Director of Engineering

Evenlite Inc.; Trevose (PA); Vor Ort; USD 140.000 - 210.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Evenlite Inc. is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead a growing team responsible for life-safety products such as exit signs and emergency lights across the U.S.

You will coach engineers, drive product development, and establish clear KPIs to keep programs on track. You’ll shape planning, implement phased development with agile elements, and manage cross‑functional collaboration with Operations, Manufacturing, Quoting, and Technical Support.

Qualifikationen

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field; strong leadership experience.
• 5–10 years of experience in product development or engineering roles.
• 3–4 years in a team lead, project lead, or supervisory capacity.

Aufgaben

• Lead the daily activities of the engineering team; communicate priorities and deadlines clearly.
• Conduct performance reviews and develop coaching plans; drive accountable behavior.
• Translate product goals into clear engineering plans with milestones and owners; use phase‑gate with agile elements.
• Define practical engineering KPIs and provide regular status updates to leadership.
• Manage New Product Development from concept to production release, ensuring performance, cost, and manufacturability goals are met.
• Refine and promote the engineering development process; encourage documentation and change management.

Kenntnisse

Leadership

Team Management

Project Planning

KPIs & Reporting

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Ausbildung

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Jira

Spreadsheets

Ticket systems

Jobbeschreibung

As our Director of Engineering, you’ll lead a growing team at a company whose life safety products—exit signs and emergency lights—help protect people in buildings across the U.S. You’ll coach and develop engineers, strengthen how we plan and execute projects, and use clear KPIs to keep work on track. If you like building strong teams, improving practical processes, and keeping promises to customers, this is a role where your impact will be visible and meaningful.

Key Responsibilities

1. Team Leadership & Accountability

• Lead the daily activities of the engineering team; clearly communicate priorities, deadlines, and expectations.
• Hold engineers accountable for attendance, punctuality, and meeting commitments. Address issues early and constructively.
• Conduct formal performance reviews with engineering team members, setting clear goals, documenting feedback, and following up on development plans over time.
• Run regular 1:1s and team check-ins; provide coaching, feedback, and support when engineers are stuck.
• Maintain a hands‑on presence in design reviews, troubleshooting, and problem‑solving as needed.

2. Planning & Process

• Translate product and business goals into clear engineering plans with phases, milestones, and owners.
• Use a simple, structured development process (phase‑gate with appropriate agile elements) to keep projects organized and on track.
• Ensure work is broken into actionable tasks, documented, and assigned with realistic timelines.
• Run recurring planning and status meetings to review progress, adjust priorities, and capture new work.

3. KPIs, Visibility & Reporting

• Define and maintain a small set of practical engineering KPIs, such as:
  • On‑time completion of milestones/phases
  • Response and resolution time for production/manufacturing issues
  • Volume and status of cross‑functional requests (Ops, Manufacturing, Quoting, Technical Support)
• Keep work visible using simple tools (project boards, trackers, ticket systems); ensure requests and commitments are logged and updated.
• Provide concise, regular updates to the President/leadership with status, risks, and any needs from leadership.

4. Proactive Escalation & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary point of contact between Engineering and Operations, Manufacturing, Quoting, and Technical Support for both new and existing products.
• Proactively escalated when the team is blocked:
  • “We’re waiting on X,”
  • “We need more information/resources,”
  • “We are waiting on a decision from you.”
• Ensure cross‑functional requests are followed through to closure and that stakeholders know what to expect and when.

5. New Product Development & Sustaining Support

• Manage engineering work for new product development from concept through production release, ensuring targets for performance, cost, and manufacturability are met.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to clarify requirements and design intent.
• Ensure ongoing issues with tools, fixtures, drawings, BOMs, and manufacturing processes are triaged and resolved quickly.
• Support continuous improvement projects around quality, cost, and throughput as assigned.
• Lead the engineering response to customer care team escalations, from clarifying the issue through corrective action and updates back to the team.

6. Process & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain and refine the engineering development process so it is understood, followed, and right sized for the organization.
• Identify bottlenecks and recurring issues; propose and implement practical improvements to how the team plans, documents, and communicates.
• Promote good habits in documentation, revision control, verification/validation, and change management.

What Success Looks Like (6–12 Months)

• The engineering team has clear plans and priorities; engineers know what they are working on and why.
• Attendance, punctuality, and follow‑through have improved and are consistently reinforced.
• A small set of engineering KPIs is reported regularly, and trends are visible to leadership.
• Cross‑functional requests (Ops, Manufacturing, Quoting, Support) are managed, updated, and closed in a timely manner.
• The President/leadership receives proactive communication when the team is blocked or needs decisions, rather than learning about issues after the fact.
• The engineering process is being implemented, used, and incrementally improved, with fewer surprises and last‑minute scrambles.
• The skills and confidence of the engineering team are growing, and we are getting more value from our in‑house engineering talent.

Talents and Qualifications (Required)

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering preferred; Mechanical Engineering or related discipline considered with strong relevant experience.
• 5–10 years of experience in product development or engineering roles.
• At least 3–4 years in a team lead, project lead, or supervisory capacity.
• Solid understanding of electrical and mechanical fundamentals and the ability to review designs and ask the right questions.
• Experience working with manufacturing/operations and resolving production issues.
• Demonstrated ability:
  • Assign and follow up on work,
  • Enforce basic team discipline (attendance, punctuality, responsiveness),
  • Hold people accountable while maintaining a positive team environment.
• Strong communication skills, including comfort pushing upward for decisions, information, and resources the team needs.
• Comfortable using project‑tracking tools (spreadsheets, project boards, ticket systems) to keep work visible.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with lighting, life safety, power electronics, or related products and applicable standards (UL, NFPA, IEC) is a plus.
• Experience in a mixed hardware/firmware product environment.
• Prior responsibility for reporting metrics or project status to senior leadership and operations.