Manager, CAD

Wabash•Lafayette, IN

5d•Onsite

About The Position

As a CAD Manager, you will work on a variety of high-impact initiatives spanning team leadership, technology modernization, and new capability development in support of Wabash's engineering and business growth objectives. Activities include modernizing CAD processes and modeling standards, leading the transition from Cideon to SAP ECTR, establishing data governance standards, and building net-new capabilities in product configuration and ecommerce 3D visualization. This is a newly created role with a clear transformation mandate -- you will set direction and lead a team while also being hands-on in the tools when it matters. This position will collaborate cross-functionally with product engineering, manufacturing, IT, sales, and ecommerce teams to ensure CAD data and automation capabilities are aligned with and actively enabling broader business goals.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a closely related discipline
5+ years of professional experience in a CAD-intensive engineering environment, with at least 2 years in a leadership or supervisory capacity
Expert-level proficiency in SOLIDWORKS, including part, assembly, and drawing environments
Hands-on experience with SAP-integrated CAD/document management environments -- Cideon, SAP ECTR, or equivalent SAP engineering document management systems
Strong understanding of engineering data management principles: revision control, BOM structure, document workflows, and ERP integration
Proven ability to lead teams through organizational and technology change
Excellent communication skills; able to translate technical CAD and data concepts for engineering, IT, sales, and leadership stakeholders
Organized, self-directed, and effective in a role where strategy and process are still being defined

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with SAP ECTR implementation, configuration, or administration preferred
Hands-on experience with DriveWorks or another product configurator / design automation platform preferred
Familiarity with ecommerce 3D data needs -- lightweight formats, interactive visualization tools, or illustrated parts catalog authoring (e.g., SOLIDWORKS Composer) a plus
Background in transportation, trailer manufacturing, heavy equipment, or similarly complex, custom configured-product industries a plus

Responsibilities

Lead the CAD team which supports production, customer facing visualization initiatives, and ecommerce
Act as the primary CAD authority for internal stakeholders including product engineering, manufacturing, ecommerce, sales, and IT
Represent the CAD function in design reviews, program planning sessions, and technology roadmap discussions
Shape the future structure of the team -- identify capability gaps, define new roles, and build a hiring roadmap aligned to the expanded mission
Support the engineering data management roadmap -- serve as the CAD team's representative in data system planning and rollout, and drive adoption of data management standards within the team
Lead the transition and implementation of SAP ECTR as the primary CAD stakeholder -- coordinating with IT and implementation partners to ensure CAD workflows and data standards are effectively represented throughout the rollout
Define and enforce SOLIDWORKS modeling standards, templates, and best-practice guidelines that align with ECTR data structures and downstream SAP ERP integration
Evaluate, select, and lead implementation of a product configuration platform -- DriveWorks or equivalent -- to automate the generation of configured product models and drawings across Wabash product lines
Collaborate with engineering, sales, and product management to capture configuration logic, option rules, and BOM structures for the configurator build-out
Partner with the ecommerce team to develop and maintain 3D product assets that support the online parts catalog and visual product experiences
Support sales and customer engagement initiatives with configured 3D build-outs and visual representations of customer-specified trailer configurations
Manage and develop a team including an onsite CAD supervisor, an offshore CAD supervisor, and CAD designers
Establish KPIs and throughput metrics for the team; manage workload prioritization across production CAD and special projects
Effectively coordinate offshore resources, including workflow management, quality review, and cross-time-zone communication
Other duties as assigned