Mechanical Engineering Manager - Morris County, New Jersey

MissionHires; New Jersey; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage 100%

401(k) with company match

Leadership seat with mandate

Direct access to ownership

Short NJ commute

Job summary

MissionHires in Morris County, NJ seeks an engineering leader to run the mechanical design group and own an expanding in-house fabrication capability. This is a working manager role: you stay on the board, review drawings, solve design problems, and guide a team of three mechanical design engineers.

You will drive fabrication in-house, partner with the shop foreman, and push for right-first-time designs and faster cycles. A PE or EIT is a plus; relocation not offered; US-based.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or closely related field.
• 10+ years of mechanical design experience on fabricated equipment.
• Experience leading, managing or mentoring engineers.
• PE license a plus or EIT on track for it.
• Local to northern New Jersey and able to work onsite.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical design group: set priorities, manage workload and backlog, and develop the engineers on the team.
• Review every design and drawing package for fit, function, and manufacturability before it reaches the shop.
• Design and detail water and wastewater process equipment, including conveyors and custom fabricated systems.
• Work directly with the fabrication shop foreman on buildability and method, and produce drawing packages for outside fabricators.
• Drive down drawing cycle time from request through design to fabrication, and move work from subcontractors to in-house shop.
• Represent engineering in weekly fabrication and project engineering meetings and keep the backlog moving.
• Coordinate stamped work with the company’s outside network of licensed engineering firms.

Skills

Leadership

Mechanical design leadership

Fabrication drawings

Shop collaboration

On-site in NJ

PE/EIT on track

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

A privately held New Jersey manufacturer of water and wastewater process equipment is bringing in an engineering leader to run its mechanical design group and own a growing in-house fabrication capability. The company has its own fabrication shop a few miles from the engineering office, but most of what it builds is still subcontracted out. Leadership wants to pull that work in-house, and this hire owns the engineering side of that shift.

This is a working manager's job. The person stays on the board, reviewing drawings and solving design problems, while leading a team of three mechanical design engineers and setting how the group operates. The mandate is concrete: designs that are right the first time, faster cycle time from request to fabricated and out the door, a real engineering partner for the shop foreman, and a team that is managed and mentored. A year in, success looks like more work moving through the company's own shop, fewer mistakes, and equipment that fits when it reaches the field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical design group: set priorities, manage the workload and the backlog, and develop the engineers on the team.
• Review every design and drawing package for fit, function, and manufacturability before it reaches the shop, and catch the small things before they become rework or field problems.
• Design and detail water and wastewater process equipment yourself, including conveyors, screens, and custom fabricated systems.
• Work directly with the foreman of the company's own fabrication shop on buildability and method, and produce drawing packages for outside fabricators whose equipment and processes differ from the in-house shop's.
• Drive down drawing cycle time from request through design to fabrication, and own the engineering side of moving work from subcontractors into the in-house shop.
• Represent engineering in the weekly fabrication and project engineering meetings and keep the backlog moving.
• Coordinate stamped work with the company's outside network of licensed engineering firms.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 10+ years of mechanical design experience on fabricated equipment, with strong fluency in fabrication drawings and shop practice.
• Experience leading, managing, or mentoring engineers. Someone who has run a team and is ready to do it again, not someone looking to try it for the first time.
• Real design-for-fabrication instinct and comfort in a hands-on role. You have stood on a shop floor and changed a drawing because of what you saw, and you would rather be around the equipment than behind a screen all day.
• This is an engineering leadership seat, not a shop supervision role. The fabrication shop has its own foreman; this person is the foreman's engineering partner.
• Local to northern New Jersey and able to work fully onsite in Morris County. Relocation assistance is not offered.
• Strongly preferred: water and wastewater equipment background, or adjacent process and material handling equipment with a real fabrication component.
• PE license is a big plus, or EIT and on track for it.
• Candidates must be based in the United States and must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for current or future sponsorship.

Benefits

• Medical coverage with the premium paid 100% by the company, for you and for your family. No employee contribution on the base plan. A buy-up plan with lower deductibles is available.
• 401(k) with company match.
• A leadership seat with a defined mandate and room to build the group as the company grows.
• Direct access to ownership in a stable, privately held company where the work you do is seen.
• A short northern New Jersey commute, local travel under 10%, and a fabrication shop ten minutes from the office.