Director Mechanical Engineering

Hi, we are ecobee.

ecobee introduced the world’s first smart Wi-Fi thermostat to help millions of consumers save money, conserve energy, and bring home automation into their lives. That was just the beginning. We continue our pursuit to create technology that brings peace of mind into the home and allows people to focus on the moments that matter most. We take pride in making a meaningful difference to the environment, all while being part of the exciting, connected home revolution.

In 2021, ecobee became a subsidiary of Generac Power Systems. Generac introduced the first affordable backup generator and later created the category of automatic home standby generator. The company is committed to sustainable, cleaner energy products poised to revolutionize the 21st century electrical grid. Together, we take pride in making a meaningful difference to the environment.

Why we love to do what we do:

We’re helping build the world of tomorrow with solutions that improve everyday life while making a positive impact on the planet. Our products and services work in harmony to provide comfort, efficiency, and peace of mind for millions of homes and businesses. While we’re proud of what we’ve done so far, there’s still a lot we can do—and you can be part of it. 

Join our extraordinary team.

We're a rapidly growing global tech company headquartered in Canada, in the heart of downtown Toronto, with an office in Leeds, UK, and remote ecopeeps in the US. We get to work with some of North America and UK's leading professionals. Our colleagues are proud to bring their authentic selves to work, confident that what we do is grounded in a greater purpose. We’re always looking for curious, talented, and passionate people to join our team.

Who You’ll Be Joining:

We’re looking for a builder who leads. As Director of Mechanical Engineering, you will own the mechanical design and architecture of our products, and you will lead from the front: in CAD, in design reviews, at the tool trials, and in the tolerance stacks, not only on the org chart. You will guide an experienced team of Mechanical Engineers responsible for product mechanical design and architecture, packaging design, sustaining product engineering, test equipment design and development, and supplier quality. You will work in a manufacturing and product development environment, partnering closely with Product Teams, Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing and outside suppliers to carry products and components from prototype to mass production.

This position is hybrid, with 3 to 4 days per week in our Toronto waterfront office.

Who You Are:

You gravitate to the hardest problem in the room, but never to take it away from anyone. You ask the questions that unlock your team’s thinking, contribute real engineering when it counts, and your engineers come out of those sessions sharper than they went in. You did not set out to be a manager. You became one because you could not watch the quality bar slip, and leading was the only way to be sure the work got done right. You still design. You still review the stack-up. You know there is no substitute for whiteboarding with your team or watching the drop tests live.

You are relentlessly organized. You keep issue trackers honest, timelines realistic, and a few versions of the schedule ready before anyone asks for them. You set technical direction that lines up with where the company and the team are going. You listen more than you talk, because you know the strongest leaders hear the problem before they answer it. And when it is time to brief leadership, you can take a messy technical reality and make it clear in a few minutes.

We are not looking for a professional manager who has drifted away from the bench. We want an engineer whose technical judgment earns the team’s trust every day.

How You’ll Make an Impact:

• Stay hands-on: own and contribute to mechanical design and CAD work on the hardest problems, not just review it

• Set mechanical design direction for the department that aligns with company and team goals, and foster innovative design solutions

• Mentor, coach, train, and grow a team of Mechanical Engineers

• Listen first: surface the real constraints from your team and suppliers before setting a path

• Drive organizational rigor: maintain issue trackers, run multiple schedule scenarios, and manage project activities to deliver on target, on time product launches

• Work with Electrical Engineering, Industrial Design, and Manufacturing team members to ensure that new products meet design and cost requirements

• Verify and analyze designs to meet product requirements, and support and participate in VA/VE analysis

• Research materials, components, and technologies for development opportunities

• Drive selection, qualification, and ongoing evaluation of critical suppliers and manufacturing partners across a global supply base, building the relationships that enable new technologies

• Travel to suppliers to evaluate capabilities and perform first article inspections

• Identify, procure, and qualify equipment needed to test developed products

• Develop the department budget

• Distill complex technical work into clear recommendations for an executive audience

What You’ll Bring to the Table:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Mechatronics/BioMedical Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience

• 10+ years experience with consumer or industrial product development and electronics iteration

• 5+ years technical leadership experience

• A hands-on engineer at heart: still fluent in CAD and able to contribute directly to design work, not only review it

• Strong leadership, mentorship, and interpersonal skills, with a bias toward listening

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to interface with internal stakeholders, external suppliers, and customers worldwide, and to distill technical detail for an executive audience

• Relentlessly organized, comfortable running issue trackers and maintaining multiple schedule versions

• Experience in electromechanical assemblies (e.g., LCDs, batteries, sensors, flex circuits, PCBs, antennas, buttons)

• Experience in Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), statistical tolerance analysis techniques, functional dimensioning, and geometric tolerancing

• Data-driven and detail focused, comfortable with statistical analysis methods

• Self-motivated, collaborative, and able to manage multiple projects and priorities within a cross functional team

• Experience with manufacturing and manufacturing processes (e.g., injection molding, compression molding, sheet metal, stamping, MIM, soft goods, and CNC machining) and process validation

• Experience with reliability, cosmetic specs, the QA process, and standard mechanical test methods

• Experience with product validation (Shock/Drop, Cycle, and Environmental Testing)

• Experience collaborating with Asian manufacturing facilities in high-volume mass production, including working through DFM challenges with external suppliers

• Just so you know: The hired candidate will be required to complete a background check.

Additional Qualifications:

• Knowledge of high-volume manufacturing processes and/or automation

• Ability to travel internationally (approximately 4 to 5 weeks per year)

• Knowledge of HVAC systems

• Experience with integration of wireless antenna (Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi) into mechanical enclosures

• Experience with design of audio subsystems (microphones and speakers)

• Experience with design of optical and/or camera systems

• Experience with thermal modeling and analysis

Generac is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The salary range for this role based in Toronto, ON is $175,000 - $200,000 CAD. This compensation will ultimately be in line with the location in which the position is filled. Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidate’s relevant work experience, skills, certifications and geographic location. This role is eligible for variable compensation including short term and long-term incentives.

This position includes a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental and vision plans; life, long-term disability, flexible spending and health savings accounts, accrued paid time off, paid Holidays (10 for Ontario, 11 for British Columbia) and RRSP retirement benefits.

The Company is committed to improving accessibility for Canadian with disabilities and to ensuring that all our employees and applicants have the support and the tools they need to succeed. We have developed policies relating to human rights, accessibility, and accommodation, and provide all our employees with training on accessibility including under provincial legislation such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, either during orientation and/or on an ongoing basis. If you feel you need accommodation in relation to a disability in the application process or in the future, or have a question or concern about our policies, please reach out to [email protected]

“We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.”