Director of Engineering

Eastcut; New Glasgow; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Relocation support

RRSP matching

Comprehensive benefits

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

Eastcut Wood Building Solutions, the offsite construction and manufacturing arm of the Macklan Group, seeks a Director of Engineering to unify and lead its growing engineering function across modular halls, mass timber, and panelized components. Based in Trenton, NS with regular collaboration at Dartmouth, you will shape standards, promote design-for-manufacturing, and scale a high-performance team.

You will drive technical strategy, oversee CAD/CAM workflows, ensure code compliance, and partner

Qualifications

• 8+ years engineering and design experience in offsite construction, timber systems, modular construction, or mass timber.
• Professional engineering designation with eligibility or willingness to obtain registration in Nova Scotia.
• Proven success leading multidisciplinary engineering and design teams across multiple concurrent projects.
• Deep expertise in timber design, including light-frame components, panels, cassettes, and design-for-manufacturing principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering across modular, panelized, mass timber, and hybrid building systems.
• Develop engineering standards, design rules, and manufacturing workflows.
• Oversee engineering delivery across all active projects, including capacity planning and risk management.
• Drive digital engineering environment, including hsbCAD, CADworkS, BIM interoperability, and library management.
• Productization initiatives to create repeatable products with stable BOMs and pricing logic.

Skills

Leadership

Timber design

Multidisciplinary teams

CAD/CAM workflows

Project delivery

Education

P.Eng./Professional Engineer designation

Tools

hsbCAD

CADworks

BIM interoperability

Job description

This is a rare opportunity to expand and lead the engineering function for one of Canada's most ambitious offsite construction and manufacturing platforms.

Eastcut Wood Building Solutions is the offsite construction and manufacturing business of the Macklan Group, a vertically integrated platform that also spans traditional construction, real estate development, and product innovation. At Eastcut we design and manufacture wood-based building systems at scale, delivering volumetric (3D) modular buildings and panelized (2D) assemblies and structural components to project sites across Atlantic Canada, with expansion on the horizon into Ontario and the New England corridor.

Our Pictou County, Nova Scotia, facility operates on a 60-acre campus with two active production halls today, with preparations underway for a major expansion into mass timber processing and manufacturing.

• Modular Hall - Volumetric buildings for multi-level residential housing, healthcare, education, childcare, long-term care, military accommodations, and a range of public infrastructure needs.
• Structural Components Hall - Light-frame timber wall panels, floor cassettes, and roof trusses, produced at progressively higher levels of completion, including integrated windows and MEP systems.
• Mass Timber Hall (planned) - A significant investment in standing up mass timber fabrication and hybrid building systems innovation, building on years of project experience and positioning Eastcut for regional leadership as one of the most advanced and vertically integrated wood-processing campuses in the country.

Our design and engineering stack is hsbCAD for light frame timber, and a combination of hsbCAD and CADworks for mass timber. We expect this stack to deepen as the mass timber hall is commissioned.

We are growing quickly. Supported by a strong leadership team, a multidisciplinary Innovation Centre, a close partnership with DORA Construction, and a deep project pipeline, Eastcut has built the foundation for its next stage of growth.

What we do not yet have is a single technical leader accountable for engineering across the platform. The Director of Engineering will fill that gap and help shape what comes next.

You will be based primarily at our Trenton, Nova Scotia campus, with regular time at the Macklan Innovation Centre in Dartmouth, where you will collaborate with our preconstruction team and design integration group. This is where ideas, projects, and products move from concept into engineering, and your presence in both places is essential.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

The Director of Engineering will unify, grow, and lead Eastcut's engineering function across modular, panelized, mass timber, and hybrid building systems.

But this is more than a functional leadership role. As a core member of Eastcut's leadership team, the Director of Engineering will help guide how the company grows, innovates, and competes.

As we expand production, launch the Mass Timber Hall, develop new products, and enter new markets, technical leadership becomes increasingly central to our success. The Director of Engineering will lead the development of the systems, standards, and organizational capability required to support the company's next decade of growth.

Building on a strong foundation of engineering and design talent, the Director will scale the engineering function into a defining competitive advantage for Eastcut.

YOU WILL OWN

• Engineering and design leadership across the Modular Hall, Structural Components Hall, and future Mass Timber Hall.
• Recruitment, development, mentoring, and performance of multidisciplinary engineering, BIM specialists, and design teams.
• Technical standards, design rules, engineering processes, quality systems, and design-to-manufacturing workflows.
• Engineering delivery across all active projects, including capacity planning, prioritization, risk management, and technical decision-making.
• The continued development of Eastcut's digital engineering environment, including hsbCAD, CADworkS, BIM interoperability, library management, and machine-ready manufacturing output.
• Productization initiatives that convert one-off projects into repeatable products with stable BOMs, design rules, manufacturing standards, and pricing logic.
• Close collaboration with manufacturing, procurement, project management, DORA Construction, and the Macklan Innovation Centre.
• Technical representation of Eastcut with clients, architects, consultants, code authorities, peer reviewers, and strategic partners.
• Engineering readiness for the future Mass Timber Hall, including standards, workflows, team capability, CAD/CAM integration, and technical leadership.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

The successful candidate will establish and maintain standards for:

• Light-frame timber systems, wall panels, floor cassettes, roof trusses, and volumetric modular construction.
• Mass timber assemblies, including CLT, glulam, PBX, and hybrid structural systems.
• MEP integration, building envelope performance, fire and acoustic strategies, fabrication tolerances, and design-for-manufacturing principles.

You will oversee compliance with CSA A277, applicable Canadian building codes, CSA O86, relevant U.S. requirements, and emerging mass timber standards, while ensuring engineering supports efficient, repeatable manufacturing.

EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS

• 8+ years of engineering and design experience within offsite construction, timber systems, modular construction, mass timber, manufacturing, or industrialized construction.
• Professional engineering designation (P.Eng., PE, CEng, EUR ING, or equivalent), with eligibility or willingness to obtain registration in Nova Scotia.
• Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary engineering and design teams across multiple concurrent projects.
• Deep expertise in timber design, including light-frame components, panels, cassettes, trusses, and design-for-manufacturing principles.
• Experience with CLT, glulam, PBX, or related mass timber systems. Experience spanning both mass timber and modular/offsite construction is highly valued.
• Working familiarity with hsbCAD and/or CADworkS and strong knowledge of CAD/CAM workflows supporting manufacturing environments.
• A track record of building systems, standards, teams, and technical capabilities, not simply maintaining them.

HOW YOU OPERATE

• You are a leader first and an engineer second. You can run a calculation, and you can run a team, and you know which one the moment calls for.
• You are decisive. You clear obstacles for people. You do not let problems sit.
• You are a builder of systems. You know how to turn complexity into a plan, assign ownership, and keep things moving.
• You are business minded. You understand that engineering decisions drive cost, schedule, and risk.
• You set a high bar for quality and accountability while building a team people want to be part of.
• You communicate clearly to team members, clients, consultants, code officials, and the shop floor.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Senior leadership role within a fast-growing, vertically integrated construction and manufacturing platform.
• A seat at the leadership table, shaping one of Canada's most ambitious offsite construction businesses.
• Direct influence on the launch of a future Mass Timber Hall and the development of new products and markets.
• Strong collaboration culture across Eastcut, DORA Construction, Somerled Properties, and the Macklan Innovation Centre.
• Competitive compensation, performance incentives, car allowance, comprehensive benefits, RRSP matching, relocation support, and professional growth opportunities.

Eastcut Wood Building Solutions and the Macklan Group are equal opportunity employers. We hire on character, demonstrated capability, and fit with our values: Build Like It Matters, Enjoy the Ride, Always True, and Make It Better Every Day, Together.

ABOUT THE MACKLAN GROUP

A group of companies, with a singular purpose. We Build Community.

The Macklan Group includes DORA Construction, EASTCUT Wood Building Solutions, SOMERLED Properties and the Macklan Innovation Centre. Our combined expertise delivers better solutions for each client and every community we serve. Our passion for making a positive difference in the lives of Atlantic Canadians fuels our commitment to quality, affordable, lasting infrastructure. Our promise to future generations inspires our commitment to innovation in design and construction.

At Macklan, our values are more than words on a wall. They guide how we work, how we lead, and how we build relationships. We build like it matters because every project, decision, and interaction leaves a lasting impact. We enjoy the ride by supporting one another and celebrating progress along the way. We are always true through integrity, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to safety. We make it better every day, together, by learning, improving and growing as one team.