Director of Engineering

Director of Engineering – Confidential

Greater Nashville area

We are conducting a confidential search for a Director of Engineering for a well-established, privately held U.S. manufacturer. This is a key leadership position for an engineering leader who enjoys building, improving and developing rather than simply maintaining established systems.

What We're Looking For

• B.S. in Engineering required


• Strong experience with metal stamping and forming


• Manufacturing background involving high product/part variety


• Proven leadership and development of engineering teams and direct reports


• Strong change-management capabilities


• Ability to establish and implement engineering processes and best practices


• Hands-on leader who is comfortable spending time on the manufacturing floor


• Experience improving equipment, processes, reliability and manufacturing capability


• Stable career history with demonstrated progression

The Right Environment

We are particularly interested in candidates who have succeeded in mid-sized, entrepreneurial manufacturing environments where engineering leaders need to be resourceful.

This is not an environment where every project comes with a large engineering team, unlimited capital and highly defined processes. The successful candidate will know how to:

• Develop solutions around the equipment, people and resources available


• Create processes rather than simply follow established ones


• Bring structure and best practices without creating unnecessary bureaucracy


• Develop engineers into stronger critical thinkers and problem solvers


• Build a more data- and process-driven engineering organization


• Partner closely with operations and manufacturing to turn ideas into results on the plant floor

Candidates whose experience has been primarily within highly structured, heavily resourced Tier 1 automotive organizations may not be the ideal fit unless they have also demonstrated success in a smaller, more entrepreneurial manufacturing environment.

Why Consider It?

This is an opportunity to make a significant impact. The company is looking for someone who can assess what they have today, develop the team, strengthen engineering processes and help take the operation to the next level.

We're looking for a builder — not a caretaker.

Interested in learning more? Contact me confidentially.