Director, Engineering

20600 Emerald Parkway, Cleveland, Ohio 44135 United States of America

Since 1916, Oatey has provided reliable, high-quality products for the residential and commercial plumbing industries, with a commitment to delivering quality, building trust and improving lives. Today, Oatey operates a comprehensive manufacturing and distribution network comprised of industry leading family of companies:
Oatey, Cherne, Keeney, Quick Drain, Hercules, Dearborn, Oatey Canada, William H. Harvey, Masters, Contact, Belanger, Lansas, and Durgo.

At Oatey, we’re doing big things — and by joining us, you’ll have the chance to do big things too. You can build a strong career in an innovative, inclusive, high-performance environment, with the confidence that your company cares — about you, our customers and our world. Ready to make an impact in a place where you matter?

The Director of Engineering leads Oatey’s engineering organization with responsibility for driving innovation, establishing technical standards, and ensuring execution excellence across New Product Development (NPD), Sustaining Engineering, and Engineering Operations. This role oversees the development of CAD best practices, manages engineering resources, and partners cross-functionally to deliver high-quality, cost-effective products that support Oatey’s long-term strategic goals.

• Provide strategic direction for the Engineering team in alignment with corporate goals, product roadmaps, and market needs.
• Develop and lead a high-performing engineering organization through coaching, mentoring, and talent development.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, documentation, and execution.
• Establish key performance metrics (KPIs) for engineering excellence, productivity, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Oversee all phases of product development—from concept and feasibility through design, validation, and launch.
• Collaborate with Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to align priorities and ensure timely, cost-effective NPD execution.
• Implement standardized design methodologies, risk management processes (FMEA), and stage-gate discipline to improve launch success.

• Lead efforts to support existing product lines through cost-reduction initiatives, quality improvements, supplier transitions, and regulatory compliance updates.
• Ensure timely resolution of customer, manufacturing, and field issues through strong root-cause analysis and corrective action practices.
• Drive product line optimization and continuous improvement across Oatey’s portfolio.

• Create, implement, and enforce CAD best practices, modeling standards, drawing requirements, revision control procedures, and engineering documentation systems.
• Lead development of engineering workflows using PLM/PDM tools to enhance traceability, accuracy, and collaboration.
• Partner with IT and engineering staff to maintain software, tools, and systems supporting CAD and product data management.

• Develop and manage engineering staffing plans, resource allocation models, and project assignments to balance workload across NPD and sustaining teams.
• Ensure strong project management discipline, including timeline creation, milestone tracking, and risk mitigation.
• Provide clear prioritization and communication to stakeholders regarding engineering capacity, constraints, and deliverables.

• Serve as a key technical voice and strategic partner to Product Management, Operations, Quality, Sales, and Supply Chain.
• Participate in long-term product strategy planning and technology road mapping.
• Represent engineering in executive reviews, customer meetings, and external partnerships when needed.
• Master’s degree (MBA or Engineering) preferred.

• 10+ years of engineering experience including 5+ years of management/supervisory experience.
• Proven success leading engineering teams in a manufacturing or product-based organization (plumbing, building materials, or industrial…