European Design Engineering Director

Sterling Engineering Ltd - Ireland & Europe; Cataluña; On-site; EUR 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Engineering Ltd - Ireland & Europe is seeking an experienced Director of Design Engineering to lead the Spain Design Center and Europe-wide Engineering Services. You will drive growth, build high-performing teams and strengthen customer relationships while delivering complex product development programs.

The role requires senior leadership, change management, and a track record of managing budgets and P&L in a regulated or complex manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in product development, design engineering or engineering services.
• Significant leadership experience in a multidisciplinary engineering environment.
• Proven experience leading teams across PM, mechanical, electrical, software, test and product development.
• Experience managing budgets, resources, financial targets and P&L.
• Strong customer-facing and commercial skills with senior stakeholders.
• Fluent in Spanish and English; willing to relocate to Spain.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Engineering Services strategy and operating plan across Europe, including the Spain Design Center.
• Develop senior engineering leaders and multidisciplinary teams into a high-performing culture.
• Own business performance: revenue, margin, delivery and customer satisfaction.
• Collaborate with customers, Sales and commercial teams to identify opportunities and propose solutions.
• Oversee cross-functional teams delivering complex product development from concept to lifecycle support.
• Build capabilities for a competitive European design centre: talent, labs, prototype/test infra.
• Implement governance, metrics and continuous improvement across people and processes.
• Hire, coach and develop managers and senior leaders; manage budgets and investments.
• Represent the organisation with customers, senior leadership and external partners.
• Foster ownership, challenge status quo and deliver effective engineering solutions.

Skills

Leadership

P&L management

Customer-facing

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Negotiation

Problem-solving

Bilingual: Spanish/English

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Director of Design Engineering

Location: Spain

We are looking for an experienced engineering leader to lead Engineering Services across Europe, with senior leadership responsibility for the Spain Design Center.

This is a senior leadership position combining people leadership, business performance, customer engagement and engineering delivery. The successful candidate will lead the engineering organisation, drive business growth, strengthen customer relationships and build the capabilities required to support continued growth.

The role will suit a strong people and business leader who is comfortable driving change, improving processes and developing high-performing engineering teams in a customer-focused environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Engineering Services strategy and operating plan across Europe, with responsibility for the Spain Design Center.
• Lead and develop senior engineering leaders and multidisciplinary teams, creating a high-performing, collaborative and accountable culture.
• Own business performance, including revenue, margin, operating performance, customer satisfaction, quality and delivery.
• Work closely with customers, Sales and commercial teams to identify opportunities, develop solutions, prepare proposals and convert opportunities into profitable growth.
• Lead cross-functional engineering teams delivering complex product development and design programmes from concept and requirements through design, verification, validation, manufacturing transfer and lifecycle support.
• Build and develop the capabilities required for a competitive European design centre, including engineering talent, technical leadership, labs, prototype and test infrastructure.
• Establish effective operating processes, governance and performance metrics to drive visibility, accountability and disciplined execution.
• Drive continuous improvement and change across people, processes, engineering tools and ways of working.
• Hire, coach and develop managers and senior technical leaders, ensuring the organisation has the right skills and capabilities for future growth.
• Manage budgets, resources and investment priorities while maintaining a strong focus on commercial performance.
• Represent the organisation with customers, senior leadership and external partners.
• Create an environment where teams take ownership, challenge existing approaches and develop effective solutions to complex engineering and business problems.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years’ experience in product development, design engineering or engineering services.
• Significant leadership experience within a multidisciplinary engineering environment.
• Proven experience leading teams across areas such as project management, mechanical, electrical, software, test and product development.
• Experience managing budgets, resources, financial targets and P&L responsibility.
• Strong customer-facing and commercial skills, with experience presenting technical solutions and building senior-level relationships.
• Strong analytical, negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Fluent in Spanish and English.
• Willingness to relocate to Spain.

Experience in medical device, healthcare, aerospace, defence, industrial or other regulated manufacturing environments would be advantageous. Experience with design for manufacturability, design transfer, industrialisation, commercialisation, embedded systems, mechatronics or robotics would also be beneficial.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate is likely to be an experienced Engineering Director, Head of Engineering, R&D Director, Product Development Director or similar senior engineering leader.

They will be comfortable operating at senior leadership level, managing other leaders and taking ownership of an engineering organisation. They should be confident challenging existing ways of working while being collaborative, commercially minded and capable of building strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.

This role will suit someone who enjoys building and developing teams, improving engineering operations and combining technical leadership with commercial and business responsibility.

Working Environment

• Based in Spain with a primarily site/office-based working environment.
• Regular interaction with customers, engineering teams and senior leadership.
• Travel across Europe and to customer or company locations as required.
• Potential for the role to develop into a broader multi-site engineering leadership position as the organisation grows.