Director of Product Engineering

CAMCO MANUFACTURING LLC•Greensboro, NC

37d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Product Engineering leads the engineering team responsible for bringing Camco's new product pipeline from validated brief through to production-ready launch. This is a hands-on leadership role — equal parts organizational structure builder, project execution driver, and technical integrator. The Director of Product Engineering reports directly to the SVP of Engineering & Product Development and works in close partnership with the Director of Product Management (PM is upstream — discovery and brief) and Director of Product Implementation (downstream — launch execution and post-launch support).

Requirements

10+ years of engineering or product development experience, including at least 5 years in a people leadership role managing a team of engineers
Demonstrated track record of executing engineered solutions to meet commercial & manufacturing objectives.
Experience bringing physical consumer products from engineering concept through production release, including tooling, first-article validation, and production launch
Proven ability to manage a portfolio of simultaneous projects at different development stages without losing discipline on any of them
Strong cross-functional leadership skills: able to work effectively with Product Management, Operations, QA, Purchasing, Sales, and Marketing
Experience managing overseas and domestic manufacturing partners on tooling, production processes, component validation, and quality control
Analytical and data-driven: comfortable with KPI development, milestone tracking, and portfolio-level reporting
Excellent communication and presentation skills — able to translate technical complexity for commercial audiences and vice versa
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Product Design, or related engineering field
Experience with DFM/DFA methodologies and production cost optimization

Nice To Haves

Experience in RV, marine, automotive, or adjacent outdoor recreation product categories
Familiarity with relevant industry standards and certifications: RVIA, CSA, UL, CARB, and related international standards
Experience managing engineering compliance as a proactive, systems-based discipline across multiple product categories
Familiarity with PLM systems and structured technical documentation frameworks
Experience working with a dedicated product management function — receiving product briefs, negotiating requirements, and maintaining PM/engineering alignment throughout the development cycle
Track record of building or significantly improving an engineering team's capability profile through hiring, development, and culture change
MBA or advanced degree in a relevant field
Experience with IP portfolio development in partnership with legal or IP management functions

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of product engineers — currently spanning design engineers, product engineers, product integrity manager, and compliance manager
Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance reviews, and structured development conversations with each team member
Build and maintain a clear understanding of each engineer's capability profile and career trajectory; align project assignments accordingly
Identify talent gaps and make the organizational case for resources as needed
Foster a collaborative, execution-focused team culture grounded in accountability, technical rigor, and continuous improvement
Implement workflows to align with the structured stage-gate product development process across the full engineering portfolio
Ensure PM discovery and product brief completion precede engineering engagement on every project — no design cycles begin without a validated brief
Own engineering milestone tracking across the active portfolio: design completion, prototype availability, first article validation, tooling release, and production readiness
Establish and maintain engineering standards, design guidelines, and best practices across the team
Implement and continuously improve technical documentation processes — work instructions, design history files, and production specifications
Build realistic, detailed project timelines for every active engineering project, with clear milestones and owner accountability at each stage
Proactively surface risks — design feasibility, tooling complexity, supplier readiness, regulatory requirements — and drive resolution before they impact timelines
Manage the engineering portfolio with visibility: regular portfolio reviews, milestone tracking, and escalation of blockers to leadership with solution options, not status reports
Coordinate engineering resources across simultaneous projects in different development stages, balancing team capacity against pipeline demands
Maintain first-article validation discipline: no product advances to commercial commitment without engineering-validated first articles in hand
Build robust testing protocols & methodologies to validate designs for both production implementation and consumer experience.
Partner with the Director of Product Management to receive and refine product briefs, negotiate requirements, and maintain commercial alignment throughout the engineering cycle
Collaborate with the Director of Product Implementation and the Product Integrity Manager to ensure post-launch consumer feedback, field quality issues, and engineering change requests are actioned through the ECR/ECO/ECN process
Partner with Operations, Purchasing, and QA on supplier qualification, incoming quality control (IQC), DFM/DFA review, and production readiness
Support Sales and Marketing with technical product expertise for customer presentations, trade shows, and dealer/OEM engagement
Serve as the engineering representative in cross-functional leadership discussions on pipeline prioritization, resource allocation, and capacity planning
Lead Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) reviews for all new product designs, with active participation from Operations and Purchasing
Manage engineering relationships with overseas and domestic manufacturing partners — including tooling development, production trials, and quality validation
Establish and oversee product testing protocols and quality standards; ensure each product meets performance, durability, and safety specifications before production release
Drive cost reduction and value engineering initiatives across the existing portfolio without compromising product quality or consumer experience
Ensure engineering specifications, production documentation, and supplier quality requirements are complete and accurate before production release
Own engineering compliance as a proactive, forward-looking discipline — not a reactive response to regulatory requirements
Build or strengthen a compliance function that operates with enterprise-integrated, systems-based regulatory awareness across all applicable product categories (RVIA, CSA, UL, CARB, and relevant international standards)
Ensure all new and modified products meet applicable regulatory requirements before production release
Monitor the regulatory landscape across Camco's product categories and proactively identify requirements that will affect future product development
Partner with the IP Manager on product IP strategy and ensure engineering outputs support Camco's IP portfolio development
Define and track engineering KPIs: on-time milestone delivery, stage-gate progression rate, first-article cycle time, defect rates, and cost-to-target performance
Report portfolio status, risks, and resource needs to the SVP of Engineering & Product Development on a regular cadence
Support the NPD pipeline planning process with engineering capacity data, project complexity assessments, and realistic timeline inputs