Director of Mixers Engineering

POSITION SUMMARY

The Global Director of Engineering leads the worldwide engineering organization for the Mixing product line, including agitators, static mixers, and high shear mixers. This role owns engineering strategy, technical governance, and execution across the full product lifecycle, new product development, sustaining engineering, reliability improvement, standardization, and compliance. The Director ensures the portfolio meets customer performance requirements (mixing quality, process outcomes, uptime) while delivering business objectives for safety, quality, cost, manufacturability, and schedule.

A critical aspect of this role is a close partnership with the Product Line Director to reshape the Mixing business end-to-end, redefining portfolio strategy, simplifying the offering, improving speed and responsiveness, and strengthening differentiation through performance, reliability, and lifecycle value. Together, the two leaders drive the operating model, priorities, and investments needed to transform the business.

• Leads a global, multi-site engineering team spanning mechanical design, applications support interface, test/validation, reliability, and sustaining engineering for mixing equipment.
• Serves as senior technical authority for mixing portfolio decisions (or appoints Design Authorities) and ensures consistent standards across regions.
• Establishes governance, metrics, and operating rhythms that balance customer responsiveness with platform strategy and long-term technology development.
• Elevates critical tradeoffs to the VP of Engineering with clear options, risks, and recommendations.

1) Business Reshaping Partnership with Product Line Director

• Co-lead creation of a multi-year transformation roadmap (platform strategy, modularization, digital offerings, regionalization/localization strategy, price/value improvement).
• Drive simplification of the product offering (Stock reduction, configurable-to-order architecture, rules-based engineering) to improve lead time, quality, and margin.
• Align engineering investments to commercial priorities: target segments, win/loss drivers, performance gaps, and competitive differentiation.
• Establish shared KPIs with the Product Line Director (growth enablement, margin impact, speed-to-quote, on-time launch, reliability, warranty reduction).

2) Product Line Strategy & Technology Roadmap

• Define and execute the engineering strategy for agitators, static mixers, and high shear mixers aligned to market needs (water/wastewater, chemical, food & beverage, pharma, mining, etc.).
• Build and maintain a multi-year roadmap covering platform modularity, power/train options, impeller and rotor/stator technologies, materials/coatings, hygienic designs, and condition monitoring.
• Lead portfolio rationalization and standardization to reduce complexity (modules, common parts, design rules, configurable options).
• Drive differentiation through mixing performance (blend time, dispersion, shear profile, solids suspension, gas dispersion, heat transfer performance, repeatability).

3) Global Sustaining Engineering & Installed-Base Performance

• Own global sustaining execution: field issue resolution, design improvements, engineering changes, documentation integrity, and obsolescence management.
• Lead root cause closure for field failures).
• Improve serviceability and lifecycle cost via retrofit kits, standard service parts, and maintainable designs.
• Help move orders around the global team with capacity to keep OTD in line.

4) New Product Development & Launch Excellence

• Sponsor and govern NPD programs using a gated process with clear entrance/exit criteria and disciplined requirements management.
• Ensure designs meet mixing performance targets across duty points and fluids, including scale-up considerations and process variability.
• Own global verification/validation strategy:
  • Performance and process outcome testing
  • Mechanical integrity
• Ensure successful transfer to manufacturing: DFM/DFA, work instructions, test procedures, inspection plans, and ramp readiness.

5) Engineering Standards, Compliance & Risk Management

• Establish and maintain global engineering standards for mixing equipment: design rules, calculation templates, selection/derating guidelines, and documentation requirements.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations/standards based on end market (as relevant): CE/UKCA, ATEX/IECEx, ISO/IEC/ASME expectations, hygienic design practices for food/pharma, and customer specifications.
• Institutionalize DFMEA/PFMEA, rigorous design reviews, and lessons learned across the product line.
• Govern technical risk decisions (deviations, concessions, special designs) with traceability and customer impact assessment.

6) Mixing Performance Capability & Applications Interface

• Ensure strong coupling between product engineering and applications/process needs:
  • Develop and maintain selection tools/models and application guidelines
  • Define standard testing and data packages for proposal…