Director of Engineering

Ameriscan Designs•Bellwood, IL

6d•$115,000 - $130,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Engineering provides strategic and technical leadership across our multi-site millwork, metals, stone and upholstery engineering and drafting departments. This role is responsible for unifying engineering workflows, improving efficiencies, standardizing CAD/CAM methodologies (e.g., Microvellum & Inventor), and ensuring that high-volume, custom projects are engineered with extreme precision, structural integrity, and manufacturability. Operating at both a strategic and technical level, you will manage local and offshore engineering and drafting teams supporting multiple fabrication facilities to guarantee seamless execution from shop drawings through manufacturing and installation. This position currently supports two manufacturing facilities in the Chicagoland area: SCI Custom (Rockdale, IL) and Ameriscan Designs (Bellwood, IL).

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or higher from a four-year college or university and/or a minimum of five (5) years related training.
Familiarity with scheduling resources based on production needs as well as the ability to coordinate with other departments both in office and production.
Knowledge of Epicor, Inergy, AutoCAD, Inventor, Solid CIM, Microvellum, Spreadsheet Software (Excel), Design Software, Word Processing Software (Word), Electronic Mail Software (Outlook), and presentation software (PowerPoint).
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Outstanding organizational and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

Oversee and align engineering, drafting, and programming operations across two manufacturing sites to ensure multi-site resource optimization.
Manage, mentor, and develop an effective and efficient high-performing team of regional and offshore engineers and drafters across multiple locations.
Implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) to harmonize engineering and drafting practices, ensuring a unified corporate output regardless of the fabrication site.
Establish and monitor engineering KPIs regarding submittal timelines, shop drawing accuracy, and engineering throughput.
Provide expert technical guidance on complex, custom architectural millwork, paneling systems, metals, upholstery, cabinetry, and specialized material integrations (e.g., metal, glass, solid surface).
Standardize and optimize, across the organization, the current CAD/CAM software (Microvellum, Inventor), while optimizing workflow and the digital flow of data directly to CNC machinery.
Oversee and improve the comprehensive shop drawing submittal process, ensuring structural feasibility, compliance with AWI (Architectural Woodwork Institute) standards, and timely client approvals.
Bridge the gap between sales, engineering and manufacturing, collaborating closely with Operations, Plant Managers, and Project Managers to troubleshoot fabrication constraints and improve speed-to-floor information.
Consult with the Top Management to align long-range multi-site engineering capabilities with enterprise-wide capacity and sales goals.
Drive value engineering initiatives to optimize manpower, raw material yields, simplify hardware applications, and reduce field installation labor.
Formulate and manage the annual multi-site engineering budget, including software licensing, capital expenditures for tech upgrades, and headcount planning.