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Engineering Manager

Location: Waterloo, Iowa
Salary: $80,000–$90,000 plus 15% bonus

Position Summary

A leading heavy equipment manufacturer is seeking an Engineering Manager – Sustaining Products to lead a team of engineers responsible for supporting, improving, and maintaining existing product platforms.

This hands-on leadership role focuses on sustaining engineering, product standardization, design optimization, cost reduction, and continuous improvement. The Engineering Manager will work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Warranty, Customer Service, and other engineering leaders to ensure products are reliable, cost-effective, manufacturable, and compliant with applicable industry standards.

The ideal candidate combines strong mechanical engineering expertise with practical manufacturing knowledge and proven leadership abilities. This individual will play a key role in resolving production challenges, improving existing designs, implementing engineering changes, and developing standardized product offerings that improve efficiency, quality, and production performance.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of product design engineers responsible for existing product platforms and production support.

• Establish engineering priorities and allocate resources based on production requirements, product improvements, cost-reduction opportunities, and field performance.

• Collaborate with other engineering managers to maintain consistent engineering standards, processes, and design practices across the product portfolio.

• Provide hands-on technical guidance and engineering oversight while remaining actively engaged in day-to-day operations.

Sustaining Engineering & Product Improvement

• Own the ongoing engineering support, maintenance, and evolution of existing heavy-haul trailer product platforms.

• Lead design improvements and product changes that enhance manufacturability, durability, reliability, safety, and cost efficiency.

• Investigate and resolve design-related production issues, quality concerns, warranty claims, and field performance problems.

• Apply root-cause analysis, DFMEA, warranty data, lessons learned, and customer feedback to identify improvement opportunities and prevent recurring issues.

• Lead design reviews and evaluate proposed engineering changes to ensure technical accuracy, product integrity, and alignment with established design standards.

Manufacturing Support & Design Optimization

• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Production to improve fabrication, weldment design, assembly methods, and overall production efficiency.

• Improve drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), engineering documentation, and design release processes to support accurate and efficient manufacturing.

• Drive design-for-manufacturability, design-to-cost, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Provide timely engineering support to resolve manufacturing challenges and minimize production delays.

• Work with Supply Chain and other cross-functional teams to evaluate material, component, and design alternatives that improve cost and availability without compromising quality or performance.

Engineering Change & Product Standardization

• Oversee engineering change notices and engineering change orders (ECNs/ECOs), ensuring changes are evaluated, approved, documented, and implemented accurately.

• Maintain product architectures, design standards, and engineering documentation throughout the product lifecycle.

• Support the development and implementation of standardized, pre-engineered product offerings to reduce custom engineering requirements and improve production scheduling.

• Identify opportunities to simplify product configurations, improve design consistency, and increase repeatability across product platforms.

• Maintain and improve engineering databases, CAD tools, and technical documentation systems.

Compliance & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Ensure product designs and engineering changes comply with applicable FMVSS, DOT, and internal engineering and quality requirements.

• Collaborate with Quality, Warranty, Customer Service, Sales, and Operations to address technical questions, resolve product concerns, and support customer needs.

• Communicate engineering decisions, product changes, and technical recommendations clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline required.

• Experience in heavy-haul trailers, heavy equipment, or fabricated mobile equipment strongly preferred.

• Previous engineering leadership or team management experience, including the ability to develop employees and coordinate technical priorities.

• Strong background in mechanical design, structural applications, hydraulics, and manufacturing processes.

• Demonstrated experience supporting existing products in a manufacturing or production environment.

• Proficiency with CAD software, Microsoft Excel, and engineering data management systems.

• Experience with engineering change management, design reviews, BOMs, and technical drawing documentation.

• Familiarity with design-for-manufacturability, cost-reduction initiatives, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies.

• Working knowledge of applicable vehicle safety and regulatory requirements, including FMVSS and DOT standards.

• Strong technical judgment and practical problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance product performance, cost, quality, manufacturability, and reliability.

• Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and cross-functional collaboration skills.