Power & Fuel Trading Director jobs in Santa Ana, CA

Job Description:

The Director of Engineering will oversee all aspects of the engineering department, including process development, optimization, and validation from design to prototype. The Director of Engineering will play a critical role in ensuring the highest quality, efficiency, and compliance standards are met in our engineering operations. This position requires a balance of technical expertise, leadership skills, and project management capabilities to drive excellence in engineering operations.

Responsibilities:

• Build, lead, develop and coach a high-performing engineering team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic leadership to the engineering team, aligning technical initiatives with overall business objectives.
• Work with the team on the planning, execution, and delivery of engineering projects within scope, schedule, and budget constraints.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including sales, project management, quality assurance, and manufacturing, to ensure project alignment with organizational objectives.
• Engaging with the global team of engineers to provide technical expertise and guidance to the engineering team, contributing to the resolution of complex technical challenges.
• Effectively allocate resources, including personnel and equipment, to meet project and departmental goals.
• Collaborate with HR to identify staffing needs, participate in recruitment, and contribute to the development of team members.
• Collaborate with finance and project management teams to develop and manage engineering budgets, ensuring meeting financial targets.
• Implement and maintain quality assurance processes to ensure the delivery of high-quality engineering solutions.
• Collaborate with quality teams to establish and monitor quality metrics.
• Identify and mitigate project risks, collaborating with relevant stakeholders to develop contingency plans.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards.
• Communicate project updates, milestones, and risks to senior leadership and relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate effective communication channels within the engineering team and with other departments.
• Develop and design analog and digital electronic circuits for battery packs of various chemistries, ensuring optimal performance, efficiency, and safety.
• Develop and Incorporate battery charger systems into circuit designs, considering charging efficiency, safety, and compatibility with various battery chemistries.
• Identify and select appropriate components, such as voltage regulators, protection circuits, monitoring systems, and battery chargers, to meet project requirements.
• Take ownership of Design for Manufacturing principles, ensuring circuit designs are conducive to efficient and cost-effective production processes.
• Implement Design for Testability strategies in circuit designs, enabling effective testing and troubleshooting during manufacturing.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build and test prototypes, iterating designs based on testing outcomes.
• Work closely with firmware engineers to integrate fuel gauging solutions into battery pack designs, providing accurate state-of-charge information.
• Ensure designs comply with relevant industry standards, including those set by the United Nations (UN) for transporting and handling lithium-ion batteries. Adhere to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards for safety and performance in battery pack designs.

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering or a related field from an accredited institution. A Master's degree in a technical field is highly desirable.
• A minimum of 10 years of engineering experience, preferably in the electronics industry.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in leading and managing engineering teams focused on delivering solutions to customers, with a proven track record in effectively developing, motivating, and overseeing team performance.
• Experience in the design of circuits for lithium-ion battery packs a plus
• Experience with analog and digital circuits and power system design a plus.
• Demonstrated engineering management skills, including effective work planning and assignment, prioritization, resource management, talent acquisition, team building, goal setting, coaching, and communication.
• Strategic leadership abilities preferred, including vision development, long-range planning, setting organizational and strategic goals, and designing organizational structures for optimal performance and growth.
• Experience with ownership of DFM and DFT principles.
• Solid background in continuous improvement and data analytics for structured problem-solving and root cause analysis. Familiarity with continuous improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, or equivalent is preferred.
• Extensive experience in engineering project management, encompassing customer interaction, proposal writing, risk management, project planning and execution, vendor coordination, and project installation.
• Knowledge of budgeting and profit and loss (P&L) management preferred, with the ability to oversee financial aspects of engineering projects and departmental budgets.
• Proficiency in drafting, solid modeling, and using design software packages like SolidWorks, or similar tools.
• Must be a self-motivated individual with exemplary integrity and honesty, capable of working collaboratively in a team setting, multitasking efficiently, and possessing strong analytical skills to read, write, and interpret technical documentation and diagrams. Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office suite is required.

Custom Power is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

This position must meet export control compliance requirements. To meet export control compliance requirements, a “U.S. Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. §120.15 is required. “U.S. Person” includes U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee. To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.