NEXFORM, INC. Senior Director of Engineering NexForm is hiring a Senior Director of Engineering to lead product, process, and program engineering across its four plants and to turn engineering into a competitive advantage in winning and launching new business.
Position Details
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Detail
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Title
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Senior Director of Engineering
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Reports to
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Chief Executive Officer
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Department
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Engineering
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Location
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Battle Creek, Michigan, with regular presence at all NexForm plants and customer technical centers
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Classification
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Full-time, exempt
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Travel
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30–40%, including Celaya, Mexico
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Scope
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Product engineering, process and manufacturing engineering, program management, and testing/validation across Battle Creek, Celaya, Old Fort, and Warrensburg
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Compensation
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Base salary, annual incentive, and long-term incentive eligibility
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About NexForm
NexForm, Inc. designs and manufactures automotive interior, fiber, and NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) components from four North American plants: Battle Creek, Michigan; Celaya, Mexico; Old Fort, North Carolina; and Warrensburg, Missouri. Built on a heritage at Janesville Acoustics in 1874 and Motus Integrated, NexForm is backed by Crest Rock Partners and executing a growth plan in revenue by 2030.
Position Summary
The Senior Director of Engineering owns NexForm's engineering capability from quote through launch and production. The role sets the engineering strategy, builds the team, and ensures every program is designed, validated, and launched on time, at quality, and at the quoted cost. This leader is a key partner to Commercial in winning business, to Operations in running efficient plants, and to the executive team in integrating acquisitions. The role standardizes engineering practices across all four plants and builds the material, acoustic, and process expertise NexForm needs to grow beyond its current customer base.
Key Responsibilities
Engineering Strategy and Leadership
- Set the multi-year engineering strategy aligned to NexForm's growth plan.
- Lead and develop products, process, program, and engineers across all four plants.
- Define the engineering organization structure, succession plan, and hiring priorities.
- Establish common engineering standards, tools, and design rules across the network.
Product and Technology Development
- Own product design for NVH, acoustical, fiber, and interior components, including CAD, design for manufacturing, and acoustic performance modeling.
- Build a technology roadmap for new materials, lightweighting, recycled and sustainable content, and EV-specific NVH solutions.
- Lead customer technical engagement as NexForm's senior engineering representative with OEM and Tier 1 engineering teams.
- Serve as a primary customer interface, meeting directly with OEM and Tier 1 engineering, quality, and purchasing teams so that customer needs drive NexForm's engineering priorities, designs, and technology roadmap.
- Manage intellectual property, engineering change control, and design records.
Quote and New Business Support
- Partner with Commercial on RFQs, providing feasibility, design concepts, tooling estimates, and cycle-time assumptions.
- Own the engineering inputs to cost models and stand behind them through launch.
- Present NexForm's technical capability in customer reviews and supplier assessments.
Program Management and Launch
- Run APQP and launch gates for all new programs from nomination through PPAP and run-at-rate.
- Deliver launches on schedule, at quoted cost, and with zero customer-reported launch defects.
- Lead capacity and equipment planning with Operations for new programs and plant expansions, including the Old Fort expansion.
- Coordinate program transfers between plants and from outside suppliers.
Process and Manufacturing Engineering
- Drive process capability, scrap reduction, cycle-time improvement, and automation across the plants.
- Approve capital equipment specifications and own engineering justification for capital requests.
- Support root-cause and corrective action on quality issues with Quality and the plants.
Testing and Validation
- Own design validation and product validation testing, including acoustic, flammability, and durability testing.
- Manage internal lab capability and external test partners.
Integration and Growth
- Lead engineering due diligence and post-close integration for acquisitions.
- Assess acquired product lines, processes, and engineering teams and bring them onto NexForm standards.
Success Measures
Performance is measured against annual targets set with the Chief Executive Officer.
Measure
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What Is Tracked
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Launch performance
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Programs launched on schedule and at PPAP approval on first submission
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Launch cost
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Actual launch and tooling cost versus quote
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Quote accuracy
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Production cycle time, scrap, and material usage versus quoted assumptions
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Launch quality
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Customer-reported defects in the first 90 days of production
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Quote support
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RFQ engineering inputs delivered on time for every Commercial deadline
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Process improvement
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Annual scrap, cycle-time, and labor productivity gains by plant
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Technology pipeline
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New materials and products validated and offered to customers
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Team strength
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Retention, succession coverage, and critical roles filled
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Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Materials, Chemical, or Manufacturing Engineering.
- 12+ years of automotive supplier engineering experience, including 5+ years leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
- Experience leading engineering across multiple manufacturing sites.
- Direct responsibility for launching OEM programs through APQP and PPAP.
- Deep knowledge of IATF 16949, DFMEA/PFMEA, GD&T, and OEM customer-specific requirements.
- Track record of supporting quotes and owning the cost assumptions through launch.
- Proficiency with CAD tools, such as CATIA, NX, or SolidWorks.
- Ability to travel 30–40%, including to Mexico.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with NVH, acoustical, fiber, nonwoven, foam, or interior trim products.
- Experience with thermoforming, compression molding, needle punch, or die-cutting processes.
- Exposure to acoustic testing and simulation, including absorption, transmission loss, and vehicle-level NVH.
- Experience integrating acquired engineering teams or plants.
- Master's degree or MBA.
- Business proficiency in Spanish.
Leadership Competencies
- Strategic thinking: connects engineering investment to revenue growth, margin, and customer wins.
- Talent builder: recruits, develops, and holds engineers accountable across four plants and two countries.
- Execution discipline: runs launches to gates, dates, and cost with no surprises.
- Commercial partnership: understands how engineering decisions drive quotes, pricing, and profitability.
- Customer credibility: earns the confidence of OEM engineering leaders in technical reviews.
- Standardization: replaces plant-by-plant practices with one NexForm way of engineering.
Work Environment
The role combines office, laboratory, and manufacturing-plant settings. Plant visits require compliance with safety requirements, including personal protective equipment. Travel includes overnight trips to NexForm plants, customer technical centers, and suppliers.
Equal Opportunity Employer
NexForm is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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