Company Background
Our client is a privately owned manufacturer of commercial food service equipment. They are an industry leader with over $300M in annual revenue, providing a range of American-made equipment solutions to a large portfolio of B2B customers and accounts. 2025 marks their centennial, and they are expanding commercial operations to meet their 5-year growth goals.
The Position
The Engineering Manager is a hands-on leadership role, combining technical oversight, project management, and people development. You will be overseeing a team of 7+ engineers, designers, and specialists to spearhead full-cycle New Product Development (NPD) initiatives for their refrigeration and heating appliance portfolio. You’ll guide the team through all phases of product development—from concept and prototyping to testing and launch—while driving engineering excellence and cross-functional collaboration. This position reports to the Director of NPD.
Primary responsibilities include:
- Leading a cross-functional NPD team focused on electromechanical systems and appliance design.
- Managing a portfolio of projects, including direct ownership of complex development efforts.
- Guiding mechanical system layout and 3D CAD modeling (SolidWorks preferred), emphasizing refrigeration and heating technologies.
- Overseeing prototype design, build, and testing, including writing and executing test plans, analyzing results, and recommending improvements.
- Ensuring quality standards across materials, tolerances, and manufacturability for components and systems.
- Collaborating with technicians, supply chain, and manufacturing teams during prototype builds and production ramp-up.
- Supporting ERP activities, engineering change orders, BOM accuracy, and final design releases.
- Serving as both a technical mentor and advisor, while occasionally acting as technical lead on key projects.
- Working directly in the lab and conducting factory visits as needed.
Qualifications and Candidate Background
The ideal candidate will have:
- ABET-accredited Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- 8+ years of mechanical engineering design experience, with 3+ years of team management or supervisory experience.
- Mastery in design software tools (3-D SolidWorks, CAD, or anything related).
- Experience in refrigeration products and electro-mechanical systems is a nice-to-have.
- Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.
Location
This is a full-time position based in St. Louis, MO.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: $120,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Will you now, or in the future, require visa sponsorship?
Work Location: In person
