Engineering Manager

One of our clients is a well-established and growing manufacturing organization based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are recognized for their commitment to operational excellence, high-quality production, and a culture centered around continuous improvement. The company values strong supplier relationships and takes pride in maintaining efficient, reliable manufacturing operations.

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager with a strong background in design engineering and Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFM/DFA) to lead a team of design engineers and drive product development aligned with manufacturing excellence.

This role leads the Design Engineering function with close integration to Manufacturing and Operations, ensuring products are designed for manufacturability, scalability, and cost efficiency. The ideal candidate brings both technical design depth and practical manufacturing knowledge, with the ability to influence design decisions that improve production outcomes.

Reports To: President & COO

Direct Reports: 4-5

Systems/Tools: AutoCAD, Inventor, AS400 (ERP/MRP), Microsoft Office

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 4–5 Design Engineers
• Establish design standards, best practices, and technical development plans
• Drive accountability to project timelines, quality, and engineering deliverables
• Align team objectives to Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC) metrics

Design Engineering Ownership

• Own product design execution from concept through production release
• Ensure designs meet performance, cost, quality, and manufacturability requirements
• Drive standardization, modularity, and design reuse across product lines
• Oversee creation and accuracy of CAD models, assemblies, and engineering drawings

DFM/DFA Leadership

• Lead Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFM/DFA) as a core engineering discipline
• Partner closely with Manufacturing and Operations to:
• Reduce part count and assembly complexity
• Align tolerances with process capability
• Improve weld access, forming feasibility, and overall manufacturability
• Enhance ergonomics, mistake-proofing, and serviceability
• Ensure DFM/DFA principles are embedded early in the design lifecycle
• Translate feedback from production into design improvements and standards

Manufacturing Documentation Ownership

• Ensure alignment between engineering design and manufacturing documentation (BOMs, routings, shop drawings)
• Oversee change management (ECR/ECN) and maintain revision control discipline
• Partner with Operations to ensure documentation reflects production reality

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Shop Floor Integration

• Act as the key liaison between Design Engineering and Operations
• Support production with design-related troubleshooting and issue resolution
• Ensure rapid feedback loops between shop floor learnings and design updates

Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

• Champion continuous improvement through design simplification and waste reduction
• Support Lean initiatives by improving product and process efficiency through design
• Drive measurable improvements in cost, quality, and throughput via engineering changes

Process Awareness (Support Role)

• Maintain strong working knowledge of key manufacturing processes including welding, forming, machining, and finishing
• Ensure designs are compatible with existing process capabilities and constraints
• Partner with Process Engineering to optimize product and process alignment

NPI & Industrialization

• Lead engineering support for new product introduction from design through production launch
• Ensure readiness through robust design validation, documentation, and cross-functional alignment
• Support capacity planning, cycle time considerations, and ramp-to-rate execution

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (or equivalent experience)
• 7+ years of experience in design engineering within a manufacturing environment
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing engineering teams

Demonstrated success in:

• Leading product design and development efforts
• Driving DFM/DFA and influencing manufacturability decisions
• Managing BOMs, drawings, and engineering documentation
• Cross-functional collaboration with manufacturing teams
• Proficiency in CAD (AutoCAD, Inventor or similar)
• Strong change management and documentation control experience
• Experience working within ERP/MRP systems (AS400 preferred)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in metal fabrication and mixed manufacturing environments
• Lean/Six Sigma certification (Green Belt+)
• Experience supporting new product introduction and production ramp
• Background working closely with welding, forming, and finishing processes

Core Competencies

• Design engineering leadership and technical depth
• DFM/DFA expertise and manufacturability decision-making
• Cross-functional leadership and collaboration
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Data-driven problem solving and execution

Additional Information

• Travel: Approximately 10% (minimal, primarily for supplier visits or cross-site collaboration)