Director of Manufacturing Engineering

InPursuit Search, LLC; Duluth (MN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

InPursuit Search, LLC is seeking a Director of Engineering in Duluth, MN to lead a manufacturing engineering team. You will drive project delivery from scope through production release, ensure quality plans are in place, and guide cost analysis for standard and custom products.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership in a smaller manufacturing environment, with focus on robust processes, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement using Lean/Six Sigma methods.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in mechanical engineering or related field.
• 10+ years in manufacturing engineering with leadership and project management experience.
• Experience leading teams and allocating resources across concurrent projects.
• Knowledge of quality planning, inspection, and acceptance criteria.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, APQP, PFMEA, PPAP, or similar methods.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the engineering team with clear responsibilities and performance expectations.
• Prioritize project portfolio, allocate resources, and ensure on-time delivery within scope and budget.
• Translate customer ideas into project plans with defined scope, milestones, and ownership.
• Validate manufacturing processes and tooling; ensure production release with proper documentation and training.
• Apply lean methodologies to improve quality, efficiency, and cost.
• Develop accurate product costs to support quoting and pricing decisions.
• Collaborate with Sales and customers to clarify requirements and select manufacturing solutions.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Costing & quoting

Quality planning

Lean Six Sigma

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering

Job description

The Director of Engineering leads the team and processes that turn technical ideas and customer requirements into reliable, repeatable manufacturing solutions. Partnering with the Owner/Technical Expert, this hands‑on leader owns engineering projects from scope definition through production release, including technical quality planning, manufacturing documentation, and product costing. The initial focus is establishing robust manufacturing processes, followed by improvements in quality, efficiency, and cost.

Critical Selection Criteria

• Manufacturing engineering leadership and team development.
• Proven delivery of multiple engineering projects against defined scope, schedules, and budgets.
• Successful transfer of new products and processes into reliable production.
• Technical quality expertise and demonstrated ability to establish effective engineering processes.
• Accurate costing and sound manufacturing judgment for standard and custom products.

Major Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership and Team Development (25%)

• Lead and develop the engineering team, establishing clear responsibilities and performance expectations.
• Prioritize the engineering project portfolio, balance resources across competing demands, and hold project owners accountable for delivery.
• Build team capabilities to support business growth.

Project Management and Production Readiness (25%)

• Translate customer requirements and ideas from the Owner/Technical Expert into project plans with defined scope, deliverables, milestones, budgets, and ownership.
• Lead projects through stage gates; manage dependencies, risks, and scope changes, and take corrective action when commitments are at risk.
• Validate manufacturing processes and tooling; confirm production acceptance with Operations and Quality, including complete documentation, inspection plans, and operator training.

Manufacturing Engineering, Technical Quality, and Process Improvement (25%)

• Establish repeatable manufacturing methods and correct gaps in existing processes and documentation.
• Define inspection methods, measurement requirements, inspection frequency, and acceptance criteria with Quality.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable methods to improve performance; oversee tooling and capital equipment implementation.

Costing and Technical Customer Support (15%)

• Develop accurate product costs to support quoting, pricing, and margin decisions.
• Help Sales and customers clarify requirements, evaluate feasibility, and select manufacturing solutions.
• Provide technical product training and explain how design, materials, and processes affect performance, cost, and lead time.

Cross Functional Leadership and Planning (10%)

• Align engineering schedules and capacity with Sales, Operations, Quality, and leadership.
• Partner with Operations to ensure established manufacturing methods are understood and followed.
• Conduct cross-functional project reviews, communicate progress and decisions needed, and elevate barriers affecting schedules, costs, or readiness.
• Assess team capability, project backlog, and engineering constraints limiting growth.
• Close documentation and quality‑planning gaps contributing to production problems.
• Establish consistent stage gates and production‑readiness requirements.
• Prioritize active projects, assign owners and milestones, and establish recovery plans for stalled commitments.

Engineering Manager Characteristics

• Hands‑on and comfortable with broad responsibilities in a smaller manufacturer.
• Organized, detail‑oriented, and persistent in completing commitments.
• Collaborative and clear in communicating technical requirements.
• Curious and practical in solving unfamiliar manufacturing problems.
• Uses data and sound judgment to make decisions and hold people accountable.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Materials, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline
• 10+ years of manufacturing engineering experience, including demonstrated team leadership and project management.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams and allocating resources across multiple concurrent projects.
• Demonstrated engineering project management experience, including scope definition, scheduling, budget tracking, risk management, change control, and delivery through production release.
• Practical knowledge of quality planning, inspection methods, measurement, and acceptance criteria.
• Ability to interpret drawings and specifications and develop manufacturing documentation.
• Experience implementing Lean, Six Sigma, APQP, PFMEA, PPAP, or comparable methods.
• Strong product costing, quoting, and margin analysis skills.
• Preferred: Composite materials, plastics, or resin manufacturing experience.
• Preferred: Custom manufacturing experience involving varied requirements, tolerances, and production methods.
• Preferred: Experience working with customer engineering teams and AS9100/ISO documentation.
• Preferred: Capital equipment implementation and experience with an operating system such as EOS.