Product Engineering Manager

OmniForce Solutions; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

OmniForce Solutions is seeking a Product Engineering Manager to lead a newly formed Product Engineering department, owning the full product lifecycle—from development to field support. You will partner with Manufacturing, Field Services, Sales Engineering and Product Management to ensure performance, reliability, and value for utility infrastructure products.

Ideal candidates combine strong technical leadership with deep domain knowledge in composite poles, manufacturing, and customer-driven

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering.
• 7+ years of engineering experience in utility infrastructure or related fields.
• 2+ years of leadership, supervisory, or team lead experience.
• Ability to interpret customer specifications, engineering standards, and technical requirements.
• Strong problem-solving skills with root cause analysis experience.
• Excellent communication with technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop the product engineering team.
• Set engineering priorities aligned with company strategy and customer needs.
• Foster innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead development of new composite pole and structural products.
• Drive improvements in reliability, durability, and installation efficiency.
• Evaluate emerging materials and manufacturing methods.
• Oversee validation, testing, qualification, and product release.
• Serve as technical escalation point for customers and internal teams.
• Partner with customers on application requirements, loading conditions, and system hardening.
• Support reliability strategies that reduce outage risk and improve grid resiliency.
• Align engineering priorities with Sales, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Support commercialization from concept through field deployment.
• Provide engineering input on proposals, specs, and growth initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication

Problem solving

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Our client manufactures high-performance composite utility poles for transmission, distribution, substation, and communication applications — a lighter, more durable alternative to wood, steel, and concrete. Since 2003, they've served 500+ customers in 30 countries.

Position Overview

We're seeking a Product Engineering Manager to lead and scale a newly formed Product Engineering department, owning the full product lifecycle — new development, enhancements, engineering change management, field performance evaluation, and technical support. The role partners closely with Manufacturing, Field Services, Sales Engineering, Product Management, and utility customers to ensure products deliver on performance, reliability, and value.

Ideal candidates pair strong technical leadership with deep knowledge of utility infrastructure, structural products, manufacturing, and customer-driven innovation.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop the product engineering team
• Set engineering priorities aligned with company strategy and customer needs
• Foster innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Lead development of new composite pole and structural products
• Drive improvements in reliability, durability, and installation efficiency
• Evaluate emerging materials and manufacturing methods
• Oversee validation, testing, qualification, and product release

Customer & Field Support

• Serve as technical escalation point for customers and internal teams
• Partner with customers on application requirements, loading conditions, and system hardening
• Support reliability strategies that reduce outage risk and improve grid resiliency

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Align engineering priorities with Sales, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain
• Support commercialization from concept through field deployment
• Provide engineering input on proposals, specs, and growth initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering
• 7+ years of engineering experience in utility infrastructure, structural products, composites, engineered materials, or related industries
• 2+ years of leadership, supervisory, or technical team lead experience
• Ability to interpret customer specifications, engineering standards, and technical requirements
• Strong problem-solving skills with experience in root cause analysis and corrective action processes
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with electric utility transmission or distribution structures
• Knowledge of composite materials, fiberglass-reinforced polymer products, or pultruded structural components
• Familiarity with NESC requirements, utility pole loading, framing practices, and distribution construction standards
• Experience supporting product commercialization, design validation, testing, and manufacturing scale-up
• Experience working directly with utility customers or infrastructure owners
• Knowledge of reliability-centered design, storm hardening, grid resiliency, or asset lifecycle strategies