The Director of Fiberglass Engineering serves as the senior engineering leader and as a member of the Fiberglass Operations Leadership team, responsible for the overall fiberglass engineering strategy, technical direction, and performance of fiberglass swimming pools manufacturing operations across Latham. This role provides leadership for manufacturing and process engineering, mold and tooling engineering, product industrialization with product build design prints and schedule, capital and capacity engineering, operational excellence, and technology and automation initiatives.
The Director develops and executes engineering strategies that improve safety, quality, throughput, productivity, scalability, and profitability while supporting long-term business growth. Working closely with Operations, Product Management, Supply Chain, Quality, Lean Manufacturing, and Executive Leadership, this position ensures manufacturing processes, tooling assets, capital investments, and emerging technologies are aligned to support operational performance and future business requirements.
This leader is responsible for establishing engineering standards, building organizational capability, driving continuous improvement, and leading the adoption of manufacturing technologies that enhance competitiveness, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction across all fiberglass manufacturing facilities.
Responsibilities:Engineering Strategy & Leadership- Develop and execute a multi-year engineering strategy aligned with company growth objectives and operational priorities.
- Provide leadership, direction, and development for engineering teams across fiberglass operations.
- Establish engineering standards, governance processes, and best practices across all manufacturing facilities.
- Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and continuous learning.
- Partner with executive leadership to identify risks, opportunities, and long-term manufacturing requirements.
Manufacturing & Process Engineering- Lead manufacturing and process engineering activities to improve safety, quality, productivity, throughput, and operational performance.
- Establish and maintain process standards, manufacturing specifications, and engineering controls across fiberglass operations.
- Drive improvements in cycle time, yield, labor productivity, process capability, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Support plant operations through root cause analysis, corrective actions, and implementation of sustainable process improvements.
- Standardize manufacturing processes and share best practices across facilities.
Product, Mold & Tooling Engineering- Develop and execute mold and tooling strategies supporting current and future manufacturing requirements.
- Provide leadership for tooling design standards, lifecycle management, maintenance strategies, replacement planning, utilization optimization, and capacity planning.
- Support new product development through design-for-manufacturability (DFM), tooling development, and manufacturing readiness activities.
- Ensure successful industrialization of new products through process validation, capability studies, trial builds, and production launch support.
- Partner with Operations to ensure smooth transition from product development to full-scale production.
Capital & Capacity Engineering- Develop long-range capital plans supporting growth, productivity improvements, modernization efforts, and operational excellence initiatives.
- Lead capacity modeling and analysis to identify manufacturing constraints, bottlenecks, and future resource requirements.
- Manage engineering-related capital projects from concept development through design, installation, commissioning, startup, and post-implementation support and ROI validation.
- Validate project results through performance measurement, cost savings analysis, and return-on-investment (ROI) tracking.
- Ensure engineering resources and infrastructure support current and future production demands.
Operational Excellence- Support Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and continuous improvement initiatives across fiberglass operations.
- Lead and support identification and execution of value engineering initiatives utilizing design or manufacturing process improvements which delivers gross margin improvements while enhancing customer value.
- Utilize performance data and analytics to drive decision-making and continuous process improvement.
- Champion a culture of accountability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement throughout the engineering organization.
Technology & Automation- Develop and execute automation and advanced manufacturing strategies supporting long-term business objectives.
- Evaluate and implement robotics, machine vision, industrial automation, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, and Industry 4.0 technologies.
- Partner with Operations and IT to leverage manufacturing data for predictive analytics, process optimization, and operational decision-making.
- Establish engineering standards for automation architecture, control systems, and technology integration.
- Identify emerging technologies that improve safety, quality, productivity, scalability, and sustainability.
Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in engineering required; advanced degree preferred
- 10+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience in manufacturing.
- Strong knowledge of composites, fiberglass manufacturing, materials science, and product development.
- Experience leading automation, robotics, controls engineering, or advanced manufacturing initiatives.
- Knowledge of Industry 4.0 technologies, Industrial IoT(IIoT), smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and machine vision systems.
- Experience with PLCs, industrial controls, manufacturing execution systems (MES), ERP integration, and data analytics platforms preferred.
- Demonstrated success leading plant automation projects with measurable ROI.
- Strong understanding of capital project management and technology implementation within manufacturing environments.
- Excellent leadership, business acumen, and communication skills.
