Director of Engineering

The Planet Group; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The Planet Group is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Engineering to serve as the technical authority for how shop orders are manufactured across six US locations. You will drive manufacturability decisions, own ERP-driven scheduling, and lead major capital initiatives to expand in-house capabilities.

Ideal candidates bring a Bachelor's in engineering or 10+ years of related metal fabrication experience, ERP and CAD familiarity, and strong leadership across multi-site operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (B.S.) or 10+ years metal fabrication experience or equivalent combination.
• Experience with ERP or production-scheduling systems.
• Lean Manufacturing experience with 5S, visual controls, waste reduction, root cause analysis.
• Prior application engineering or customer-facing technical solutions experience preferred.
• Project management experience leading equipment installations or software deployments.
• CAD familiarity is a plus.
• Experience in metal forming and welding environments is essential.
• Experience in Commercial Construction Building Products is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills are required.

Responsibilities

• Serve as final technical authority on manufacturability and in-house fabrication feasibility.
• Act as application engineering escalation point to convert inquiries into sales.
• Train Project Managers across locations to make manufacturability decisions independently.
• Assist with scheduling across all six locations and guide staff on schedules.
• Identify tooling/capital investments and justify cost/payback.
• Build business plans for opportunities requiring tooling before winning work.
• Manage engineering projects including new machines and software deployments.
• Configure and maintain ERP functionality across branches and document configurations.
• Directly manage Compliance, CAD Services, and Quality Assurance functions.
• Lead regulatory compliance engineering and promote Lean culture.
• Monitor product quality, safety, and remakes; drive corrective action.
• Mentor staff and escalate disagreements to the CEO.

Skills

ERP experience

Lean manufacturing

Project management

CAD familiarity

Communication skills

Manufacturability authority

Cross-location leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering (B.S.)

Tools

ERP software

CAD software

Job description

Our company is a leader in the architectural metal products market with six operating locations in the USA. Family-owned and managed company 75 years strong. We distribute, fabricate, and finish (anodize and paint) aluminum and other products primarily for the commercial construction market.

This position will be responsible for 3 key areas:

• Application Engineering and increasing revenue
• Product Manager of ERP system
• Engineering and Technical experience specifically with metal forming/fabrication and welding with Engineering CAD understanding.

The owners have been handling these job duties, but 1 of them is retiring in February, 2027 and would like a person to take over. Looking for experience in the metals industry and experienced with High Mix/Low Volume manufacturing environments. Essentially, possesses the final technical authority on manufacturability.

Mission

The Director of Manufacturing Engineering exists to turn technical uncertainty into revenue. When Sales brings a hard inquiry, this role's job is to know our true capability better than anyone on the floor, actively find the honest, buildable path to yes rather than defaulting to a cautious no, and build the investment case when winning the work requires new tooling. And when the honest answer really is no, this role says so — the goal is more revenue we can deliver on.

The Director of Manufacturing Engineering is responsible for being the technical authority for how, where, and when shop orders are manufactured. This role owns enterprise-wide equipment and process capability knowledge, applying sound engineering judgment grounded in OEM specifications and hands‑on manufacturing expertise to replace operator assumption and overly cautious decision‑making.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (B.S.) from a four-year college or university; or ten years of related metal fabricating experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with ERP or production-scheduling systems is required.
• Experienced with Lean Manufacturing philosophy and have experience with Lean tools such as visual manufacturing controls, 5S, waste reduction, and root cause analysis.
• Prior application engineering or customer-facing technical solutioning experience is highly preferred.
• Project management experience leading equipment installations, software deployments, or similar capital or process initiatives from planning through completion is required.
• Familiarity with CAD is a plus.
• Experience in a metal forming and welding environment is essential
• Experience in Commercial Construction Building Products, especially aluminum window, door, skylight, curtain wall, and storefront would be a big plus.
• Must have excellent communications skills

Job Responsibilities:

• Serve as final technical authority on manufacturability: determine whether and how Company can fabricate and finish a given job in-house before sales quotes or declines work.
• Serve as the application engineering escalation point: when Sales or a Project Manager brings a ‘can we make this?’ inquiry, actively work the problem — with Production personnel and customers as needed — to find an honest, buildable path to yes rather than defaulting to a cautious no, and equip Sales with what they need to convert a viable inquiry into a sale.
• Train and equip Project Managers across all locations to make first‑line manufacturability and solution decisions independently for standard requests, reserving engineering escalation for non‑standard or complex jobs.
• Assist with scheduling as needed: understand how Company Enterprise generates production schedules from quoted operations and standard time data, and guide General Managers, Project Managers, and administrative staff across all six branches on how to use and maintain accurate schedules.
• Identify and recommend tooling and capital equipment investments that expand in‑house capability, including cost and payback justification.
• When Company is close to winning a job but cannot yet fulfill it without additional tooling or equipment, build a business plan for the CEO specific to that opportunity — investment required, cost, and payback — so capital decisions are made against real, near‑term revenue rather than speculative capability building.
• Serve as engineer‑project manager for significant, approved engineering projects as needed — including new machine installations, software deployments, and other major process enhancements — owning scope, timeline, and budget from planning through completion.
• Execute, configure, and maintain Company Enterprise's manufacturing ERP functionality under the CEO's product direction, including multi‑branch job routing; document system logic and configuration so scheduling and routing knowledge does not depend on any single individual.
• Directly manage the Compliance Management, CAD Services, and Quality Assurance functions.
• Own the engineering aspects of regulatory compliance management.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and high performance using Lean tools — visual manufacturing controls, 5S, waste reduction, and root cause analysis.
• Monitor product consistency, customer complaints, safety hazards, and remakes across locations to identify systemic technical issues and drive corrective action.
• Ensure staff receive timely, appropriate technical training and development. Mentor and develop staff through a supportive, collaborative approach.
• Escalate unresolved disagreements with the VP of Manufacturing to the CEO for final decision.