Product Design Manager

AP Executive Staffing; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

APX seeks a Senior Engineering Manager to lead the Buffalo engineering center, establishing design authority and disciplined execution across sites. You will drive KPI-based processes, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Quality on design reviews and change control.

The role focuses on scaling capabilities in India and other locations, delivering complex projects, and aligning with senior leadership to build a resilient, global engineering infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field; Master's preferred.
• 10+ years of engineering or related technical experience.
• 5+ years of engineering management or leadership experience.
• Proven success leading engineering teams and delivering complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day engineering execution for the Buffalo center.
• Establish KPI-driven engineering workflows and performance metrics.
• Expand engineering capability across India and other locations.
• Provide design authority and ensure on-time delivery.
• Partner with Quality on design reviews and change control.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Distributed teams

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

AS9100

Job description

APX is partnering on a newly created Senior Engineering Manager opportunity for an engineering leader who wants to build, scale and shape a multi-site product design organization. This position will lead day-to-day engineering execution and hold design authority for the Buffalo engineering center, while also overseeing CAD Operations and helping expand engineering capability across international and U.S. locations.

This is a build role, not a caretaker role. The successful leader will introduce greater process discipline, establish meaningful performance metrics, strengthen engineering workflows and develop talent across multiple levels and geographies. The organization is entering a significant growth phase, making this role central to creating the scalable engineering infrastructure needed for the future.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

• Design authority and disciplined, on-time engineering execution for the Buffalo engineering center.
• Leadership, coaching and development of engineers ranging from associate through principal-level and deeply tenured technical professionals.
• Engineering process discipline and KPI development, including drawing-release cycle time, on-time delivery, structured design reviews and value analysis/value engineering contributions.
• Expansion and development of a growing engineering team in India, aligned to program needs across the Asia-Pacific region.
• Development of engineering capability across multiple locations, including support for a significant aerospace ramp in Arizona and future product design capability in the Philippines.
• Leadership of Buffalo-based CAD Operations and establishment of consistent product design workflows across sites.
• Partnership with Quality on design reviews, engineering change control and continuous improvement.
• Creation of a more connected, responsive engineering services model capable of supporting work across global time zones.

WHY THIS ROLE STANDS OUT

The role is designed for today's needs but intentionally positioned for a much larger future. Buffalo is the immediate priority, but the engineering organization is expected to scale across additional sites over the next two to three years. The person stepping into this position will have the opportunity to build systems, teams and standards from the ground up while working closely with senior leadership.

For an engineering leader coming from a large enterprise, this can offer something different: broader ownership, greater visibility, a stronger voice in how the organization evolves and the ability to see the direct impact of the systems and teams you build.

THE LEADER WHO WILL THRIVE HERE

This opportunity is best suited for a hands-on engineering leader who is energized by growth, change and building toward a defined future state. The strongest fit will:

• Build process rather than simply inherit it, bringing sound judgment to ambiguous and fast-moving situations.
• Lead highly experienced and technically senior engineers with confidence, credibility and respect.
• Use data and KPIs to make performance visible and drive measurable execution improvement.
• Think in systems across sites, teams and time zones while maintaining accountability for near-term commitments.
• Own misses directly, hold high standards and solve problems without relying on constant escalation.
• Operate effectively in a privately held, owner-led environment where discretion, maturity and adaptability matter.
• Be comfortable creating structure and capability from the ground up rather than maintaining a mature, established organization.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field; Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of engineering or related technical experience.
• 5+ years of engineering management or leadership experience.
• Proven success leading engineering teams and delivering complex technical projects.
• Experience with strategic planning and execution in a technology-driven organization.
• Demonstrated experience managing distributed or remote engineering contributors.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 or an equivalent quality standard.
• Strong design-for-manufacturability experience and understanding of disciplined product design engineering practices.
• Experience with electromechanical product lines.

PREFERRED BACKGROUND

• Multi-site or international engineering leadership experience; Asia-Pacific exposure is a plus.
• Experience scaling engineering capability during significant organizational or revenue growth.
• Background in sensors, cable/harness engineering or related electromechanical products.
• Experience establishing design authority, engineering standards, training and development frameworks across teams.

PRACTICAL CONTEXT

This position is based on-site in Buffalo, New York. Because the engineering organization spans multiple international time zones, the role will include recurring early or late calls and periodic travel to other facilities as the growth plan progresses. The first year will be heavily focused on assessing the current state, creating structure, establishing the engineering landscape and steadily improving execution.