Head of Design Engineering and Project Management

Head of Design Engineering and Project Management

Direct Hire – Findlay, OH – Posted May 20

Overview

Lead the design engineering and project management functions, overseeing a team of managers and engineers to achieve revenue and profitability goals.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Team Leadership: Supervise, mentor, and lead a high‑performing team of managers across engineering and internal project management to hit key business objectives.
• Inner-Department Communication & Consistency: Improve communication between departments, break down silos, and drive organizational consistency across all teams under your purview.
• Process Optimization (Sales to Customer Service): Critically review, design, and establish seamless internal workflows and procedures from the initial sales handoff through engineering and customer service.
• Internal Capital & Systems Projects: Lead major internal initiatives, acting as the driving force behind software implementations, CapEx improvements, and potential facility upgrades.
• Cross‑Functional Alignment & Meetings: Establish and lead regular staff meetings to keep teams aligned, while serving as the central liaison to senior management on project status, risks, and progress dashboards.
• Customer‑Facing Escalations: Serve as the primary champion for customer satisfaction by directly handling escalated customer issues and providing a closed‑loop feedback system for field observations.
• Operational & Schedule Prioritization: Partner closely with operations and scheduling to actively prioritize the production calendar, making the necessary adjustments needed to keep projects moving.
• Financial & Budgetary Control: Oversee the engineering budget, manage project scope risks, and maintain strict accountability for documenting and following up on price adjustments.
• Optimized Product Design: Ensure all products are strategically designed for maximum efficiency in engineering, manufacturing, and installation while maintaining standards that serve internal and external stakeholders.
• Culture, Safety & Sales Support: Run your departments with a sharp focus on safety and employee engagement, assist the sales team with technical product presentations, and provide back‑up leadership support when needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, ideally in a technical or operations field.
• At least five years of similar engineering or operations leadership experience.
• Experience working in low‑volume, high‑mix, custom manufacturing environments.
• Experience overseeing direct and indirect reports.
• Project management experience, including budgets and timelines.
• Strong mechanical aptitude.
• Proven track record of continuous improvements.
• Working knowledge of ERP systems.
• Microsoft Office skills, including Excel.

Preferred Skills (Not Required)

• MBA.
• Power BI.

Benefits

• Three‑tier medical plan with HSA contribution.
• Dental and vision benefits.
• 401(k) with employer match.
• Paid holidays and PTO.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Bonus potential.

Why Work Here

• Diverse business mix supplying a growing industry.
• Every project is different – no repeat work.
• Potential for future advancement opportunities.
• Excellent work schedule with minimal weekend work.
• Casual work environment; jeans allowed daily.

Location and Work Arrangement

Findlay, OH. No relocation available for this position. No hybrid or remote work available.

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