Engineering Team Lead

Engineering Team Leader

*Must be US Citizen, permanent resident, Green Card holder.

Our client is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced equipment and technologies serving the plastics and packaging industries. They are seeking an Engineering Team Leader to lead a multidisciplinary design team responsible for the development of new products and technologies.

This position will provide both technical and people leadership , guiding engineering projects from early concept development through design, validation, and product release. The ideal candidate brings strong hands-on design engineering experience combined with the ability to lead projects, develop engineers, manage resources, and drive a disciplined product development process.

The Engineering Team Leader will play a key role in creating an innovative engineering environment while ensuring projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and to a high standard of quality.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering & Product Development

• Lead the engineering design team through the complete new product development lifecycle , from concept through product release.
• Support product definition, requirements development, specifications, project scope, and customer/market requirements.
• Lead concept development, technical evaluation, and recommendation of design solutions.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks through lessons learned, historical service issues, risk assessments, and formal design reviews.
• Provide system-level design leadership with strong attention to engineering detail, quality, and established design standards.
• Lead engineering analysis using hand calculations, spreadsheets, CAE/FEA, and other engineering tools .
• Oversee design execution and ensure engineering documentation meets required quality standards.
• Develop and coordinate product validation plans.
• Ensure appropriate design documentation and engineering records are maintained throughout development.
• Lead preparation for product release and commercialization.

Team Leadership & Development

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, mentoring, and technical direction to engineering team members.
• Establish challenging goals and development plans while providing engineers with opportunities to expand their technical and leadership capabilities.
• Participate in interviewing, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and employee development.
• Build a collaborative and innovative engineering environment.
• Encourage open communication across engineering, manufacturing, sales, service, and other functional teams.
• Conduct regular design reviews, project planning meetings, and team prioritization sessions.
• Develop and maintain a high-performing engineering team focused on quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Project & Resource Management

• Develop project plans, resource requirements, schedules, and budgets.
• Estimate engineering effort and project costs.
• Proactively monitor project status, budgets, timelines, and resource utilization.
• Identify project risks and implement mitigation plans when necessary.
• Communicate project and team status, risks, and opportunities to engineering leadership and senior management.
• Ensure projects consistently meet time, cost, quality, and performance objectives .
• Support continuous improvement initiatives through metrics, root-cause analysis, lessons learned, and implementation of corrective actions.

Cross-Functional Support

• Partner with Sales and Service teams to provide technical support and resolve customer-related engineering issues.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and other functions throughout the product development process.
• Translate customer and market requirements into practical engineering solutions.
• Provide technical leadership during customer, supplier, and internal discussions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related engineering discipline preferred.
• Approximately 5+ years of engineering experience with hands-on product/design engineering experience.
• Previous experience providing technical leadership or team leadership within an engineering environment.
• Strong understanding of structured product development and stage-gate processes .
• Strong knowledge of engineering design principles and supporting engineering disciplines.
• Experience with engineering analysis, including CAE/FEA, calculations, modeling, or simulation tools .
• Strong project management and time-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize work, allocate resources, delegate responsibilities, and manage multiple projects.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Previous experience with project management, new product development, or commercialization is highly valued.
• Experience with quality methodologies, design reviews, risk analysis, or DFMEA/QFD is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, and develop engineering talent.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail.
• Adaptable and comfortable managing changing priorities in a fast-paced engineering environment.
• High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.

What You'll Bring

The successful candidate will be a hands-on engineering leader who can move comfortably between technical problem-solving, project management, and people leadership. This person should be capable of challenging design decisions, developing engineers, coordinating across departments, and keeping complex product-development initiatives moving toward successful commercialization.

Leadership experience is preferred, but strong technical engineers with demonstrated project leadership and mentoring experience will also be considered.