Engineering Manager

Location: Waterloo, Iowa
Salary: $80,000–$90,000 plus 15% bonus

Summary

A well-known heavy equipment manufacturer is looking for an Engineering Manager – Sustaining Products to supervise a team of engineers responsible for maintaining, enhancing, and supporting existing product platforms.

This active leadership role emphasizes sustaining engineering, product standardization, design optimization, cost reduction, and continuous enhancement. The Engineering Manager must collaborate closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Warranty, Customer Service, and other engineering leaders to ensure products are dependable, cost-effective, manufacturable, and compliant with relevant industry standards.

The ideal candidate will combine strong mechanical engineering knowledge with practical manufacturing expertise and proven leadership skills. This individual will be crucial in overcoming production obstacles, enhancing current designs, implementing engineering changes, and developing standardized product offerings to enhance efficiency, quality, and production performance.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and cultivate a team of product design engineers handling existing product platforms and production support.

• Determine engineering priorities and assign resources based on production needs, product enhancements, cost-reduction opportunities, and field performance.

• Work with other engineering managers to sustain consistent engineering standards, processes, and design practices across the product range.

• Offer hands-on technical guidance and engineering supervision while actively participating in daily operations.

Sustaining Engineering & Product Enhancement

• Take charge of continuous engineering support, maintenance, and advancement of existing heavy-haul trailer product platforms.

• Lead design improvements and product modifications that enhance manufacturability, durability, reliability, safety, and cost efficiency.

• Investigate and resolve design-related production issues, quality concerns, warranty claims, and field performance problems.

• Apply root-cause analysis, DFMEA, warranty data, lessons learned, and customer feedback to identify improvement opportunities and prevent recurring issues.

• Lead design reviews and assess proposed engineering changes to ensure technical accuracy, product integrity, and alignment with established design standards.

Manufacturing Support & Design Optimization

• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering and Production to improve fabrication, weldment design, assembly methods, and overall production efficiency.

• Enhance drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), engineering documentation, and design release processes to facilitate accurate and efficient manufacturing.

• Promote design-for-manufacturability, design-to-cost, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Offer prompt engineering support to resolve manufacturing challenges and reduce production delays.

• Work with Supply Chain and other cross-functional teams to evaluate material, component, and design alternatives for improved cost and availability without compromising quality or performance.

Engineering Change & Standardization

• Supervise engineering change notices and engineering change orders (ECNs/ECOs), ensuring accurate evaluation, approval, documentation, and implementation of changes.

• Maintain product architectures, design standards, and engineering documentation throughout the product lifecycle.

• Help in developing and implementing standardized, pre-engineered product offerings to reduce custom engineering needs and enhance production scheduling.

• Identify opportunities to simplify product configurations, enhance design consistency, and increase repeatability across product platforms.

• Maintain and enhance engineering databases, CAD tools, and technical documentation systems.

Compliance & Collaboration

• Ensure product designs and engineering changes comply with applicable FMVSS, DOT, and internal engineering and quality requirements.

• Collaborate with Quality, Warranty, Customer Service, Sales, and Operations to address technical questions, resolve product concerns, and support customer needs.

• Communicate engineering decisions, product changes, and technical recommendations clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering field is required.

• Experience in heavy-haul trailers, heavy equipment, or fabricated mobile equipment is highly preferred.

• Prior engineering leadership or team management experience, including the ability to develop employees and coordinate technical priorities.

• Strong background in mechanical design, structural applications, hydraulics, and manufacturing processes.

• Demonstrated experience supporting existing products in a manufacturing or production environment.

• Proficiency with CAD software, Microsoft Excel, and engineering data management systems.

• Experience with engineering change management, design reviews, BOMs, and technical drawing documentation.

• Familiarity with design-for-manufacturability, cost-reduction initiatives, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies.

• Working knowledge of applicable vehicle safety and regulatory requirements, including FMVSS and DOT standards.

• Strong technical judgment and practical problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance product performance, cost, quality, manufacturability, and reliability.

• Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and cross-functional collaboration skills.