Director of Design Engineering

Position Summary

The Director of Design Engineering is responsible for leading the design, development, launch, and lifecycle support of Steffes products across multiple business units. This role establishes engineering strategy, standards, and processes that align with Steffes’ corporate strategy and enable scalable, high-quality, and innovative product solutions. The Director provides enterprise-level leadership for engineering effectiveness, including talent development, capacity planning, performance metrics, and continuous improvement. This role partners closely with Operations, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Sales teams to ensure engineering delivers reliable, on-time, and customer-aligned outcomes.

Steffes Core Values

• Trust: We promote growth and long-term success by making wise decisions with trust as an essential component.
• Respect: We unleash creative talents of our diverse workforce by treating each other the way we would like to be treated.
• Teamwork: We believe people achieve much more by working together.
• Integrity: We follow through and keep our word while being open, honest, ethical, and fair.
• Safety: We view our co-workers as family members of our business and strive to ensure safety for all.
• Humility: We recognize and appreciate strengths and contributions beyond oneself. We are modest, genuine, and authentic.

Key Responsibilities 

1. Develop and execute an engineering strategy that is integral to and aligned with Steffes’ corporate strategy and business objectives.
2. Lead engineering strategy and execution across multiple Steffes business units, ensuring consistent standards while allowing for business-specific requirements.
3. Recruit, develop, and retain engineering talent to support current operations and future growth, including coaching, performance management, succession planning, and capability development.
4. Establish and lead high-performance engineering standards, processes, and governance in alignment with the Quality Management System; support internal and external audits related to engineering management.
5. Provide leadership for innovation in product and design engineering, including new product development, platform evolution, and continuous improvement initiatives.
6. Define, monitor, and drive key engineering performance metrics, including engineering capacity, on-time and on-budget project delivery, time to market, and product performance in the market.
7. Lead enterprise-wide engineering resource planning and prioritization to ensure alignment with business priorities and strategic initiatives.
8. Serve as a key cross-functional leader, partnering with Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales teams, customers, and suppliers to deliver effective, manufacturable, and customer-focused engineering solutions.
9. Continuously evaluate and integrate industry best practices to strengthen engineering effectiveness, scalability, and competitiveness.
10. Lead enterprise excellence within engineering, including lean principles, continuous improvement, and change initiatives that support organizational growth and evolving business needs.
11. Maintain a positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating collaboratively with customers, suppliers, co-workers, and management.
12. Helps company meet its Strategic, Quality and Safety objectives.
13. Perform other duties as assigned.

Decision-Making Authority

The Director of Design Engineering has decision-making authority over product engineering standards, design processes, and engineering resource allocation. The Director establishes priorities and direction for product engineering and provides input and recommendations on cross-functional initiatives, capital investments, and product strategy in partnership with executive leadership.

Measures of Success

Success in this role is measured by engineering performance, including on-time and on-budget delivery, product quality and reliability, speed to market, talent development, and cross-functional effectiveness.

Core Expectations

• Customer Service- Demonstrate excellent customer service and display a positive attitude and behavior consistent with the Steffes Code of Conduct and Core Values.
• Environmental, Health, Safety (EHS) – Perform work in compliance with EHS training and identified procedures/standard work. Report any EHS incident or concern to your supervisor immediately. Cooperate and contribute to the overall success of the EHS program.
• Quality – Participate in job-specific training. Complete work as indicated by standard work, processes, and/or procedures. If your work can’t be completed as required, notify your supervisor immediately for guidance.
• Conduct- Demonstrate and support the Steffes Code of Conduct.
• Policies and Procedures- Demonstrate and support Steffes Policies and Procedures by:
  • Using tact, sound judgement, and maintaining a professional attitude in communication and relationships with others.
  • Striving to deliver the best quality in daily work.
  • Promoting a positive image of Steffes and its products.
  • Being timely and punctual in attendance and following all policies and procedures.

Job Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field required.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including leadership or people management responsibilities.
• Experience in manufacturing or industrial product design environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction, lead teams, and influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance innovation, cost, quality, manufacturability, and speed to market.
• Excellent communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to travel up to 10%, or as required.OR
• An acceptable combination of education and experience

Functional & Cognitive Requirements of Position

• This position requires walking, sitting or standing to a significant degree.
• Must have the ability to lift 70 pounds from floor to waist, carry 50 pounds, and push and/or pull up to 100 pounds.
• Must have the ability to climb ladders and/or stairs.
• Stooping, crouching, kneeling and bending.
• Handling, feeling, and gripping would be required for some activities.
• Visual acuity is required to inspect work completed.
• This role may be subject to internal and external environmental conditions.
• Learn new tasks, remember processes, maintain focus, complete tasks independently, make timely decisions in the context of a workflow, ability to communicate with visitors, ability to complete tasks in situations that have a speed or productivity quota.