Associate Director, Engineering – West Coast

Image Engineering•Valencia, CA

2h•Onsite

About The Position

Image Engineering was founded as a company that pushes boundaries, develops new ideas through design and fabrication, and is a leader in the visual display and special effects industry. We are a team of artists, engineers,event producers, fabricators and creative thinkers who deliver experiences that move audiences. We’ve executed thousands of projects across live entertainment, sports and large-scale events, creating permanent and temporary interactive installations for world-class venues and partners. Building on our heritage in lasers, projection, lighting, automation and practical effects, we continue to scale our engineering and fabrication capabilities to deliver complex, reliable, and safe solutions from concept through build. The Associate Director, Engineering – West Coast oversees the West Coast engineering team at our Valencia, CA office, ensuring technical excellence, operational efficiency, and client satisfaction across all phases—from early design and quoting through fabrication, testing, and delivery. This leader will partner closely with the Director of Engineering and the Associate Director, Engineering – East Coast to align standards, processes, and strategy across regions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Structural, Electrical, Systems, or related engineering discipline.
8+ years of engineering experience with increasing responsibility.
3+ years leading engineers or cross-functional teams.
Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining quality.
Excellent communication and leadership skills.
Proficiency with modern CAD and documentation workflows; familiarity with PDM/PLM preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience collaborating with fabrication/manufacturing teams.
Background in specialty fabrication, live events/experiential, or themed entertainment engineering.
Experience defining and monitoring engineering team or departmental KPIs.
Experience with Lean or other continuous-improvement methodologies.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop the West Coast–based engineering team; set priorities, remove roadblocks, and model best-in-class technical direction.
Participate in and lead internal/external design reviews.
Collaborate with East Coast engineering leadership to standardize methods, tools, and expectations.
Review engineering designs in progress and prior to client submission to ensure accuracy, feasibility, and compliance with necessary standards.
Review complete deliverable packages (models, drawings, calculations, BoMs) before submission for quality and alignment.
Contribute to project deliverables when needed.
Maintain project budgets, schedules, and oversee resource planning, forecasting, and prioritization.
Coordinate with the West Coast Project Management team and ensure strong cross-departmental coordination.
Assist Director, Engineering Operations with preparation of accurate and competitive project quotes and engineering estimates
Support financial performance through value-engineering approaches and efficient resource allocation
Collaborate with Fabrication early in the process to ensure designs meet requirements for manufacturability, structural integrity, and efficient production
Validate build strategies and QA checkpoints to reduce rework and meet production timelines
Champion CAD standards, documentation quality, and engineering change control
Support implementation and optimization of PDM/PLM systems for data integrity and version control
Drive continuous improvement initiatives that streamline engineering, PM, and fabrication workflows
Represent the company in client meetings and technical reviews as necessary
Communicate scope, risks, schedules, and engineering implications clearly to internal stakeholders and clients.
Proactively manage change, identify risks, and maintain alignment with client expectations
Work closely with engineering leadership across regions to align on strategy and efficiency creation
Establish processes that ensure consistency, predictability, and clarity for partner teams
Develop, track, and report departmental KPIs to drive continuous improvement for direct reports.
Ensure engineering work meets the highest safety and regulatory standards.
Promote safety-by-design across all engineering phases.
Partner with PM, Fabrication, Field, and Compliance teams to conduct risk assessments and verify design compliance.