Engineering Manager

Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Manufacturing Operations, the Engineering Manager provides comprehensive leadership for the J-Tech Engineering Team. As a key technical resource, the Engineering Manager works across the organization to help ensure consistency, quality, regulatory compliance, and cost effectiveness. Additionally, this position manages external engineering relationships/vendors, develops technical documentation and bid specifications, and drives the implementation of approved product improvements into production.

Key Responsibilities

Product & Manufacturing Engineering

• Provide engineering expertise and technical leadership in the development, refinement, and implementation of product improvements and manufacturing solutions.
• Provide chassis engineering support, including refining wheelbase calculations, electrical system tie-ins, mounting requirements, and related interfaces to ensure efficient and consistent installation on truck chassis platforms.
• Identify, analyze, and resolve engineering challenges using industry best-practice engineering principles and data-driven problem solving.
• Work closely with the Production Division to identify and implement product improvements while minimizing disruption to manufacturing.
• Manage product transitions and engineering changes, including the phase-out of legacy components and implementation of new designs.
• Oversee and ensure accuracy for Bills of Materials (BOMs), work instructions, and other engineering documentation for custom and specialized builds, including government and customer-specific projects.

Technical Documentation & Specifications

• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including product bulletins, owner's manuals, installation manuals, work instructions, and other engineering-related materials.
• Prepare technical bid specifications that can be submitted to Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and other agencies to support the company's ability to influence specifications and position products ahead of the bidding process.
• Ensure engineering documentation is accurate, clear, complete, current, and aligned with applicable product and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain appropriate controls for the security, documentation, and protection of critical and proprietary information.

Product Improvement & Cross-Functional Support

• Serve as a technical point of contact for Sales and Operations Management to identify, evaluate, and prioritize product improvement opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional product improvement projects from initial concept through engineering development, approval, documentation, and production implementation.
• Examples of potential projects may include:• Development and implementation of new product options, such as the work zone intrusion systems.
• Development and implementation of solar-powered auxiliary power systems.
• Design and modify upgraded ballast solutions for states requiring higher attenuator vehicle weights.
• Other product enhancements driven by customer needs, market requirements, operational improvements, or regulatory considerations.

• Communicate project requirements, technical recommendations, status, risks, and results effectively to stakeholders across the organization.

People Leadership & Talent Development

• Provide technical leadership, coaching, mentoring, and guidance to engineering team members.
• Establish priorities, timelines, deliverables, and accountability for engineering initiatives.
• Coach team members in engineering problem solving, documentation, project execution, and cross-functional communication.
• Develop standardized processes and disciplined engineering practices to improve quality and reduce variability.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Progressive engineering experience in manufacturing, product development, application engineering, industrial engineering or related environment.
• Experience leading engineering projects from concept through production implementation.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, product design, engineering documentation, and design-for-manufacturability principles.
• Experience developing technical specifications, product documentation, BOMs, work instructions, and other controlled engineering documents.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex technical issues into practical solutions.
• Ability to work effectively with external engineering firms, certification professionals, suppliers, and regulatory or governmental organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Sales, Operations, Production, and other cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop engineering talent.
• Ability to protect confidential, proprietary, and technically sensitive information.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee is frequently required to talk or hear. The employee is routinely required to walk; use hands to finger, handle feel or operate, especially in the use of computer and office productivity equipment and to reach with hands and arms. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision and depth perception.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.

PPE:

Follow general PPE:

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) must be worn as required based on the specific location and job processes to ensure safety. Always follow workplace safety policies and regulations to reduce risks and maintain a safe working environment.