Director of Engineering - Electrical Products

Judge Direct Placement; West Chester (Chester County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Judge Direct Placement is seeking a Director of Engineering for a top-tier electrical products manufacturer near West Chester, PA. You will lead a multi-disciplinary product engineering team, guiding design from concept through mass production and aligning strategy with hands-on execution.

The role spans design optimization, DFMA, regulatory compliance (UL, RoHS, ISO), and close collaboration with Product Management, Operations, and supply chain to meet cost, quality, and schedule goals.

Qualifications

• BSME or equivalent; MSME or MBA preferred.
• 10+ years in mechanical product design and development; 3–5 years leading or managing technical product teams.
• Strong CAD modeling, FEA/CFD, injection-molded plastics, sheet metal enclosures, precision mechanisms, and tolerance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Oversee multi-disciplinary product engineering teams through NPD/NPI lifecycle.
• Drive product architecture decisions for hardware solutions including thermal management and enclosure design.
• Ensure engineering deliverables meet functional requirements, cost targets, schedules, and quality standards.
• Enforce DFMA/DFR for smooth transitions to production.
• Maintain compliance with safety, environmental, and ISO standards; manage resources and vendor relationships.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Vendor relations

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME)

MSME or MBA preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

Creo

FEA/CFD

Job description

A top-tier electrical products manufacturer near West Chester, PA, is looking for a Director of Engineering to guide product innovation and line enhancements. In this position, you will direct the product engineering team in designing, creating, and executing sophisticated mechanical products and physical architectures. You will connect high-level product strategy with hands‑on execution—leading cross‑functional initiatives across product design, thermal management, enclosure engineering, and materials selection—to advance physical products from initial design through mass production.

Key Responsibilities

• Engineering Leadership: Oversee, develop, and inspire multi-disciplinary product engineering teams (mechanical design, CAD modeling, structural analysis, and physical prototyping) throughout the entire New Product Development and Introduction (NPD/NPI) lifecycle.
• Technical Strategy & Architecture: Drive product architecture decisions, focusing on physical layout, thermal dissipation, material selection, enclosure design, and dynamic product mechanisms for next-generation hardware solutions.
• Execution & Product Delivery: Collaborate with Product Management and Operations teams to ensure product engineering deliverables satisfy functional requirements, target unit costs (COGS), launch schedules, and quality standards.
• Design Optimization (DFX): Enforce strict Design for Manufacturability and Assembly (DFMA), serviceability, and product durability/reliability (DFR) protocols to guarantee smooth transitions to production.
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain full compliance with mandatory safety, product durability, and environmental standards, including UL, IP enclosure ratings, drop/vibration testing, RoHS, and ISO certifications.
• Resource Management: Direct departmental operations, including budget planning, prototyping lab equipment, testing/R&D tooling investments, staffing allocation, and vendor relations.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) or equivalent; an MSME or MBA is preferred.
• Experience: 10+ years in mechanical product design and development, including at least 3–5 years leading or managing technical product teams.
• Technical Expertise: Proven history of taking complex mechanical products, physical assemblies, and consumer or industrial hardware from early concepts to high-volume manufacturing.
• Core Technical Knowledge: Strong expertise in 3D CAD product modeling (SolidWorks/Creo), FEA/CFD, injection-molded plastics, sheet metal enclosures, precision mechanisms, and rigorous tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Manufacturing & Supply Chain: Practical experience collaborating with domestic and overseas contract manufacturers (CMs), custom tooling vendors, component sourcing, and supply chain partners.
• Leadership Capabilities: Track record of recruiting, mentoring, and managing high-performing product engineering talent in dynamic environments.