Director Of Engineering Jobs in Appleton, WI (NOW HIRING)

Bassett Mechanical is a 3rd generation family-owned company that provides custom-built industrial refrigeration, HVAC, plumbing, metal fabricating and preventative maintenance service solutions to customers throughout the United States and the world. It is not only a great place to grow and thrive in your career. It is a place to truly belong. As a member of the Bassett Mechanical Team, you'll enjoy a competitive compensation and benefits package and many professional growth opportunities. From the moment you're hired, to the day you retire, you're a part of our Bassett Mechanical Team. 

Position Purpose

Accountable for ensuring Engineering operates as an integrated, disciplined system that consistently produces clear, aligned, executable solutions from pursuit through execution. This role connects customer requirements, engineering flow, and execution viability—ensuring alignment across Sales, Estimating, Engineering, and Operations so the business delivers predictable outcomes and builds repeatable customer trust.

The role is responsible for system performance, not individual project execution. It ensures standards, decision frameworks, and workflows are consistently applied to reduce variability, rework, and misalignment before commitment.

Position Responsibilities

• System Ownership & Engineering Performance
  • Own the performance of Engineering as a system including workflow, prioritization, capacity alignment, and decision quality
  • Ensure technical decisions, assumptions, and intent are clearly defined and sustained through execution
  • Drive consistency in how work is defined, evaluated, and delivered to improve throughput and predictability
• Customer Solution Integrity
  • Ensure all solutions are clearly defined, aligned with customer needs, and executable within system constraints
  • Drive early clarity in scope, assumptions, constraints, and risk
  • Ensure alignment between customer expectations and execution reality
• Cross-Functional Integration & Alignment
  • Act as the integrating authority between Sales, Estimating, Engineering, and Operations to ensure solutions are viable before commitment
  • Partner with Sales, Estimating, and Operations to align scope, cost, constructability, and serviceability
  • Ensure aligned technical position is maintained across all functions
• Engineering Leadership & Organizational Alignment
  • Own prioritization and tradeoff decisions across all engineering demand
  • Balance customer needs, business opportunity, engineering capacity, and system discipline
  • Apply clear decision frameworks so work advances only with adequate scope, assumptions, and risk visibility
• Engineering Flow & Capacity Management
  • Establish and manage engineering workflow including intake, prioritization, and delivery
  • Align engineering capacity to business demand and strategic priorities
  • Maintain predictable throughput while enabling focus on complex, high-value opportunities
  • Maintain capacity visibility, backlog visibility, prioritization cadence, and escalation routines to support timely tradeoff decisions
• Leadership & Capability Development
  • Lead and develop a team of engineering managers who own day-to-day execution, delivery, and team performance
  • Establish clear expectations, accountability, and role clarity across all engineering functions
  • Build technical capability and leadership depth to support sustainable growth
• Process Discipline & Continuous Improvement
  • Ensure consistent use of standards, systems, and decision frameworks across Engineering
  • Drive continuous improvement focused on upstream clarity, reduced variability, and increased throughput
  • Identify system breakdowns and hold leaders accountable for corrective action and sustained discipline
• Execution Integrity
  • Ensure technical intent holds through fabrication, installation, and service
  • Ensure alignment across Growth, Solutions, and Operations so what is sold, defined, and executed remains consistent
• Support and maintain a safe and Lean work environment.
• Other duties as assigned.

Summary of Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience 
• 15+ years of engineering or technical operations experience in industrial, mechanical, refrigeration, HVAC, or related systems 
• 10+ years of leadership experience in engineering or technical operations 
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical decision-making and risk evaluation
• Demonstrated business, commercial, and financial acumen
• Strong capability in balancing customer, technical, and operational constraints in decision-making
• Deep understanding of technical solutions workflow, estimating, and execution processes
• Proven ability to drive alignment across cross-functional teams
• Strong process discipline, problem-solving ability, and leadership capability
• Proven ability to lead and operate within ambiguity
• Ability to balance technical rigor, business needs, and execution realities 
• Proven ability to drive process improvement cross-functionally

Direct Reports

• Engineering Manager – Refrigeration
• Engineering Manager – HVAC/P
• Engineering Manager – Thermatech
• Sr. Engineers