Vice President of Engineering

Steffes•Dickinson, NC

19h

About The Position

The Vice President of Engineering provides enterprise leadership for Product Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering across Steffes’ core business platforms, including Electric Thermal Storage (ETS), Oil & Gas Equipment, and Contract Manufacturing. This role is responsible for integrating product innovation with manufacturing scalability, ensuring the development of differentiated technologies supported by efficient, reliable, and cost-effective production systems. The VP of Engineering establishes the multi-year engineering strategy, technology/automation roadmap, and operating model that aligns engineering innovation with business growth, while building a high-performing, cross-functional engineering organization. The Vice President of Engineering owns the enterprise engineering strategy, including the development and execution of the technology roadmap and prioritization of engineering investments. This role is responsible for making key decisions related to product architecture, engineering standards, and development priorities to ensure alignment with business objectives. The position leads organizational design and talent decisions within the engineering function, ensuring the structure and capability of the team supports long-term growth. In addition, the VP of Engineering partners cross-functionally on capital investment decisions, capacity planning, and overall operational strategy. This role also provides recommendations and influences executive-level decisions that impact company growth, innovation, and the development of scalable product platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering required
15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience
Experience leading both product and manufacturing engineering teams
Background in industrial manufacturing, energy systems, or OEM platforms
Proven cross-functional leadership with operations integration
Strong systems thinking across product, process, and operations
Deep technical and engineering rigor
Operational and manufacturing focus
Strategic thinking with execution capability
Strong leadership and collaboration skills

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred

Responsibilities

Define and lead the enterprise engineering strategy aligned with Steffes’ long-term corporate objectives
Establish and execute a multi-year engineering technology roadmap and investment priorities
Develop and implement engineering standards, governance, and scalable operating processes
Ensure alignment between product innovation, engineering execution, and operational capabilities
Lead New Product Development (NPD) across all business units
Establish product architecture standards and scalable product platforms
Implement Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Cost principles
Oversee full product lifecycle management (PLM) and engineering execution
Ensure product performance, reliability, and engineering rigor
Lead manufacturing engineering strategy to support scalable and efficient production
Drive development of advanced manufacturing processes, tooling, and automation
Optimize production flow, industrial engineering, and throughput across facilities
Support the Focus Factory operating model
Partner closely with the Chief Manufacturing Officer on capacity planning and production strategy
Support SIOP, production planning, and facility expansion initiatives
Drive Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement efforts
Ensure seamless transition of products from development into production
Lead technology innovation strategy and identify emerging technologies and market opportunities
Develop proprietary product platforms and expand intellectual property portfolio
Advance innovation across energy systems, automation, and industrial technologies
Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization across multiple disciplines
Recruit, develop, and retain engineering leadership and technical talent
Establish career development frameworks and capability-building programs
Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and execution
Maintain a positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating collaboratively with customers, suppliers, co-workers, and management
Helps company meet its Strategic, Quality and Safety objectives
Other duties may be assigned