Valve Engineering Director: Lead Design & Validation

Smith Valves; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Ladish Valves, based in Houston, seeks an Engineering Director to lead the full lifecycle of valve design and development, from customer spec to production release. You will set engineering strategy, mentor a multi-disciplinary team, and partner with Sales, Manufacturing and QA to deliver high‑reliability valve solutions.

This leadership role requires deep experience with multiple valve types, materials science, and advanced manufacturing processes, with a focus on design-for-manufacturability

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years of progressive engineering experience in valves or rotating equipment.
• Minimum 5 years in leadership or management.
• Hands-on experience with multiple valve types (gate, globe, ball, check, butterfly, needle, or specialty).
• Direct experience with valve testing protocols (API 598, ISO 5208, API 6D).
• Proven track record delivering custom engineered valve solutions for oil & gas, petrochemical, power, or chemical industries.
• Extensive knowledge of multiple alloy systems including carbon steel, stainless steel, duplex stainless, and nickel-based alloys.
• Hands-on background with precision lapping, seating surface finishing, or related machining processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end valve design across multiple valve types and ANSI classes.
• Develop and maintain design standards, calculations, and tolerances.
• Direct CAD/CAE usage to produce 3-D models and manufacturing packages.
• Enforce design-for-manufacturability and design-for-testability principles.
• Oversee engineering change management and documentation.
• Research and integrate new design methodologies and actuation systems.
• Act as primary interface with customers for non-standard configurations.
• Provide technical proposals and application analyses for Sales during quotes.
• Lead technical reviews with customers, inspectors, and end users.
• Manage ETO and major project engineering deliverables.
• Mentor and develop a multi-disciplinary engineering team; set performance objectives.

Skills

Leadership

CAD/CAE

FEA

P&ID reading

GD&T

Project management

Valve design

Communication

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (ABET)

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

AutoCAD

FEA software

Job description

Ladish Valves, based in Houston, seeks an Engineering Director to lead the full lifecycle of valve design and development, from customer spec to production release. You will set engineering strategy, mentor a multi-disciplinary team, and partner with Sales, Manufacturing and QA to deliver high‑reliability valve solutions.

This leadership role requires deep experience with multiple valve types, materials science, and advanced manufacturing processes, with a focus on design-for-manufacturability