Gillig LLC - Senior Manager of Customer Engineering

Senior Manager of Customer Engineering

Job Description:

• Our engineering organization is comprised of three primary departments: Current Product Engineering (CPE), New Product Engineering (NPE) and, Product Validation.
• There are two groups within CPE, Customer Engineering and Sustaining Engineering.
• The mission of the Customer Engineering group is to define robust fleet-specific customization required for each of our customers' operational needs.
• Customer Engineering has technical responsibility from the initial bid through vehicle delivery, encompassing bid team support, translation of requested features into parts and functionality, design & release of components/installations, validation support, and implementation into production.
• The Senior Manager of Customer Engineering is the key leader for the design of customer-specific variants of GILLIG's current production bus models.
• This position is responsible for the overall engineering required to deliver safe, robust, serviceable, and customized transit buses to our established and growing customer base.
• In this role, you will lead a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and Bill of Material (BOM) management personnel that evaluates unique customer requirements and provides designs that meet these requirements.
• Designs are typically adapted from existing product or precedence, however, may also necessitate specific clean-sheet design, test, and validation.
• Ongoing collaboration with internal engineering managers, supervisors, and individual contributors as well as external sales, supply chain, and manufacturing partners will be key to the success of this role.
• This position reports to the Director of Current Product Engineering, located at our head office and manufacturing plant in Livermore, CA.

Responsibilities:

• As our current product evolves and new sales orders flow into Customer Engineering, you will have the opportunity to experience the unique engineering challenges and characteristics of the heavy-duty transit bus industry, partner with peers, try new ideas, mentor others, and lead a multi-disciplinary engineering team to perform the following:
• Manage all engineering efforts beginning with the customer bid and carrying through post-delivery inspection of the bus
• Proactively engage Sales, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, and key vendors to establish and execute on unique customer requirements
• Ensures all system and subsystem designs meet all applicable federal and state regulations and safety guidelines
• Coordinate the on-time and on-budget design, development and release of new systems/subsystems and new features to existing systems
• Work with GILLIG Leadership in developing the strategies, plans of action, and priorities for the engineering design team. Collaboratively assist in budget creation
• Create an atmosphere of driven design excellence while assuring maximum product safety, manufacturability, and cost effectiveness
• Critical contributor and supporter to the product road mapping and the development of engineering processes & tools
• Provide regular status updates to the Director or Executive members on design, integration, test and validation results
• Manage both internal and contracted 3rd party engineering resources
• Develop key relationships with both internal teams and external suppliers, using creativity and teamwork to solve problems in the most efficient way possible
• Contribute to the evolution and implementation of design tools such as Siemens Teamcenter, NX, and Zuken E3
• Oversees hiring, training, performance management, and provides leadership and coaching to ensure well-trained, motivated, and goal-oriented workforce

Qualification:

• BSEE or BSME required, MS preferred
• 15+ years of progressive engineering experience
• 7+ years of experience managing small to mid-sized (20+) design engineering staff
• Proven technical and leadership responsibility in automotive, on/off highway, or transportation equipment
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi-disciplinary environment with a proven track record in strategic engineering leadership delivering effective engineering strategies, policies, processes and systems
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects in a fast paced, high growth and changing environment
• Solid analytical skills and solution-driven thinking collects and researches data; uses intuition and experience to complement data. Makes good decisions based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgment
• Able to carry out and coordinate a cross-functional design review at an advanced level and in a wide range of work situations without guidance
• Proven ability to resolve coincident requirements such as quality, cost-reduction, customer preference, manufacturability and time-to-market
• Working knowledge of heavy-duty vehicle industry standards, regulations, and guidelines such as FMVSS, ADA, APTA Bus Procurement Guidelines, SAE HD vehicle standards, NFPA, and NEC
• Prior experience using mechanical CAD packages such as CREO, CATIA, or NX.
• PLM system experience, such as Teamcenter, is a plus.
• Highly proficient with MS Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

About the Environment and Working Conditions:

• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs.
• Regularly required to sit, stand, and walk; occasionally kneel or squat.
• Limited travel may be required
• Typical start time 6:00 AM (negotiable)

About Us:

GILLIG LLC is the largest and most dependable manufacturer of Heavy-Duty Transit Buses in North America. Our customers are in all 50 states, and include cities, counties, transit districts, universities, and major private fleet operators. We are headquartered in Livermore, CA. After 130 years, GILLIG holds strong to its family values and focus on its employees and customers. Our motivated and dedicated employees have a passion for quality and customer satisfaction. We are committed to building buses that connect communities, eliminate congestion, and contribute to a greener environment. Our Company pride is exemplified by the thoughtful design and quality craftsmanship present in every GILLIG bus. GILLIG's steadfast focus on quality and unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service sets us apart from our competition.