Engineering Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Engineering Manager

Job Description

The Engineering Manager leads and develops a growing team of engineers while overseeing engineering projects, design reviews, engineering changes, and process improvements. This role focuses primarily on improving and managing existing products, rather than ground-up design, and serves as the primary representative of the engineering function in cross-functional and leadership discussions. The Engineering Manager drives engineering efficiency, supports new product requests, and helps shape new processes and procedures to support the organization’s continued growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and support a team of 6 engineers, with responsibility for growing the team to approximately 10–12 members.
• Provide day-to-day direction, coaching, and performance guidance to engineers to ensure high-quality output and professional development.
• Review engineering designs, drawings, and technical documentation, offering clear feedback and technical guidance to the team.
• Modify and approve existing drawings and designs, with a primary focus on enhancing and managing existing products rather than creating new designs from scratch.
• Track and manage engineering projects on a daily basis to ensure timelines, priorities, and deliverables are clearly defined and consistently met.
• Serve as the voice of the engineering team in cross-functional meetings and leadership discussions, clearly communicating priorities, risks, and resource needs.
• Develop deep knowledge of company products, engineering workflows, and new product development processes to make informed decisions and recommendations.
• Support the implementation and execution of engineering changes and new product requests, ensuring proper documentation and alignment with business objectives.
• Visit installations and customer sites approximately 10–15% of the time to understand product performance, gather feedback, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Partner closely with Supply Chain and other functional teams to ensure effective communication, alignment, and execution of engineering initiatives.
• Establish, maintain, and improve documentation control, engineering change processes, and Product Data Management (PDM) standards.
• Identify, propose, and implement opportunities to streamline workflows and improve engineering efficiency as the organization continues to grow.
• Apply design for manufacturability principles to ensure products are efficient to produce and meet quality and cost targets.
• Utilize PFMEA and DFMEA methodologies to assess and mitigate risks in processes and designs.
• Leverage experience in steel industry applications, including weldments, forming, and cutting, to guide design decisions and improvements.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• Strong leadership experience with direct management responsibility in a supervisory, managerial, or lead engineer capacity, including providing direction to engineers.
• Professional experience in mechanical engineering, with a focus on existing product support and improvement.
• Proficiency with SolidWorks for reviewing and modifying mechanical designs.
• Experience with SolidWorks PDM, including the ability to manage and improve PDM systems and standards.
• Working knowledge of PFMEA (Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) and DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis).
• Experience applying design for manufacturability (DFA) principles to mechanical products.
• Previous experience in the steel industry, including weldments, forming, and cutting processes.
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 10–15% of the time to customer sites and installations.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines.
• Experience with FEA (Finite Element Analysis) for evaluating and improving mechanical designs.
• Knowledge of sheet metal and steel design practices.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience implementing or improving engineering processes, procedures, and documentation control systems.
• Demonstrated ability to act as a change agent, driving adoption of new processes and tools across an engineering organization.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to represent engineering effectively in cross-functional and leadership forums.
• Ability to collaborate closely with Supply Chain and other functions to align engineering activities with operational and business needs.
• Interest in working in a growing organization where processes and procedures are evolving and can be shaped by the engineering leadership.
• Comfort working in an office-based environment with frequent interaction with a multi-disciplinary engineering team.
• Motivation to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Desire to work in an environment that offers significant opportunity for growth and increased responsibility as the organization expands.

Work Environment

This is an office-based role with standard hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., totaling approximately 40 hours per week with no regular overtime expected. The Engineering Manager works closely with a team of 6 engineers within a site of about 120 employees, collaborating frequently with Supply Chain and other functions. The position involves approximately 10–15% travel to installations and customer sites to observe product performance and support field-related initiatives. The environment emphasizes process improvement, implementation of new procedures, and the use of tools such as SolidWorks, SolidWorks PDM, FEA, and structured methodologies like PFMEA and DFMEA. The organization is in a growth phase, offering substantial opportunities to influence engineering workflows, introduce new processes, and shape the future state of the engineering function. Paid time off includes 3 weeks, supporting a healthy work–life balance.

This is a Permanent position based out of Grand Rapids, MI.

The pay range for this position is $120000.00 - $150000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility is the 1st of the month following 30 days. In addition to the attached, we have Pet Insurance, mental health benefits (in the form of the CALM app), tuition reimbursement, disability, accident, critical illness.PTO – 3 weeks starting in January 2027; 4 weeks after 5 years; 5 weeks after 10 years. (we can negotiate the first tier)Holidays – New Year’s Day; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day; Day after Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve; Christmas Day; New Year’s Eve. One company designated floating holiday.401K – eligibility is 1st of the month after 6 months; Company matches 100% of 1st 4%; vested on day 1.We have a discretionary bonus plan dependent upon the company’s performance. Typically we pay 5-10% of base salary when earned.

This is a fully onsite position in Grand Rapids,MI.

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 30, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification oradjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.