Engineering Manager – Product Design & Manufacturing

Sterling St James LLC; Waterloo (IA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling St James LLC in Waterloo, Iowa seeks a Product Design Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for sustaining and improving heavy haul trailer platforms. The role blends people leadership with hands-on technical oversight to ensure designs are manufacturable, cost-effective, and compliant.

You will own product architectures, drive design-for-manufacturing, manage ECN/ECO processes, and collaborate with manufacturing, quality, and service to support the production schedule and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience with heavy haul trailers or similar equipment.
• Strong background in mechanical systems, hydraulics, and manufacturing processes.
• Proven experience supporting products in production environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and manage a team of product design engineers.
• Own product architectures, standards, and design intent across heavy haul platforms.
• Prioritize engineering work based on production needs and field feedback.
• Serve as engineering owner for sustaining engineering and platform evolution.
• Ensure engineering support for production and rapid issue resolution.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering to improve weldment and BOM accuracy.
• Lead design reviews and approve engineering changes.
• Oversee ECN/ECO execution with timely documentation.
• Ensure compliance with FMVSS, DOT, and internal standards.
• Apply DFMEA and warranty data to improve durability and reliability.
• Drive design-for-manufacturing and design-to-cost initiatives.
• Support sales, service, and operations with engineering guidance.

Skills

People leadership

Project prioritization

DFM design for manufacturability

Root-cause analysis

CAD tools

Verbal & written communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline

Tools

CAD tools

Excel

Engineering data systems

Job description

Sterling St James LLC in Waterloo, Iowa seeks a Product Design Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for sustaining and improving heavy haul trailer platforms. The role blends people leadership with hands-on technical oversight to ensure designs are manufacturable, cost-effective, and compliant.

You will own product architectures, drive design-for-manufacturing, manage ECN/ECO processes, and collaborate with manufacturing, quality, and service to support the production schedule and