Mechanical Engineering Manager

Job Overview:

Turn post-R&D concepts into shipped products. Our Client needs a Mechanical Engineering Manager to lead new product development from concept maturity through detailed design, validation, pilot builds, and production release. The work is hands-on, owning toll gates, confirming readiness at each stage, and staying engaged through pilot and initial production to lock in performance, quality, and cost. Production readiness and clean handoff are core to the job

This manager leads the NPD engineering team and partners daily with Production, Quality, Procurement, electrical, and software groups, working directly with the Founder and CTO. The team is accountable through pilot and initial production, then provides ongoing product engineering support after transfer. Expect a mix of leadership and sleeves-up problem solving, from line setup and tooling to training production personnel. Location and work model will be discussed with qualified candidates

Job Responsibilities:

• Run the NPD engineering group, assign ownership, set priorities and timelines, and define deliverables for each stage
• Take charge of moving work from R&D into product development, lock requirements, confirm concept maturity, map risks, and build a realistic work plan
• Turn product goals into an executable engineering roadmap that covers detailed design, prototype builds, verification, supplier preparation, pilot runs, and final release to production
• Mechanical engineering is coordinated with electrical, software, and other cross-functional teams
• Stay hands-on in design reviews, tackle hard technical issues, and make the calls on major engineering choices
• Develop engineers through coaching, clear feedback, performance management, and growing ownership of subsystems
• Define and operate the phase gates from R&D handoff through design release, validation, pilot builds, and the final move into Production
• With the CTO and partner departments, define per-gate deliverables, acceptance criteria, and objective evidence
• Do not advance a phase until performance, reliability, manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, and cost have been checked and any gaps closed
• Decisions are backed by calculations, test data, inspections, and build feedback
• Maintain an issue list, assign owners with due dates, and verify fixes are complete before approving the next stage
• Escalate major risks, requirements changes, and exceptions to the CTO promptly
• Lead production capability setup with Production, including line setup and launch
• Create the build sequence and specify station layouts, material flow, staffing levels, and required equipment
• Take ownership for designing or specifying fixtures, jigs, tooling, programming stations, calibration gear, and functional test setups
• Define practical assembly methods, target cycle times, and process controls that match the forecasted volumes
• Partner with Quality to choose inspection locations, spell out acceptance rules, set traceability needs, and control critical characteristics
• Ensure processes support operator safety, ergonomics, mistake-proofing, and ease of training
• Direct engineering support during pilot runs, surface bottlenecks and failure modes, and put fixes in place ahead of the ramp
• Teach Production staff the essential assembly, adjustment, calibration, and test procedures
• Provide the full release package, covering approved drawings, BOMs, specifications, revision history, assembly work instructions, plus inspection and test requirements
• Confirm components, supplier signoffs, tooling, equipment, and technical documents are in place for production start
• Agree with Production and Quality on explicit handoff criteria, then obtain their signoff that the line is production ready
• Make sure Production has the instructions, tools and equipment, and training needed to build and test on their own
• During early builds, close out engineering problems and feed shop-floor feedback into controlled design or process updates
• Once the line is stable against agreed criteria, hand day-to-day manufacturing over to Production and continue to provide product engineering support

Job Requirements:

• Track record of moving products from completed R&D or functional prototypes all the way to production release
• Experience running NPI efforts, managing pilot builds, and handing off to a manufacturing or production team
• Direct experience standing up assembly lines and workstations, and developing fixtures, tooling, and product test systems
• Background writing production documentation and teaching assembly or manufacturing teams
• Ability to assess production readiness using build results such as quality, repeatability, cycle time, and remaining issues