Senior Manager - KinetiX Hardware Engineering

Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

Role Overview

The Senior Manager, KinetiX Hardware Engineering, is a hands-on technical leader responsible for both leading and actively contributing to the development of the KinetiX inspection system hardware. This role leads a multi-disciplinary hardware engineering team, including electronics, mechanical, and optical engineering, while also serving as a technical project leader coordinating execution with software engineering, manufacturing, and production teams.

This position combines people leadership, system-level technical ownership, and day-to-day engineering involvement. The Senior Manager remains close to the design work, architecture decisions, and technical tradeoffs while ensuring disciplined execution across hardware, software, and production interfaces.

Key Responsibilities

Hands-On Multi-Disciplinary Technical Leadership

• Lead and integrate electronics, mechanical, and optical engineering disciplines into cohesive hardware solutions.
• Actively contribute to system architecture, design reviews, and key technical decisions across hardware subsystems.
• Drive integration of sensors, optics, electronics, mechanics, and enclosures into complete inspection systems.
• Serve as the primary technical escalation point for complex cross-disciplinary and system-level issues.
• Own the hardware organization budget, including planning, forecasting, cost control, and investment prioritization to support strategic and operational goals

Technical Project Management & Coordination

• Provide technical project leadership for hardware development efforts, working closely with software and production teams.
• Lead and coordinate product certification and manage the process to maintain updated documentation for applicable certifications, including CE and other applicable certifications.
• Coordinate hardware/software integration milestones, dependencies, and readiness for production.
• Partner with program and project managers to ensure technical execution aligns with schedule, cost, and quality goals.
• Support bid, tender, and product definition activities by assessing technical feasibility, risks, and resource needs.

People & Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop engineers across electronics, mechanical, and optical disciplines.
• Balance hands-on technical contribution with coaching and delegation to grow team capability.
• Set clear technical priorities, execution expectations, and accountability.
• Build and maintain a strong engineering culture focused on ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Product Development & Lifecycle Ownership

• Drive hardware development from concept through production and sustaining.
• Own hardware Bills of Materials (BOMs), approved configurations, and option structures.
• Govern engineering change control across hardware disciplines and lifecycle phases.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for hardware issues found in production or the field.

Manufacturing & Production Interface

• Work closely with manufacturing, supply chain, and quality teams to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for serviceability (DFS).
• Support production readiness, first builds, and issue resolution during ramp-up.
• Ensure hardware designs are robust, repeatable, and scalable for global production.

Quality, Risk & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and track hardware quality, reliability, and delivery metrics.
• Identify technical risks early and drive mitigation plans.
• Standardize designs, documentation, and engineering processes to reduce complexity and customization.
• Champion lessons learned and continuous improvement across hardware development.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering (or related field).
• 8+ years of experience in hardware or systems engineering.
• 3+ years of experience leading multi‑discipline engineering teams.
• Strong hands‑on background in electro‑mechanical and/or optical systems.
• Experience coordinating hardware development with software and manufacturing teams.
• Experience with BOM ownership, configuration management, and engineering change control.
• Strong communication skills and ability to lead without losing technical depth.
• Project management training or experience

Preferred Skills

• Experience in machine vision, optics, sensing systems, or industrial inspection platforms.
• Prior role combining technical leadership and project execution responsibilities.
• Experience supporting production ramp-up and sustaining engineering.
• Systems-level thinker comfortable working across hardware and software boundaries.

Performance Metrics

• Hardware quality, reliability, and field performance.
• On-time delivery of hardware engineering milestones.
• Effectiveness of hardware/software/production coordination.
• Reduction in late-stage design changes and rework.
• Team capability growth, engagement, and retention.

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The salary rate for this role is currently $104800-149300 The actual salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, education, business needs, market demands and work location. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. More information on offered benefits, which include health, welfare, and retirement, are available at mywabtecbenefits.com. Other benefit offerings for this role may include annual bonus, if eligible.

What could you accomplish in a place that puts People First?

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If you’re ready to revolutionize how the world moves for future generations, Wabtec is the place for you.

Who are we?

Wabtec is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value-added services for the freight and transit rail sectors. Drawing on more than 150 years of experience, we are leading the way in safety, efficiency, reliability, innovation, and productivity. Whether it’s freight, transit, ports, logistics, mining, industrial, or marine, our expertise, technologies, and people together – are accelerating the future of transportation. With roots that date back to George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, and Louis Faiveley, Wabtec has always built technologies and implemented solutions for a variety of sectors that are critical to meeting the needs of customers and governments alike.

Our global team of about 30,000 employees worldwide delivers performance that moves the world forward. We’re lifelong learners, obsessed with better. Learn more at

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We believe the best ideas come from a mix of experiences and backgrounds. At Wabtec, we strive every day to create a place where everyone belongs. We’re building a culture where leadership, inclusion and your unique perspective fuel progress.

We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome talent of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities, including race, gender, age, disability, veteran status and more.

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