Design to Order Engineering Manager

Trane Italia•Grand Rapids, MI

11d•$110,900 - $157,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Design to Order Engineering Manager – HVAC will lead a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for delivering engineered-to-order HVAC solutions that meet unique customer, application, and project requirements. This first-level manager role is accountable for translating complex technical inputs from external stakeholders—including customers, suppliers, design firms, channel partners, and third-party engineering resources—into clear internal engineering requirements and executable deliverables. This leader will work closely with Manufacturing, Product Management, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, and Operations to ensure custom product solutions are technically sound, manufacturable, documented appropriately, and delivered on time. The ideal candidate brings strong HVAC engineering expertise, experience in design-to-order product environments, and a proven ability to lead people, manage change, and drive cross-functional execution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
5+ years of engineering experience in HVAC, thermal systems, refrigeration, custom equipment, or similar engineered product environments.
2+ years of leadership experience as a supervisor, team lead, project lead, or people manager in an engineering setting.
Demonstrated experience supporting custom, configured, or design-to-order product development and execution.
Experience translating external technical requirements into internal engineering actions, deliverables, and documentation.
Strong technical knowledge of HVAC systems and components, including system integration, performance considerations, and application-specific design factors.
Experience working with cross-functional teams in manufacturing or product-based environments.
Familiarity with engineering documentation, design control, engineering change processes, and product release practices.
Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholder groups.
Proven organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop a team of engineers supporting design-to-order HVAC products and customer-specific solutions.
Translate external technical requirements from customers, suppliers, design consultants, channel partners, and other third-party sources into actionable engineering specifications and internal work plans.
Oversee engineering execution for custom and configured HVAC products, ensuring alignment with performance, manufacturability, cost, quality, and delivery objectives.
Drive disciplined engineering processes related to documentation, design reviews, change management, and release readiness.
Partner cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Product Management, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, and Operations to support successful project execution and product delivery.
Ensure custom product designs are feasible to manufacture, service, support, and sustain in production environments.
Manage multiple concurrent priorities, schedules, and technical issues in a fast-paced, high-variation product environment.
Support issue resolution and design changes resulting from customer requests, field needs, supplier constraints, and evolving project requirements.
Promote strong engineering rigor in requirement definition, design validation, risk identification, and problem-solving.
Improve team effectiveness through talent development, performance management, workload prioritization, and continuous improvement efforts.
Ensure engineering outputs meet applicable quality expectations, industry standards, regulatory requirements, and internal design practices.
Foster a collaborative, accountable, and customer-focused team culture.