Director of Product Engineering

HFI; Troy (MI); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

HFI is seeking a Director of Product Engineering to provide strategic leadership for all product engineering activities across the company and ensure successful development from quotation to production launch. You will drive continuous improvement, engineering excellence, and technical innovation throughout multiple locations in a fast-paced automotive environment.

The role requires a strong background in automotive interior products, APQP/DFMEA/PFMEA, and experience leading large teams while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of automotive engineering experience with at least 5 years leading engineering organizations.
• Experience with automotive interior products (foam, Foam-In-Place, sewing, trim, wrapped components) preferred.
• Strong knowledge of APQP, DFMEA, PFMEA, DVP&R, GD&T, engineering change management, CAD.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop Product Engineering, Product Development, Technical Administration, and Prototype Engineering teams.
• Develop and execute Product Engineering strategy aligned with HFI business objectives.
• Manage engineering resources to ensure balanced workloads and on-time program deliverables.
• Provide executive technical leadership during RFQs, customer design reviews, and new business pursuits.
• Lead product feasibility, DFM, DFA, and Value Engineering initiatives.
• Establish and maintain standardized engineering processes, design standards, and best practices across all HFI locations.
• Champion DFMEA, DVP&R, Engineering Change Management, and Engineering Release processes.
• Support Program Management to ensure successful launches and engineering deliverables.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Sales, and Operations to improve quality, cost, and manufacturability.
• Serve as executive engineering representative with OEM and Tier 1 customers.
• Develop engineering budgets, staffing plans, succession planning, and departmental objectives.
• Drive engineering KPI performance, continuous improvement, automation, AI, and digital engineering initiatives.
• Support manufacturing plants in resolving complex engineering and production issues.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Technical Capacity

Product Development

Project Management

Communication Proficiency

Organizational Skills

Customer Focus

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Automotive, Plastics Engineering, or related discipline

Tools

CAD

Job description

Position Summary

The primary responsibility of the Director of Product Engineering is to provide strategic leadership for all product engineering activities across HFI while ensuring successful product development, customer satisfaction, standardized engineering processes, and flawless program launches. The Director leads engineering teams from customer quotation through production launch while driving continuous improvement, engineering excellence, and technical innovation.

Position Summary

The primary responsibility of the Director of Product Engineering is to provide strategic leadership for all product engineering activities across HFI while ensuring successful product development, customer satisfaction, standardized engineering processes, and flawless program launches. The Director leads engineering teams from customer quotation through production launch while driving continuous improvement, engineering excellence, and technical innovation.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop Product Engineering, Product Development, Technical Administration, and Prototype Engineering teams.
• Develop and execute Product Engineering strategy aligned with HFI business objectives.
• Manage engineering resources to ensure balanced workloads and on-time program deliverables.
• Provide executive technical leadership during RFQs, customer design reviews, and new business pursuits.
• Lead product feasibility, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Value Engineering initiatives.
• Establish and maintain standardized engineering processes, design standards, and best practices across all HFI locations.
• Champion DFMEA, DVP&R, Engineering Change Management, and Engineering Release processes.
• Support Program Management to ensure successful launches and engineering deliverables.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Sales, and Operations to improve quality, cost, and manufacturability.
• Serve as executive engineering representative with OEM and Tier 1 customers.
• Develop engineering budgets, staffing plans, succession planning, and departmental objectives.
• Drive engineering KPI performance, continuous improvement, automation, AI, and digital engineering initiatives.
• Support manufacturing plants in resolving complex engineering and production issues.
• Perform other duties as required.

Competencies

• Strategic Leadership
• Technical Capacity
• Product Development
• Project Management
• Communication Proficiency
• Organizational Skills
• Customer Focus
• Continuous Improvement

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Automotive, Plastics Engineering, or related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of automotive engineering experience with at least 5 years leading engineering organizations.
• Experience with automotive interior products, including foam, Foam-In-Place, sewing, trim, wrapped components, or related assemblies preferred.
• Strong knowledge of APQP, DFMEA, PFMEA, DVP&R, GD&T, engineering change management, CAD.
• Excellent communication, leadership, presentation, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multiple priorities in a fast-paced automotive environment.
• Bilingual (English & Spanish) helpful.

Travel

This position requires up to 25% travel. Domestic and international travel may be required to support HFI facilities, customers, and suppliers.