Senior Director, Applications Engineering

Ellaway Blues Consulting; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Ellaway Blues Consulting is seeking a Senior Director of Applications Engineering to lead and grow a hands-on team in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. The role balances people leadership with deep technical involvement, acting as the senior technical interface for key customer programs and driving commercial alignment.

You will mentor engineers, oversee quotations and prototype activities, and partner with engineering, operations and commercial teams to advance growth initiatives while

Qualifications

• Experience leading applications engineering teams in manufacturing environments.
• Strong balance of technical capability with commercial awareness.
• Proven ability to mentor and develop technical talent.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing a team of applications engineers.
• Acting as the senior technical interface for key customer programs.
• Supporting quotations, prototype activities and commercialization efforts.
• Working closely with engineering, operations and commercial functions.
• Prioritizing projects and resources to support business objectives.
• Driving continuous improvement and best practices across the team.
• Mentoring and developing technical talent.
• Supporting long-term growth initiatives and strategic programs.

Job description

We are currently supporting an advanced manufacturing business in the appointment of a Senior Director of Applications Engineering to lead and develop a growing team. This is a player-coach environment, and the successful individual will be expected to remain technically involved whilst also providing leadership and direction across the group. The team acts as the bridge between customers, commercial functions and manufacturing operations, helping ensure products are developed in a way that is both technically sound and commercially viable.

The position offers a good blend of leadership, customer interaction and technical problem solving and would suit somebody who enjoys building teams whilst staying close to the engineering.

Key responsibilities:

• Leading and developing a team of applications engineers
• Acting as the senior technical interface for key customer programs
• Supporting quotations, prototype activities and commercialization efforts
• Working closely with engineering, operations and commercial functions
• Prioritizing projects and resources to support business objectives
• Driving continuous improvement and best practices across the team
• Mentoring and developing technical talent
• Supporting long-term growth initiatives and strategic programs

From a profile perspective, we're interested in individuals with previous engineering leadership experience within manufacturing environments. Backgrounds in applications engineering, product engineering, advanced materials, magnetic materials or precision manufacturing would all be of interest. We're looking for somebody who combines strong technical capability with commercial awareness and people leadership. Previous customer-facing experience is important, along with the ability to balance technical requirements with the realities of manufacturing.

This is a strong opportunity for somebody who enjoys building teams and solving problems rather than managing from a distance. The business is investing heavily in growth and technology, but the culture remains practical and engineering driven. You'll be given plenty of autonomy, but with that comes accountability and the expectation that you'll remain hands-on and visible within the organization.