Director, Systems Engineering

Senior Engineering Leader

For more than 65 years, we've turned big ideas into solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses and build a more resilient, efficient, sustainable energy future.

Ready to Power a Smarter World with us?

As a senior engineering leader at Generac, you will lead a team of systems engineers who own the end-to-end architecture, integration, and validation of industrial diesel and gaseous-fueled generator sets. You will make sure that the engine, alternator, controls, cooling, fuel, exhaust/aftertreatment, and enclosure subsystems work together as one reliable, certifiable, and cost-competitive product. You will also build a high-performing team that accelerates speed-to-market across Generac's industrial and commercial product lines.

What You'll Do

• Own the system architecture for industrial diesel and gas generator sets, including the integration of the engine, alternator, excitation/AVR, governor, controller, cooling, fuel, exhaust/aftertreatment, and enclosure subsystems.
• Lead requirements engineering: translate customer, application, and regulatory needs into subsystem specifications, with full traceability through verification.
• Define and govern system interfaces with internal teams and with engine, alternator, and controls suppliers.
• Direct system verification and validation, including transient/load acceptance, derating, sound, vibration, emissions, and certification testing to UL 2200, NFPA 110, and ISO 8528.
• Drive the emissions and certification strategy (EPA Tier 4/NSPS, CARB, EU Stage V) with regulatory, OEM, and test lab partners.
• Lead system risk management (SFMEA/DFMEA, fault tree analysis, DVP&R) and technical trade studies to meet reliability, cost, and performance targets.
• Own technical design reviews and engineering gate criteria within the stage-gate product development process.
• Champion model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and simulation to reduce test iterations and time to market.
• Partner with Quality, Service, and Applications Engineering on field failure root cause analysis (8D, fishbone) and feed lessons learned into design standards.
• Build, coach, and develop a high-performing systems engineering team, including recruiting, retention, and succession planning.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 12+ years of engineering experience (15+ years for Sr. Director), including 10+ years in the design, integration, or validation of generator sets, reciprocating engines, or comparable heavy-duty power systems.
• Director: 5+ years leading systems or multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Hands-on experience with systems engineering practices: requirements management, interface control, DFMEA/SFMEA, DVP&R, and stage-gate design reviews.
• Working knowledge of UL 2200, NFPA 110, NFPA 70 (NEC), ISO 8528, and EPA emissions requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering. An MBA is a plus.
• INCOSE certification (CSEP/ESEP) or Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience with gaseous-fuel engines (natural gas, propane, biogas, hydrogen blends), including fuel quality and methane number considerations.
• Experience with paralleling, switchgear, microgrids, and mission-critical applications such as data centers, healthcare, and utilities.
• Proven success leading global product launches and managing teams and engine/alternator OEM partners across multiple locations.
• Proficiency with MBSE (SysML/Cameo), requirements management (DOORS, Jama), and PLM (Windchill, Teamcenter) tools.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Generator systems: diesel and gas engines, synchronous alternators, excitation, governing, controls, cooling, and aftertreatment (DOC, DPF, SCR).
• Genset performance: transient load acceptance, block loading, voltage/frequency regulation, motor starting, harmonics, and altitude/temperature derating.
• Standards and regulations: UL 2200, NFPA 110/37/70, ISO 8528, IEC 60034, CSA C22.2 No. 100, EPA NSPS, CARB, EU Stage V, and IEEE 1547.
• Reliability and analysis: MTBF, Weibull, HALT/HASS, fault tree analysis, 8D, and structured trade studies.
• Systems engineering: ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, V-model, requirements traceability, MBSE, and simulation-led development.
• Leadership: able to make sound decisions with incomplete data, lead through managers, hold programs to gate criteria, and translate technical risk into business impact for executives.
• Travel: up to 25% to test labs, suppliers, manufacturing sites, and customer locations.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.