Product Manager - CAD Engineering Lead

Specialized • Morgan Hill, CA

1d

About The Position

The CAD Engineering Lead owns the digital backbone of how we design, develop, and deliver product. From the engineer’s first sketch in CAD through release into manufacturing and service, this role is responsible for the platforms, data, and processes that make product development fast, reliable, and scalable. It is a deliberate evolution beyond traditional CAD administration—less about keeping the lights on, and more about shaping how engineering works at scale. This is a strategic, business-aligned position with a n operational role. The person in this seat will be expected to think in terms of roadmaps, business cases, and measurable outcomes, while remaining close enough to the technology to make confident architectural decisions. They will partner across Engineering, IT, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to ensure our engineering systems are a competitive advantage rather than a constraint on growth.

Requirements

• 8–12+ years in engineering systems, CAD administration, or PLM roles.
• Hands-on depth with one or more major platforms: PTC Windchill / Creo, Siemens Teamcenter / NX, Dassault 3DEXPERIENCE / SolidWorks PDM.
• Proven track record leading system implementations or transformations.
• Strong understanding of CAD data structures and large assembly management.
• Working knowledge of PDM/PLM workflows and lifecycle models.
• Practical experience with BOM management and ERP integration.
• Automation skills (Python, VBA, APIs).
• Experience with data governance and system configuration.
• Strategic and hands-on: able to set direction and execute against it.
• Strong stakeholder management across Engineering, IT, and Operations.
• Data-driven mindset with a focus on measurable outcomes.
• Experience building roadmaps and business cases—and delivering against them.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with cloud/SaaS engineering platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the Engineering Systems Landscape: Accountable for the architecture, configuration, performance, and roadmap of CAD and PDM/PLM platforms, ensuring stability and clean integration into the broader ecosystem.
• Define a system roadmap aligned to product development and supply chain strategy.
• Establish Governance and Standards: Define and enforce standards for CAD modeling, data structures, naming conventions, BOM governance, and release/change management processes to ensure consistency across global engineering teams.
• Protect the Digital Thread: Ensure accurate flow of product data from design to manufacturing to service, owning product data quality, version control, traceability, and eliminating duplication and errors.
• Drive Engineering Productivity: Improve productivity through automation, performance tuning, and serving as an escalation point for complex issues. Deliver automation through scripts, templates, and design reuse. Optimize performance for large assemblies and system speed. Define and deliver a training strategy. Act as an escalation point for complex technical and system issues.
• Lead Transformation and Continuous Improvement: Lead PLM modernization and upgrade initiatives. Drive cloud CAD / SaaS adoption. Advance the move to model-based engineering (MBE). Evaluate emerging engineering technologies. Drive adoption of AI-accelerated CAD. Identify and deliver measurable productivity gains.
• Manage Vendors and Partners: Own external relationships for CAD/PLM support, upgrades, and implementations. Manage strategic vendor relationships. Ensure SLA performance and cost optimization.
• Partner Across the Business: Translate business needs into system capabilities and system constraints into business-friendly language. Partner with engineering leadership, IT, supply chain, and manufacturing on design organization needs, infrastructure, security, identity, and downstream data needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed