Engineering Manager

Position purpose:
Lead IFAB’s engineering function so new and existing products can be manufactured safely, consistently and cost-effectively to approved customer requirements. Accountable for engineering capability, workload, technical decisions, deliverable quality and controlled release across assigned manufacturing operations.

This is a people-management and technical-leadership role, not solely a design, programming or project-tracking position. The manager establishes a reliable path from complete customer requirements to approved designs, manufacturing methods, tooling and production-ready documentation, partnering with NPI on launch execution.

Essential responsibilities

Team leadership and accountability: Define roles, primary assignments, backup coverage and decision rights. Set performance expectations; coach, assess and develop employees; manage performance and recommend staffing or compensation actions through approved HR processes. Assign technical reviews and approvals according to demonstrated competence, not informal seniority.
Engineering intake and capacity: Maintain one engineering work queue for quotations, new parts, fixtures, changes and sustaining support. Assign one owner, reviewer, estimate, due date and priority per deliverable. Reconcile launch needs with available skills and capacity; authorize floor-support assignments and communicate their effect on other commitments.
Requirements and feasibility: Require complete part lists, current drawings/specifications, volumes, material, finish, hardware, packaging and dates. Verify changes between quoted and awarded scope with NPI, Sales/Project Management and Estimating. Lead qualified cross-functional feasibility review and document constraints, assumptions and unresolved requirements before engineering approval.
Design and technical authority: Establish and enforce standards for CAD, DXF, drawings, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), fixture/gauge design, hardware specification and design-for-manufacture. Ensure locating, clamping, access, safety and inspection needs are considered. Retain accountability for engineering approval controls while delegating discipline-specific decisions only to qualified personnel.
Documentation and change control: Separate creation, self-check, independent technical review, approval and controlled release. Require alignment of models, drawings, DXFs, bills of material (BOMs), routings, work orders and process records. Reconcile ballooned drawing references with Quality. Control revision distribution and obsolete records; assess changes for tooling, programs, materials, work-in-process, inventory, cost and customer-approval impact.
Fixture and tooling readiness: Require complete, buildable fixture packages with identifiers, drawings, hardware/BOM, work-order and routing inputs, planned operation hours, time-charging requirements and approved required dates. Partner with Production and Materials on build capacity, shortages, tryouts and acceptance. Evaluate outsourcing when appropriate; obtain authorization before commitments. Engineering defines and validates the tooling; Production owns assigned fabrication execution.

Manufacturing and process engineering: Oversee process selection, sequence, equipment/capacity studies, layouts, labor assumptions, technical work instructions, parameters and process validation. Coordinate expertise across stamping, flat and five-axis laser cutting, press-brake/tube forming, welding, assembly and finishing, as applicable. Maintain clear Manufacturing versus Process Engineering ownership rather than duplicating deliverables.
Programming governance: Through qualified programming personnel, require program review, revision traceability, safe prove-out and approved release for applicable laser, bending and CNC operations. Distinguish DXF preparation from machine-program approval. Establish recovery and change controls with IT and Production; do not authorize advanced programming or equipment operation without verified capability.
APQP, validation and launch support: Own Engineering’s Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) deliverables. Ensure process flow, process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA), control-plan inputs and validation evidence are technically consistent with Quality. Confirm engineering readiness for trials, production and handoff; support stabilization while NPI manages the integrated launch plan.
Production support and improvement: Provide disciplined engineering response to design, tooling, process and program issues. Lead technical root-cause work, corrective actions and effectiveness checks with Quality and Production. Validate proposed cycle-time, scrap, labor, space, capacity and tooling-life improvements against documented baselines; review financial benefits with Finance and Operations.
Resources, systems and cost: Manage the approved engineering budget and develop justified staffing, training, tooling, equipment and software requests. Supply reviewed technical assumptions to Estimating. Define CAD/ERP requirements, escalate IT and Sage workflow failures, and establish controlled contingency methods. Track engineering effort and avoid duplicate savings claims or unsupported capacity commitments.

Qualifications and demonstrated capability

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant technical education and demonstrated engineering leadership experience.
• At least 8 years of relevant manufacturing engineering experience and 3 years leading technical teams; 10+ years in manufacturing and 5+ years of leadership preferred. Proposed requirements are subject to management/HR approval.
• Demonstrated results in metal fabrication or comparable multi-process manufacturing, including fixture/tooling readiness, process validation, production troubleshooting and technical change control.
• Strong drawing interpretation, GD&T and manufacturability judgment; ability to evaluate design and process risks and direct qualified specialists across multiple manufacturing technologies.
• Practical APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, control-plan and structured problem-solving experience, including 8D, 5 Whys or comparable methods. Automotive customer experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of CAD/CAM, BOMs, routings, ERP/work-order controls and engineering data management. SolidWorks and Sage experience preferred.
• Evidence of developing employees, resolving cross-functional priorities, managing budgets and turning technical improvements into measurable operating results.
• Effective written and spoken communication for technical, customer and leadership discussions. Ability to lead a multilingual workforce; Spanish-English bilingual capability preferred.