Engineering Manager

The Engineering Manager is responsible for leading the full lifecycle of new product development, from project award through production readiness and formal handoff to Manufacturing. This role ensures alignment across technical execution, timelines, cost, quality, and customer requirements while providing leadership to Engineering and Project Management teams.

This position also provides operational oversight of the internal Tool Room, ensuring effective management of new tool builds, tooling repairs, validation activities, and launch readiness for both internal and external customers. The Engineering Manager drives performance across tooling, injection molding, metal injection molding (MIM), CNC machining, automation, manufacturability, and process validation while maintaining hands-on involvement in design, troubleshooting, and engineering problem-solving when needed.

Competencies – What This Person Must Be

Full-Lifecycle & Structured: Owns projects from award through Manufacturing handoff while balancing scope, schedule, budget, risk, and technical execution.

Technically & Tooling Fluent: Strong knowledge of injection molding, MIM, CNC machining, automation, assembly, validation, tooling builds, and repair processes.

Hands-On Leader: Comfortable directly designing, reviewing, troubleshooting, and supporting engineering activities when needed.

Leader & Individual Contributor: Able to lead teams while personally contributing technical expertise.

Financially Aware: Understands development budgets, labor utilization, cost tracking, and accountability.

Process-Driven: Builds repeatable systems, improves execution discipline, and ensures compliance.

Customer-Focused Leader: Ensures clear communication and coordination with customers and internal stakeholders.

Multi-Function Leader: Provides leadership across Engineering, Project Management, and Tool Room operations.

Talent Builder: Develops team members through coaching, mentoring, training, and succession planning.

Decisive & Accountable: Escalates issues quickly, drives resolution, and creates a culture of ownership and respect.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the complete project lifecycle from award and kickoff through engineering, tooling, validation, production readiness, and Manufacturing handoff.
• Ensure programs are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with customer and business objectives.
• Directly manage Project Management resources, including assignments, priorities, performance expectations, coaching, and accountability.
• Provide operational oversight of the internal Tool Room, including tooling capacity, labor allocation, safety, quality, schedule performance, tryout, validation, documentation, and acceptance.
• Own technical execution for tooling, fixturing, automation, manufacturability, process validation, and launch performance.
• Evaluate new opportunities for technical feasibility, manufacturability, cost assumptions, risk, and alignment with PTI capabilities.
• Partner with Sales and Business Development on quoting, scope definition, technical reviews, and customer assessments.
• Create and maintain Bills of Material (BOMs) aligned with quotations, project assumptions, and production cost targets.
• Track labor usage and job costs against forecasts to improve launch planning and financial visibility.
• Ensure complete development-to-Manufacturing handoff packages, including drawings, BOMs, process parameters, validation records, tooling status, training documentation, and production approvals.
• Lead cross-functional teams including Engineering, Project Management, Tool Room, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Sales.
• Conduct project reviews, identify risks, establish ownership, and drive timely decisions.
• Provide technical leadership in Design for Manufacturability (DFM), process capability analysis, validation planning, and risk assessment.
• Establish standardized review and approval processes to ensure milestone completion.
• Maintain compliance with ISO9001, ITAR, and customer-specific requirements.
• Manage suppliers supporting tooling, automation, and materials.
• Balance engineering, project management, and tooling resources based on business priorities.
• Identify process improvements, cost reductions, technology advancements, and risk mitigation opportunities.
• Maintain project risk registers and contingency plans.
• Develop procedures that improve repeatability, accountability, and execution across engineering and tooling operations.

Project Management & Customer Interface

• Lead and develop the Project Management function by setting priorities, approving project plans, and establishing reporting cadence.
• Ensure control of project scope, schedule, budget, risks, action items, customer commitments, and deliverables.
• Ensure customer requirements and decisions are translated into coordinated actions across Engineering, Tool Room, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing.
• Review customer-facing plans, status updates, recovery plans, and escalation communications.
• Support customer meetings, project reviews, technical discussions, and alignment sessions.
• Build customer confidence through proactive, accurate, and professional communication.

Engineering & Technical Support

• Act as an individual contributor when needed through mold design, engineering drawings, CNC fixture development, and process troubleshooting.
• Recommend molding parameters, CNC processes, and manufacturing best practices.
• Support debinding, sintering, and secondary processing through hands-on problem solving.
• Oversee Tool Room activities including priorities, equipment readiness, preventive maintenance, safety, quality, and schedule performance.
• Manage tooling projects from scope definition through design, build/repair, tryout, validation, documentation, acceptance, and release.
• Apply expertise in molding principles including shrink, venting, cooling, gating, and press requirements.
• Mentor engineers and Tool Room personnel in mold design, repair, maintenance, troubleshooting, GD&T, and manufacturability.
• Lead automation design, integration, and validation activities.
• Support tolerance stack-up analysis, DFM reviews, launch troubleshooting, and issue resolution.
• Partner with Quality and Production teams to implement effective solutions.
• Promote Lean principles throughout engineering development and launch activities.
• Develop technical capability through Engineering, Project Management, and Tool Room training.

Key Metrics & KPIs

1. ≥95% On-Time NPD Launch Rate
2. ≥95% On-Time Tooling Delivery
3. ≥90% First Pass Yield at SOP
4. ≤5% Budget Variance on Development & Launch Costs
5. ≥95% Successful PPAP/Validation at First Submission
6. ≥90% Cycle Time Attainment at Release
7. ≤3-Day Engineering Issue Escalation Turnaround Time
8. ≥95% Development Signoffs Completed on Schedule
9. ≥95% Complete Manufacturing Handoff Packages

o Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or equivalent experience.

o 7+ years of experience in injection molding, MIM, CNC, or related manufacturing engineering.

o Experience managing full lifecycle projects from award through production launch.

o Demonstrated leadership of Project Management teams or project managers.

o Experience overseeing Tool Room operations and tooling builds/repairs.

o Hands-on experience with injection mold design, CNC fixturing, drawings, and process development.

o Proficiency with CAD, GD&T, DFM, FMEA, and validation processes.

o Experience with ERP systems, project tracking, and tooling work-order management.

o Strong people leadership, communication, and performance management skills.

o Familiarity with ISO9001 and ITAR requirements.