitions
• Acts as the primary technical liaison for field operations, service teams, customer escalations, and commercial stakeholders
• Partners with engineering, operations, service, quality, supply chain, and commercial teams to align product strategy, resolve issues, and achieve business objectives
• Anticipates and resolves component obsolescence, vendor-related risks, supply-driven changes, and other technical lifecycle challenges
• Develops commonality, value engineering, and cost-out strategies to simplify manufacturing, reduce costs, and improve supply security
• Utilizes reliability, manufacturing, warranty, field, and service performance data to prioritize engineering actions and portfolio improvements
• Provides technical guidance on product configurations, options, variant strategies, and field upgrade feasibility
• Oversees technical content and collateral supporting installation, commissioning, service, warranty, and customer support activities
• Leads portfolio-level continuous improvement programs focused on cost, quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction
• Fosters strong interdepartmental collaboration to enhance customer service, streamline processes, and support shared business goals
• Domestic and international travel (up to 25%)

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline
• 13+ years of experience leading complex engineering programs in energy storage, power electronics, industrial equipment, or similar industries
• 7+ years of progressive leadership experience, including team leadership, coaching, mentoring, and talent development
• Demonstrated systems engineering expertise with experience in complex hardware development environments and stage-gate processes
• Strong experience managing released product life cycles, including engineering change control, configuration management, cost reduction, quality improvement, field support, and end-of-life transitions
• Proven ability to lead product health and continuous improvement initiatives using reliability, warranty, operational, and field performance data
• Experience managing vendor performance, component obsolescence, supply chain risks, and supply-driven engineering decisions
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, sourcing strategies, value engineering, and cost optimization through engineering design…