What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Engineering position at Desoutter GmbH?
Your role
The Engineering Manager is the leader of the mechanical, electrical & software engineering teams responsible for creating and executing high level roadmaps and activity schedules, developing, and executing design projects that meet safety, time, cost, quality, and customer satisfaction targets. The Engineering Manager reports to the General Manager, receives functional guidance from the VP, Engineering Programs and collaborates directly with Product Management.
Key Responsibilities:
- Define and maintain engineering roadmaps aligned to Division requirements and product strategy
- Establish and track OKRs/KPIs for the engineering function
- Translate business objectives into engineering plans with clear milestones, resource requirements, and risk mitigation strategies
- Develop and maintain plans to ensure product roadmaps, project schedules and support activities are aligned to Division requirements
- Work with customers/customer facing personnel to ensure required info and specs are understood prior to starting a project
- Drive cross-functional relationships to deliver competitive and reliable products to agreed time, quality and cost
- Manages the engineering team through Kick-Off and 3D model release; delivers complete 3D models and specification requirements to the manufacturing engineering team
- Ensures that all procedures are followed including, but not limited to:
- Design Control, ECR, TCF, FTB, HAZOP, and FMEA
- Applies Design for Manufacturing principles throughout the engineering design process to ensure producibility, cost efficiency, and manufacturability of all solutions
- Leads recruiting for engineering roles: defines job requirements, conducts interviews, and makes hiring recommendations in partnership with HR
- Establishes and maintains development plans for all direct reports; provides regular coaching, mentoring, and feedback
- Identifies skill gaps across the team and develops targeted training or cross-training initiatives to address them
- Owns day-to-day management of engineering personnel including direct and indirect reports
- Sets clear performance expectations; conducts regular 1:1s, mid-year reviews, and annual performance evaluations; addresses performance issues proactively in partnership with HR
- Develops and manages the annual engineering budget, including labor, tooling, software licenses, and capital expenditures
- Monitors cost performance against budget; identifies and implements corrective actions to address variances
- Ensures all appropriate engineering hours are recovered to meet budget requirements and accurately tracked
- Provides input to business case development for new product investments, including engineering cost estimation and resource forecasting
- Leads root cause analysis and corrective action processes for engineering-related quality escapes or field issues
- Drives adoption of best practices, standard work, and lean engineering methodologies to improve efficiency and reduce waste
- Collects, analyzes, and reports status including workload and performance metrics for assigned projects; uses data to drive decision-making
- Incorporates environmental considerations into engineering plans, supporting the company's sustainability goals and Science Based Targets initiative commitments
- Identifies, assesses, and proactively manages engineering risks across all active projects using structured risk registers
- Defines escalation protocols and ensures the team understands when and how to surface issues to leadership
- Facilitates design reviews, FMEAs, and HAZOP sessions to identify and mitigate technical risks
To succeed, you will need
Education level
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Software Engineering, or a closely related field (required). Master of Science in Engineering or MBA highly preferred.
Relevant Previous Experience
- Minimum 7 years of progressive engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a people leadership role managing multidisciplinary technical teams.
- Demonstrated track record of delivering complex engineering projects on time and within budget.
- Minimum 2 years experience in a Technical Customer contact role.
- Experience in a manufacturing or industrial product environment strongly preferred.
Technical Skills
- Proficiency in 3D CAD systems including CATIA and Autodesk Inventor.
- Familiarity with engineering change management processes (ECR, TCF, HAZOP, FMEA, Design Control).
- Working knowledge of Stage-Gate product development processes and Agile or Lean engineering methodologies.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite; experience with project management and ERP tools preferred.
Leadership Competencies
- Proven ability to build, coach, and develop high-performing engineering teams.
- Strong skills in conflict resolution, influencing without direct authority, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Superior written and verbal communication skills; ability to effectively work with customers, customer-facing personnel, engineers, and operations personnel.
- Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, drive decisions under uncertainty, and manage multiple concurrent projects.
In return, we offer
- Culture of trust and accountability
- Lifelong learning and career growth
- Innovation powered by people
- Comprehensive compensation and benefits including 401k match
- Generous PTO Package
Salary: $150,000-$200,000/year
Job location
This role requires you to work on-site at our office in Saugerties, NY with potential for hybrid work after a learning period.
Contact information
Talent Acquisition Team: Sarah J. Wigger Garcia
Salary : $150,000 - $200,000