Engineering Manager

Holt Technical Staffing; West Hartford (CT); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Holt Technical Staffing is seeking an Engineering Manager for a leading engineering and manufacturing client in a capability-driven environment. You will mentor seven engineers and drive process development, production readiness, and continuous improvement across operations.

The role emphasizes leadership and execution, balancing technical depth with people development and prioritization to deliver measurable results.

Qualifications

• Significant engineering leadership experience in manufacturing.
• Experience managing engineers or technical personnel.
• Background in process development, production support, or manufacturing improvement.
• Experience with new product, part, or process introduction.
• Familiarity with AS9100, NADCAP, Lean, Six Sigma, DOE, or SPC desirable.
• Thermal spray, coatings, or related processes advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of seven engineers, setting performance expectations and accountability.
• Prioritize engineering work based on customer requirements, operations, and risk.
• Lead new part introduction activities from development to production readiness.
• Drive improvements in throughput, quality, scrap, equipment utilization, capacity, and efficiency.
• Provide technical oversight on manufacturing challenges while empowering the engineering team.
• Partner with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Sales, and leadership on root cause, corrective action, capacity planning, and readiness.
• Establish engineering and manufacturing KPIs and promote accountability and continuous improvement.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Manufacturing knowledge

Project management

Staff development

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Materials, Industrial Engineering

Job description

Our client is an established engineering and manufacturing organization supporting aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Due to continued growth, they are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead a team of approximately seven engineers within a technically demanding manufacturing environment.

This is first and foremost a leadership and execution role, ideal for someone who combines strong manufacturing knowledge with the ability to develop people, establish priorities, and ensure engineering projects deliver measurable results.

Role Overview

The Engineering Manager will lead and develop the engineering team while ensuring resources are focused on the highest-priority technical and manufacturing challenges.

• Lead a team supporting process development, tooling, new part introduction, production, and continuous improvement
• Establish priorities, allocate resources, and maintain accountability
• Provide enough technical depth to challenge assumptions and evaluate engineering solutions
• Act as a key link between senior leadership, engineering, and manufacturing

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of approximately seven engineers, setting clear expectations around performance, technical quality, and delivery
• Establish engineering priorities and allocate resources based on customer requirements, operational needs, technical risk, and business impact
• Lead new part introduction activities from process development and tooling through production readiness
• Drive improvements in throughput, quality, scrap, equipment utilization, capacity, efficiency, and scalability
• Establish effective project management practices with clear objectives, ownership, milestones, and completion expectationsProvide technical oversight on significant manufacturing, equipment, and process challenges without taking ownership away from the engineering team
• Partner with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Sales, and leadership on root cause, corrective action, capacity planning, and manufacturing readiness
• Establish meaningful engineering and manufacturing KPIs while promoting a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Candidate Profile

• Proven engineering leader with experience managing and developing technical teams
• Strong manufacturing and practical engineering judgment
• Able to balance technical involvement with effective leadership and delegation
• Confident communicating from the production floor through to senior leadership
• Highly organized with strong project management and follow-through

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Significant engineering experience within a manufacturing environment
• Previous experience managing or leading engineers or technical personnel
• Strong background in process development, production support, troubleshooting, or manufacturing improvement
• Experience supporting new product, part, or process introduction
• Experience improving manufacturing efficiency, quality, capacity, or equipment utilization
• Aerospace, defense, precision manufacturing, MRO, or other regulated manufacturing experience advantageous
• Familiarity with AS9100, NADCAP, Lean, Six Sigma, root cause analysis, DOE, or SPC desirable
• Thermal spray, HVOF, plasma spray, coatings, or special process experience is highly advantageous

Education & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Materials, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Equivalent relevant engineering and manufacturing leadership experience considered