On-site Test Lab Leader - Automation & Excellence

Danfoss; Ames (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Paid vacation

Personal insurance

Job summary

Danfoss is seeking a dynamic Test Lab Manager for the Ames, IA facility. You will lead a multidisciplinary team, ensuring safety, efficiency, and reliability of the engineering test laboratory while aligning with global guidelines and the HY Director of Test Labs.

You will drive operational excellence, implement automation, and manage budgets to keep the lab at the cutting edge of testing capabilities across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related technical field.
• 4–6 years of relevant engineering experience in hydraulic product development or test engineering.
• Proven leadership experience with a track record of setting priorities and managing performance.
• Experience with operational resource planning and budget management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of about 15 planners, technicians, and students, fostering development and high performance.
• Own day-to-day lab operations, optimize throughput, allocate resources, and apply Lean methods.
• Modernize validation equipment and data acquisition, standardize test methods.
• Oversee local budget and build business cases for multi-year investments.
• Collaborate with local and global engineering teams and contribute to the global test lab group.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Problem-solving

Communication

Team management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Lean methodologies

Data acquisition systems

Automation technologies

ISO/IATF compliance

Job description

Danfoss is seeking a dynamic Test Lab Manager for the Ames, IA facility. You will lead a multidisciplinary team, ensuring safety, efficiency, and reliability of the engineering test laboratory while aligning with global guidelines and the HY Director of Test Labs.

You will drive operational excellence, implement automation, and manage budgets to keep the lab at the cutting edge of testing capabilities across the organization.