Job Description
Job Description
Job Title: Director of Manufacturing Engineering
Job Description
The Director of Manufacturing Engineering leads a multi-functional engineering organization with a strong focus on people leadership, team development, and operational excellence. This role oversees manufacturing engineering operations, including a small machine shop and tooling function, and ensures the team is structured, developed, and aligned to meet production and strategic business goals. The Director balances technical engineering credibility with strong leadership, coaching, and business acumen to drive performance, continuous improvement, and alignment with broader business strategy in a regulated, quality-driven environment.
Responsibilities
- Lead and manage a team of approximately 15 professionals, including manufacturing engineers, tooling and machine shop staff, and technicians.
- Allocate engineering resources effectively and prioritize work across multiple programs to meet production schedules and strategic objectives.
- Drive team performance by setting clear expectations, creating accountability, and building capability within the manufacturing engineering organization.
- Establish the vision, organizational structure, and operating rhythm for the department to support consistent, high-quality execution.
- Partner closely with cross-functional teams, including production and other operational groups, to support production demands and customer needs in a highly regulated environment.
- Oversee capital planning activities, including evaluating needs, supporting business cases, and contributing to broader business strategy and long-term planning.
- Implement continuous improvement and process optimization initiatives using structured problem-solving, lean principles, and data-driven decision-making.
- Lead and support root cause analysis and corrective action activities to resolve manufacturing issues and prevent recurrence.
- Develop, maintain, and regularly update a skills matrix for the team to identify strengths, gaps, and development opportunities.
- Create and execute talent development plans to build a strong pipeline of future leaders and technical experts within the organization.
- Assess individual strengths and weaknesses and align roles and responsibilities to maximize team effectiveness and engagement.
- Set direction with confidence, make timely decisions, and drive follow-through to ensure initiatives and projects reach completion.
- Establish and foster a collaborative, high-performance culture characterized by trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Lead the function with ownership and autonomy, minimizing reliance on executive-level validation while maintaining alignment with organizational goals.
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels, providing clear updates on priorities, performance, risks, and improvement initiatives.
Essential Skills
- Strong people leadership experience, with 3–5+ years of managing teams in an engineering or manufacturing environment.
- Manufacturing engineering background in a regulated, quality-driven environment, such as aerospace, defense, or similar industries.
- Proven ability to conduct root cause analysis and implement effective corrective actions to address manufacturing and process issues.
- Solid business acumen, including experience with capital planning, budgeting, and big-picture strategic thinking.
- Demonstrated experience allocating resources and leading through others to deliver on project and program objectives.
- Experience working with project budgets and managing engineering efforts within financial and schedule constraints.
- background in aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated industries with strong compliance requirements.
- Familiarity with lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (required).
- Approximately 8–10 years of engineering experience with clear progression into leadership roles.
- Industry experience in highly regulated, compliance-driven environments with a strong focus on quality and process control.
- Demonstrated job stability and a track record of long-term impact in prior roles.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Engineering or a related field (preferred).
- Experience in composites manufacturing.
- background in aerospace or advanced manufacturing; medical device experience is also considered relevant.
- Lean and continuous improvement expertise, with Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification preferred.
- Familiarity with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, NX, and CATIA.
- Experience using basic statistical tools such as Minitab for data analysis and process improvement.
- Strong leadership development skills, including coaching, mentoring, and building high-performing teams.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to influence, present a clear point of view, and align stakeholders.
- Ability to make decisions confidently, set direction, and ensure follow-through in a dynamic environment.
Work Environment
The role operates in a fast-paced, evolving manufacturing environment within a highly regulated and quality-focused industry. The Director leads a multi-functional engineering team that supports production operations and a small machine shop/tooling function, working closely with cross-functional partners to meet customer and production demands. The organization offers a 9/80 work schedule, providing an adjusted workweek structure, and the position is eligible for an annual bonus. The culture emphasizes collaboration, accountability, and high performance, with an expectation of strong communication, clear direction-setting, and a sense of urgency and ownership. The environment values continuous improvement, lean practices, and data-driven decision-making, and uses modern engineering tools such as CAD and statistical analysis software to support manufacturing excellence.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of San Diego, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $190000.00 - $210000.00/yr.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in San Diego,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Jul 6, 2026.
About Actalent
Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.
The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.