Director of Engineering - RLE International

Position: Director of Engineering

Location: Romulus, MI

Company Information:

RLE INTERNATIONAL is one of the world’s leading engineering and consultation service ­providers to the international mobility and energy industries. Based on our engineering development and methodological expertise, we lay claim to thirty years of experience in creating innovative and effective solutions for our international customers. RLE believes in providing excellence in Engineering Services, supporting our customers in developing mobility solutions around the world. Locations in Europe, North America, Australia, India, and China allow us to remain close to our ­customers. Our 2,100 employees play an active role in shaping the future of our company by continuously increasing their personal and technical development.

Job Responsibilities:

• Responsible to build and manage a core engineering department consisting of managers, engineers, and product designers to deliver local and global projects
• Responsible for all US engineering projects and deliverables
• Responsible to work with global engineering peers for both knowledge share and jointly executed projects
• Responsible to support quoting of new projects
• Responsible for project delivery according to program metrics including timing and budget while meeting customer expectations
• Represents Engineering in company cross functional meetings
• Works directly with customers, suppliers & Key Account Managers
• Directs and participates in engineering impacted cost reduction efforts
• Participates in the creation and implementation of the company technical strategy
• Performs administrative duties such as performance and merit reviews, hiring, timekeeping
• Provides for training, personnel enhancements, and staff development to insure a highly efficient and technically competent work force
• Maintains up-to-date material, process, and product knowledge via personal and directed attendance and participation in technical societies, seminars, industry organizations, supplier contacts and regulatory agency programs.
• Directs the establishment of regular engineering meetings with major customers to elicit current product update needs and to insure proper future design planning
• Responsible for fostering continuous improvement in performance, quality, and cost reduction
• Provides leadership to relevant cross-functional platform teams as a Senior Advisor
• Represents the company in customer relationships.
• Reviews customer concerns with management and peers
• Support safety and environment programs to ensure a safe work environment for all employees and maintain compliance.

Qualifications:

• Minimum bachelor’s degree (masters preferred) in mechanical or electrical engineering
• Minimum 15 years of relevant automotive experience and 10 years in management
• Experience in the automotive industry with a track record of success
• Understanding automotive industry requirements and standards
• Ability to manage task allocation
• Team mentoring and team building
• Budget development, planning and adherence
• Tactical and strategic planning
• Familiarity with automotive (OEM) specifications
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to effectively operate and communicate in a multi-cultural environment

• Excellent organization and prioritization skills

• Ford experience in a supplier capacity highly advantageous

Preferred Qualifications:

• MSME, EE or MBA level of education preferred