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Vice President of Engineering

Up to $150,000 Base Salary + Bonus & Long-Term Incentive Opportunity • Greater Milwaukee Area

COMPENSATION: Up to $150,000 Base Salary (commensurate with experience) + Bonus Opportunity + Long-Term Incentive

WORK STRUCTURE: Full-Time, Permanent Leadership Role | Primarily Onsite | Limited Travel

EXPERIENCE: Proven Engineering Leadership + Product Development + Manufacturing Experience

EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering strongly preferred

A well-established and growing Franklin-area manufacturer is seeking a Vice President of Engineering to help lead the organization through its next stage of growth.

This is a newly elevated leadership opportunity for an engineering professional who wants more than simply managing projects. The company is looking for a charismatic, highly accountable leader who can organize an engineering function, develop people, accelerate product development, and—most importantly—get things done.

You'll inherit an experienced technical team and work alongside knowledgeable engineering and manufacturing leaders. Your role will be to bring leadership, structure, accountability, and forward momentum while helping develop the company's products and capabilities for the future.

This is an opportunity to have a visible impact on the direction and growth of the business rather than simply stepping into another corporate engineering management position.

What You Will Be Doing

• Lead the Engineering Organization: Establish priorities, develop the team, create accountability, and build a clear engineering mission.
• Drive R&D & Product Development: Move projects from concept through design, testing, and production while improving development timelines and execution.
• Improve Engineering Processes: Bring organization, structure, and accountability to a department that needs to become more disciplined and efficient.
• Develop Better Products: Drive designs that deliver quality, reliability, manufacturability, and competitive cost.
• Provide Technical Leadership: Guide mechanical engineering, product design, robotics, automation, and manufacturing-related initiatives.
• Leverage Automation & Controls: Experience with hydraulics, pneumatics, and PLC integration is highly beneficial.
• Optimize Manufacturing: Evaluate internal processes and determine when outside manufacturing resources can provide a better combination of quality, cost, capacity, and scalability.
• Lead Cross-Functionally: Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Operations, Sales, and other departments to solve problems and improve the business.
• Build Accountability: Create a culture where people take ownership and projects actually get completed.
• Be the Go-To Engineering Leader: Become a trusted resource for engineers, manufacturing personnel, customers, and company leadership.
• Support Growth: Work directly with senior leadership to develop and execute initiatives that will help the company grow.

What We Are Looking For

• Proven experience leading engineering teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering preferred.
• Strong mechanical/manufacturing engineering foundation.
• Demonstrated success leading product development or R&D initiatives from concept through completion.
• Experience working across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and operations.
• Knowledge of hydraulics, pneumatics, and PLC/controls integration strongly preferred.
• Ability to evaluate manufacturing capabilities and make intelligent internal-versus-external sourcing decisions.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to motivate people and gain their respect.
• A hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves leadership style with a strong sense of urgency and accountability.
• Professional presence and confidence working with customers and senior leadership.
• Railroad or other highly specialized industry experience is a plus, but not required.
• Stable career history with progressive leadership responsibility.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• If you're an engineering leader who wants to have a real voice in the direction of a growing company, this is an opportunity to make a difference.
• You'll be joining a new leadership team with an aggressive growth mindset and the opportunity to influence engineering, product development, manufacturing strategy, and organizational development.
• The company is also developing a long-term incentive opportunity designed to allow key leadership team members to participate in the future value they help create.
• If you're the type of leader who enjoys building teams, solving problems, developing products, and turning ideas into results, this could be an excellent next step.