Engineering Supervisor

Description

The Engineering Supervisor – Mechanical Design is responsible for leading and supervising a small team of approximately 2–4 Mechanical Design Engineers supporting the design, development, and execution of custom-engineered equipment and manufacturing projects. This position provides both technical and project leadership, ensuring engineering activities are completed accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with established project requirements, schedules, budgets, quality standards, and customer expectations.

The Engineering Supervisor will serve as a key interface between Engineering, Project Management, Manufacturing, Sales, Service, and customers. The position requires a hands-on engineering leader who is comfortable managing multiple projects simultaneously while providing technical guidance and maintaining accountability for project deliverables and timelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise, mentor, and provide technical direction to a team of 2–4 Mechanical Design Engineers.
• Manage engineering activities and deliverables associated with multiple custom-engineered projects.
• Establish, monitor, and maintain engineering project schedules, milestones, and timelines.
• Coordinate engineering priorities and resources to ensure projects remain on schedule.
• Interface directly with customers to understand technical requirements, resolve design issues, communicate project status, and support engineering-related discussions.
• Participate in and lead internal and external design reviews, including design presentations, technical reviews, and customer approval meetings.
• Review engineering drawings, models, calculations, specifications, and other technical documentation for accuracy, completeness, manufacturability, and compliance with project requirements.
• Provide technical oversight and approval of mechanical designs prior to release for fabrication or production.
• Coordinate engineering activities with manufacturing, fabrication, electrical, controls, piping, and other internal and external disciplines.
• Support the development of custom equipment and systems within a fabrication/manufacturing environment, with significant emphasis on sheet-metal design and fabrication.
• Utilize Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Vault for 3D modeling, mechanical design, drawing development, document control, and engineering data management.
• Apply and review Finite Element Analysis (FEA) as required to validate mechanical designs and structural integrity.
• Perform or oversee engineering calculations related to mechanical systems, including piping, hydraulics, heating, refrigeration, and thermal systems.
• Provide engineering support throughout the entire project lifecycle, from initial concept and design through fabrication, assembly, installation, commissioning, and final customer acceptance.
• Identify potential design, manufacturing, schedule, and technical risks and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with manufacturing and fabrication personnel to ensure designs are practical, cost-effective, and suitable for production.
• Review and resolve engineering changes, field issues, non-conformances, and customer-requested modifications.
• Maintain appropriate engineering documentation, revision control, and project records.
• Establish and promote engineering standards, design practices, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure engineering work is performed in accordance with applicable codes, standards, company procedures, and customer specifications.
• Assist management with estimating engineering effort, project resource requirements, and technical project planning.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline from an accredited university.
• Demonstrated experience leading or supervising mechanical design engineers, preferably within a custom equipment or engineered-to-order manufacturing environment.
• Strong working knowledge of Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD.
• Familiarity with AutoCAD Vault or comparable engineering document/data management systems.
• Experience with FEA analysis and interpretation of FEA results.
• Proven experience in a custom fabrication/manufacturing environment, particularly one involving substantial sheet-metal fabrication and formed/welded assemblies.
• Working knowledge of mechanical systems, including:
  • Piping and fluid systems
  • Hydraulics
  • Electro-mechanical systems
  • Heating and thermal systems
  • Refrigeration systems
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, schematics, P&IDs, and manufacturing documentation.
• Strong understanding of mechanical design principles, fabrication processes, materials, tolerances, and manufacturability.
• Demonstrated project management and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and customer-facing communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with engineering, manufacturing, project management, sales, service, vendors, subcontractors, and customers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineering (PE) license or progress toward licensure.
• Experience designing custom industrial equipment or engineered-to-order systems.
• Experience with pressure-containing systems, process equipment, industrial cleaning systems, or similar custom machinery.
• Experience developing equipment incorporating sheet-metal enclosures, structural frames, tanks, piping, pumps, heat exchangers, refrigeration, hydraulics, and electro-mechanical components.
• Experience with engineering standards and applicable ASME, NFPA, OSHA, ANSI, or other industry standards.
• Experience with ERP, MRP, PLM, or other manufacturing/project management systems.
• Previous experience managing engineering projects from concept through fabrication, installation, commissioning, and customer acceptance.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on mechanical engineering leader who combines strong design and fabrication knowledge with effective project management and customer-facing skills. The successful candidate will be comfortable working in a fast-paced, custom manufacturing environment where projects require practical engineering judgment, problem-solving, and close coordination between engineering and manufacturing.

The candidate should be capable of moving seamlessly between 3D mechanical design, engineering calculations, project scheduling, customer meetings, design reviews, and the manufacturing floor. A strong understanding of how mechanical designs translate into real-world fabrication is essential, particularly with respect to sheet-metal components, welded assemblies, piping, hydraulics, and electro-mechanical systems.

Strong leadership, accountability, attention to detail, communication skills, and the ability to effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines are critical to success in this position.

Core Competencies

• Mechanical Engineering & Design
• Engineering Team Leadership
• Project Management
• Custom Equipment Design
• Sheet-Metal Design & Fabrication
• Autodesk Inventor & AutoCAD
• AutoCAD Vault
• FEA / Structural Analysis
• Piping & Fluid Systems
• Hydraulics
• Electro-Mechanical Systems
• Heating & Thermal Calculations
• Refrigeration Calculations
• Design Reviews
• Customer Interface & Technical Support
• Manufacturing & Fabrication
• Engineering Documentation & Revision Control
• Problem Solving & Root-Cause Analysis
• Schedule & Resource Management
• Cross-Functional Leadership