Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
10+ years of machine design experience, focusing on custom industrial machinery or complex automated systems.
5+ years of experience leading a team of engineering professionals.
Strong knowledge of machine design principles and manufacturing methods.
Advanced 3D CAD expertise, preferably in SolidWorks.
Experience in creating and implementing engineering standards and processes.
Ability to balance technical quality with project timelines and budgets.
Responsibilities
Lead and develop a high-performing Mechanical Engineering team.
Increase departmental performance against labor budgets by 5% annually.
Establish and improve mechanical engineering standards and best practices.
Oversee technical leadership for mechanical concepts and designs.
Review designs, ensuring alignment with customer specifications and safety standards.
Collaborate with other departments to enhance project execution and resource allocation.
Support projects across their lifecycle, from design to installation and testing.
Benefits
Employer-paid medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, including supplemental options.
Paid vacation, sick leave, and 10 holidays per year.
4% employer match in 401(k) contributions each pay period.
Generous parental leave.
Access to an Employee Assistance Program.
Full Job Description
Job Type
Full-time
Description
We are looking for a Mechanical Engineering Manager to lead our Mechanical Engineering team and take ownership of the department's people, performance, engineering standards, and technical execution.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands custom machine design, knows how to develop strong engineers, and can create the processes and standards that allow a growing engineering team to work efficiently without sacrificing quality.
What You'll Do
Lead & Develop the Mechanical Engineering Team
Lead, coach, and develop mechanical engineers and designers to improve individual and department performance.
Increase department performance against sold labor budgets by 5% each year
Plan and allocate engineering resources across projects based on priorities, schedules, workload, and technical requirements.
Set clear expectations and provide regular feedback, training, and performance reviews.
Participate in recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding new team members.
Build a collaborative team that communicates well, solves problems together, and takes ownership of results.
Own Mechanical Engineering Standards & Processes
Establish, maintain, and continuously improve SDC mechanical engineering standards and best practices.
Drive standardization and reuse of proven machine designs, components, assemblies, and engineering solutions where appropriate.
Maintain engineering libraries, design standards, documentation requirements, and release processes.
Improve department processes to increase engineering quality, accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.
Drive Technical Excellence
Provide technical leadership and oversight for mechanical concepts and detailed machine designs.
Work to build technical experts in various machine types to lean on for advanced technical support
Participate in and/or lead internal and customer design reviews.
Support design issues through machine assembly, debug, acceptance testing, installation, and startup.
Collaborate Across SDC
Work closely with Project Management to coordinate engineering schedules, priorities, project progress, and resource needs.
Collaborate with Controls Engineering, Manufacturing, Assembly, Sales, Applications Engineering, and other departments throughout the project lifecycle.
Support concept development and quoting for new projects as needed.
Represent Mechanical Engineering in management discussions and company-wide initiatives.
Requirements
What We're Looking For
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline.
10+ years of mechanical engineering/machine design experience, preferably designing custom industrial machinery or complex automated systems.
5+ years of experience leading or managing highly skilled engineering professionals preferred.
Strong knowledge of machine design principles, mechanical components, manufacturing methods, materials, and tolerancing.
Advanced experience with 3D CAD; SolidWorks strongly preferred.
Experience developing and implementing engineering standards, processes, and reusable design solutions.
Strong understanding of designing equipment for manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, reliability, and safety.
Ability to balance technical excellence with project schedules, budgets, and customer requirements.
Strong leadership, decision-making, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability and willingness to travel to support projects, up to 10%.
What Makes Someone Successful at SDC
We move quickly, work collaboratively, and expect people to take ownership of their work. You'll be successful here if you:
Work as a team. You communicate openly, support your coworkers, and understand that successful machines require collaboration across departments.
Take ownership. You follow through on commitments, address problems instead of passing them along, and hold yourself and your team accountable for results.
Move with urgency. You can make sound decisions with the information available and keep projects moving without unnecessary delays.
Stay flexible. Priorities can change quickly in custom automation, and you can adjust while keeping the bigger picture in focus.
Solve problems. You look beyond the obvious answer, challenge assumptions, and continuously look for a better way.
Lead with integrity and respect. You communicate directly, treat people well, and do what is right for the customer, your team, and SDC.
Care about the end result. Our goal isn't simply to complete engineering drawings-it is to deliver machines that work.
Why Join SDC?
At SDC, you'll have the opportunity to lead a talented engineering team working on technically challenging custom automation projects across a variety of industries. Our size gives us the resources to tackle sophisticated projects while maintaining the speed and agility of a family-owned company.
You'll have a meaningful voice in how the department operates, how we develop our people, and how we improve the way SDC designs and builds machines.
What We Offer
Competitive compensation based on experience and expertise.
Employer-paid medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options, plus supplemental insurance.
