Matthew Ramsey2026-11-03T18:20:13+00:00November 3, 2026| Job Summary Click the link below to apply: Indeed.com Kauffman Engineering is seeking a highly strategic and hands-on leader to build and scale our product engineering organization across the full product lifecycle—from RFQ through launch. This role is critical in ensuring disciplined execution, strong customer alignment, and successful program launches that meet expectations for quality, cost, delivery, and overall customer experience. As Director of Product Engineering, you will lead Customer Engineering, Quoting, and New Product Introduction (NPI), driving alignment across teams and ensuring seamless execution from concept through production. You’ll partner closely with operations, sales, and plant leadership to reduce execution risk, improve launch performance, and support company growth without compromising quality or margin.

Key Responsibilities
Quoting Engineering
• Ensure technical feasibility, cost assumptions, risks, and manufacturability considerations are incorporated into all quotes.
• Lead a cross-functional team to improve the speed and accuracy of the quoting process through process improvement and technology adoption.
• Ensure accurate engineering input into cost models, BOM assumptions, labor estimates, and tooling requirements.
• Challenge quoting assumptions to identify cost and improvement opportunities in Operations and the Supply Chain.
• Maintain a current view of the capabilities and capacity of each manufacturing site to make informed decisions when allocating quotes and programs.
• Establish a formal feedback loop that brings production and launch performance data back into quoting standards and assumptions. Product Engineering
• Lead all New Product Introduction (NPI) engineering activities across all plants, including the onboarding of new customers and programs.
• Own NPI on-time delivery (samples, PPAP submissions, and first production run) and program introduction lead time, leading cross-functional teams to build a predictable, fast, and reliable launch process.
• Ensure NPI teams fully execute APQP activities across all phases,



including PPAP readiness and launch execution.
• Lead continuous improvement projects that apply a lean, end-to-end approach from quoting through NPI, improving safety, speed to market, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Manage NPI timelines, resource planning (including equipment capacity, tooling, and other resources), and execution to ensure on-time, on-budget launches.
• Review and present NPI status, risks, and readiness to senior management on a regular cadence.
• Drive consistent launch governance, gate reviews, and escalation processes across sites, including confirming that initial production orders are manufacturable. Process Standardization & Systems Development
• Develop, implement, and maintain standardized engineering processes.
• Reduce reliance on tribal knowledge by establishing repeatable workflows, documentation standards, and control points.
• Improve consistency and quality of engineering outputs across plants and teams.
• Identify and mitigate technical and execution risks early in the product lifecycle.
• Evaluate and adopt better engineering methodologies and tools, and strengthen cross‑functional coordination. Plant Integration & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Act as a key engineering partner to plant leadership to support execution, troubleshooting, and readiness of new program launches.
• Drive alignment between engineering and operations to ensure manufacturability, capacity readiness, and process capability as part of the launch hand-off to the manufacturing sites.
• Support plant teams during launches, ramp‑ups, and significant engineering changes.
• Collaborate with Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Operations to ensure integrated execution.




• Lead engineering CAPEX planning for new programs and long‑term capacity needs. Talent Leadership & Capability Building
• Assess current engineering organization structure, skills, and capacity.
• Develop and execute plans to upgrade engineering capability through hiring, development, and role clarity.
• Lead, coach, and develop the engineering team, setting clear expectations and holding team members accountable for results.
• Build a future‑state product engineering organization capable of supporting multiple concurrent launches.
• Promote a culture of accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement. Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical, or related discipline); advanced degree a plus.
• Minimum of 7 years of engineering experience in manufacturing or industrial environments.
• Demonstrated engineering experience in the design and manufacture of wire harness components in a high-mix, low-volume environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams and managing engineering functions, preferably across multiple sites.
• Proven experience with APQP, PPAP, and launch execution in production environments.
• Strong knowledge of Core Tools (APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, MSA).
• Experience driving engineering standardization and process improvement.
• Understanding of material and labor costing, manufacturability, and cost drivers.
• Project management and cross‑functional leadership experience.
• Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and Six Sigma methodologies preferred.
• Strong communication, organizational, and problem‑solving skills. Work Environment
• This is an on-site role at our Reynosa, Mexico facility
• Ability and willingness to travel to U.
S. and Mexico manufacturing locations (approximately 25–40%) to provide on-site plant support as business needs require. Job Category: Engineering

Job Type
Full Time Job

Location:
Reynosa MX Back to listings Share This Story FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppTumblrEmail

📌 Director of Product Engineering (Reynosa)
🏢 Kauffman Engineering
📍 Reynosa