Division Engineering Manager

THE COMPANY

We have been retained by a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies to find their next Composite Sealing Systems Division Engineering Manager. For more than a century the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow. The CSS Division is part of the Engineered Material Group, and is headquartered in San Diego, California.  They have three additional locations in North Haven, Connecticut, and Tijuana, Mexico.

The CSS Division designs, develops, and manufactures high integrity composite and metal seals for some of the world’s most demanding applications across aerospace, military, power generation, automotive, heavy duty mobile, life science, oil and gas, and semiconductor industries. With more than five decades of expertise, our engineered static sealing solutions provide performance, reliability, longevity, and durability needed in demanding sealing environments.

THE POSITION

Position Summary:
The Division Engineering Manager leads the company’s engineering function, which includes product development engineer teams across multiple technical disciplines and material testing and development. This includes 4 sites in the USA and Mexico. Additionally, the Division Engineering Manager supports manufacturing engineering to drive process simplification and automation.

This role reports to the Division General Manager and leads a team of department managers and highly skilled expert-level engineers. The Division Engineering Manager will partner closely with Sales & Marketing and has regular and frequent interactions with customers, multiple business areas, program management and Division and Group leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Aligns engineering objectives and project plans with overall business unit or division strategy.
• Develop plans for multiple project teams and determine resource allocation by reviewing technical proposals, internal and subcontract capabilities, and conferring with management.
• Manage the deployment of resources among teams and for engineers assigned to various programs (e.g., matrix to a business team).
• Provides leadership and direction on product development and research activities and the introduction of new technology; maintains research streams.
• Leads the team and expert staff in interpreting complex technical requirements, managing associated risk throughout the development cycle, and completing technical studies and design reviews.
• Maintains frequent formal and informal program management and customer interface to present status and/or drive project plans; assess and make technical determinations on changes in customer requirements (e.g., design specifications; change impact on cost/schedule). May act as a Control Account Manager (CAM) for projects applying Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Determines the implementation of internal product development process (e.g., structured design process) and assesses conformance, impact, and trends in development time and cost.
• Maintains consistent engineering practices, standards, and documentation procedures and reporting capabilities.
• Takes appropriate steps to protect and safeguard the companies’ intellectual property.
• Accountable for full budget planning and non-recurring/recurring cost management with significant impact on division engineering costs and that may include engineering systems and multiple facilities.
• With division leadership, develops long range plans to meet both current and anticipated growth and resource challenges (e.g., workforce planning; new technical systems investments).
• Partners with customers or program management to identify opportunities for product innovation or systems solutions and leads innovation that results in breakthrough solutions.
• Interfaces with division staff and serves as a primary liaison on technical capabilities.
• Provides input to the technology roadmap and division business plans.
• Makes recommendations and decisions on human resources actions (e.g., staffing, training, compensation, etc. consults with leadership on exceptional cases.
• Communicate and implement actions to ensure company values and company policies are well understood and maintained (e.g., business ethics; integrity; inclusion).
• Identifies and creates technical training and development plans.
• Mentor or serve as a resource to share specialized knowledge with others.
• Maintain leadership and technical capabilities through continued education or training.

THE CANDIDATE

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree (BS) (or Professional Engineer (PE) certificate) in engineering or a science technical discipline. Mechanical Engineering preferred.
• Master’s degree (MS or MBA) preferred.

Experience/Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to perform the essential functions of the job typically acquired through 15 years of related experience, typically engineering roles of increasing responsibility.
• Has prior leadership responsibility for 4 or more years including management of multiple teams and projects.
• Previous mechanical design experience is required.
• Project Management experience.
• Comprehensive knowledge and overall understanding of multiple engineering and/or scientific fields and specialized product/system integration requirements, especially related to composite and metal sealing systems.
• Ability to apply and integrate knowledge of other related engineering areas or experts to create differentiated competitive advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to assess and lead research and investment in new technologies and in creating linkage between product/system design, manufacturing, and business results.
• Experience with comprehensive program and design reviews and/or other customer requirements, industry practices, regulations, and policies.
• Customer facing experience is required.
• Thorough knowledge of competitor and industry practices, government regulations, and internal policies.
• Ideal candidate will have excellent leadership skills, good communication and people skills, and the ability to make impactful presentations to customers.

Work Authorization:

• This position must meet Export Control compliance requirements, therefore a “US Citizen” as defined by 22 C.F.R § 120.15 is required.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to work for extended periods of time while sitting or standing.
• Ability to use hands and fingers for extended periods of time.
• Ability to perform repetitive motions for extended periods of time.

Equal Employment Opportunity – Our client is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.