Engineering & Product Design Manager (heavy gauge)
Oct 27, 2026
- Heavy-Gauge Thermoforming Design Engineering Leader with 25+ years of experience in engineering, product design, tooling, and manufacturing, with a strong understanding of what it takes to bring new products to market.
- He’s the go-to SME for all things product tooling and design. He understands the full life cycle of a project, from concept and customer requirements through tooling, assembly, and manufacturing. He doesn’t just hand off a design and move on – he stays involved to help make sure it works.
- He brings engineering and manufacturing together. Along with leading new product and tooling projects, he supports technical sales, develops assembly fixtures, works with suppliers, and partners with production to improve processes, throughput, and profitability. He knows the technical side of the business and how it translates to the manufacturing floor.
- Key strengths include:
- Heavy-gauge thermoforming, product design, tooling, and new product development.
- Engineering project leadership, CAD/CAM, CNC programming, and mold shop oversight.
- Assembly fixtures, robotic trim fixtures, and manufacturing process improvement.
- Technical sales support, customer collaboration, estimating, and project costing.
- Cross-functional leadership, supplier negotiations, budgeting, and production support.
- Why Now? A change in senior leadership is creating some uncertainty, and he is confidentially exploring his options. He wants to get ahead of potential changes that may be outside his control. He’s not looking to make a move just for the sake of making one, but he is open to the right opportunity.
- He is flexible when it comes to scope and title. Engineering Manager, Design Engineering Manager, and Director-level roles could all make sense, depending on the organization and its needs. His strongest experience is in tooling and product design, but he brings quite a bit more than upstream engineering – he understands how to carry a project through manufacturing and support the team making it happen. He is based in the Midwest and would reluctantly consider relocation for an exceptional opportunity.
- If you need a heavy-gauge thermoforming engineering leader who can connect product design and tooling with the realities of manufacturing, please reach out! I’d love to put you together!