Director, Engineering Process Definition & Improvement

Forgent•Dayton, MN

About The Position

The Director, Engineering Process Definition & Improvement owns and continuously improves Forgent Power’s end-to-end engineering process for switchgear and switchboard products, from quote and order entry through design, drawings, bill of materials release, and handoff to manufacturing. The director establishes consistent, documented, and measurable engineering practices across all sites to reduce rework, lead times, and quality escapes while supporting growth and protecting UL compliance. The role leads through a small central team and a network of site process owners. Direct reports include process/continuous-improvement engineers, engineering standards and documentation specialists, and an engineering systems analyst; team size is to be confirmed. The director also influences engineering managers and site process champions across Forgent sites. This leader approves enterprise engineering standards, templates, and process changes, and sets the improvement roadmap with @Dan Eslinger. They build a culture of standard work and continuous improvement, coach engineers in problem-solving, and develop successors and site champions. The position works in office and manufacturing-floor environments, where PPE is required on the floor, and involves regular travel between Forgent sites, up to 40%. Salary: $200,000–$225,000.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of engineering experience in electrical equipment or engineered-to-order manufacturing.
5+ years leading teams.
Proven record defining and deploying standard engineering processes across multiple sites or business units.
Hands-on Lean or continuous-improvement experience with measurable results.
Working knowledge of ECAD/MCAD, PLM/PDM, and ERP integration.
Systems thinking across the quote-to-production flow.
Ability to lead change and win adoption across sites without direct authority over every team.
Data-driven decision-making, including setting baselines, measuring, and reporting results honestly.
Clear communication, including writing standards and presenting to executives and shop-floor teams.
Ability to collaborate and build trust with Sales, Operations, Quality, and site leadership.
Ability to travel regularly between Forgent sites, up to 40%.
PPE is required when working on the manufacturing floor.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with UL and NEC requirements for low- and medium-voltage electrical equipment.
Experience with switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, or similar power distribution products.
Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification.
PMP or equivalent certification.
Experience leading ECAD or PLM implementations.
Experience with design automation or configure-to-order initiatives.
Master's degree or MBA.
Experience in a fast-growing, multi-site organization.

Responsibilities

Map, define, and document current- and future-state engineering workflows across all sites, from quote through release to production.
Establish enterprise standards for design rules, drawing packages, BOM structure, part numbering, naming conventions, and design reviews.
Own the engineering process library, including SOPs, work instructions, templates, checklists, and RACI for each stage.
Create and manage a controlled process for proposing, approving, and rolling out process changes.
Lead a prioritized improvement roadmap using Lean, Six Sigma, and value-stream methods to reduce engineering lead time, rework, and errors.
Conduct root-cause analysis and corrective action for engineering-driven escapes, ECOs, and field issues.
Drive design standardization and reuse through configurable designs, standard modules, and libraries to reduce custom engineering per order.
Partner with IT and engineering leaders to select, implement, and align ECAD/MCAD, PLM/PDM, ERP integration, configurator, and design-automation tools with the defined process.
Ensure data flows cleanly between engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing systems.
Embed UL and code requirements, including UL 891, UL 1558, and NEC, into design standards and review gates in partnership with Quality and the UL compliance lead.
Ensure processes support audit readiness and consistent documentation across sites.
Define and publish site-level and enterprise-wide engineering KPIs, and report progress to executive leadership.
Use data to identify bottlenecks, capacity constraints, and practices to replicate across sites.
Work with Sales/Applications, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Project Management to improve handoffs.
Serve as the single point of accountability for how engineering work moves through the business.
Lead process/CI engineers, engineering standards and documentation specialists, and an engineering systems analyst; influence engineering managers and site process champions.
Approve enterprise engineering standards, templates, and process changes, and set the improvement roadmap with @Dan Eslinger.
Build a culture of standard work and continuous improvement, coach engineers in problem-solving, and develop successors and site champions.