Job Details
Job Location: Aitken Headquarters - Houston, TX 77022
Position: Director of Engineering (Design/Build)
Reports to: EVP Sales/Engineering
Department: Sales and Engineering
Status: Regular Full Time Position – Exempt/Salary
Position Value Proposition
The Director of Engineering is responsible and accountable for all aspects of the company’s Design Assist Group’s engineering and sales efforts. The Director focuses on the continued structuring and operation of the engineering function as a cohesive unit; the prioritizing, conceptualizing and monitoring the day-to-day management of simultaneous projects related to conceptual design, analysis, interfacing and coordinating with sales and estimating persons; delivering optimized designs within time and budget constraints, and continuing to foster innovative solutions to the customer needs. The Director of Design Assist is a strong leader who fosters a team environment with a focus on providing solutions to a wide array of technical challenges while promoting a culture that empowers the team to think big. Supports and encourages “out of the box thinking” from the Group’s individuals.
Core Responsibilities
Building Partnerships, People & Teams
- Create and maintain partnerships with sales and estimating; pre-con and construction planning, on bids opportunities requiring engineering expertise. Participate in a partnership pulse survey and 60 day partner meetings in order to provide executive summary demonstrating business needs are being met and the deliver of a transparent schedule.
- Teach, coach, motivate, provide technical direction and guidance and evaluate team. Sets department policy and operating procedures, resolves scheduling and resource conflicts, and reviews and approves major department programs and projects. Build a team highly skilled, cross functional team, with bench depth, to support Design/Assist, construction engineering, construction design. Formulate long term objectives and standards of performance for the department.
- Align strategic objectives to the design/build team, guiding teams to develop solutions that build future capabilities.
Continuous Process Improvement/Design
- Build, create and sustain a design review QA/QC processes that is documented on all major design deliverables. Conduct and provide quarterly audits of review templates.
- Develop a method to forecast the level of completion for design of jobs against the pull schedule. Provide a job matrix for complexity/schedule to ensure efficiency.
- Ensure final work product is defendable whether it is the most basic or most innovative solution for a given project.
Service Delivery
- Provide construction engineering services when the company requires the department to manage/perform the engineering. Monitor engineering services through field pulse surveys, tracking number of incidents and monitoring budget to target.
- Provide and manage connection engineering for bids and for awarded projects. Monitor and report through the connection material and piece count budget. Validate informational milestones are met per PSAR/pull schedule.
- Accountable for ensuring rational approach to design alternatives / VG. Options through auditing and tracking of number of times engineering is proactively sought out by the business and/or our customers.
- Provide a competitive advantage by differentiating SS through utilization of design structure that will allow for more cost-effective solution, ensuring each hit rate on target jobs are meeting the companies expectations.
- Provide oversite for erection procedures provided by third party erectors, reporting out the number of incidents as well as ensuring annual documented audit is completed and recorded in job file.
Qualifications
Additional Duties & Responsibilities
Must have experience in structural modeling with at least three of the following analytical software RAM, SAP, ETABS, STAAD, RISA and others.
Required qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
Core Competencies:
- Business Acumen - Knows how businesses work; knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practices, trends, technology, and information affecting his/her business and organization; knows the competition; is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace.
- Customer Focus - Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
- Decision Quality - Makes good decisions (without considering how much time it takes) based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; most of his/her solutions and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions.
- Drive for Results - Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
- Developing Direct Reports & Others - Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
- Functional Technical Skills - Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment.
- Innovation Management - Is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to market; has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work; has a sense about managing the creative process of others; can facilitate effective brainstorming; can project how potential ideas may play out in the marketplace.
- Integrity & Trust - Is widely trusted; is seen as a direct, truthful individual; can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn't misrepresent him/herself for personal gain.
- Learning on the Fly - Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.
- Planning - Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into the process steps; develops schedules and task/people assignments; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results.
- Presentation Skills - Is effective in a variety of formal presentation settings: one-on-one, small and large groups, with peers, direct reports, and bosses; is effective both inside and outside the organization, on both cool data and hot and controversial topics; commands attention and can manage group process during the presentation; can change tactics midstream when something isn't working.
Work Experience/ Education / Training
A minimum of fifteen (15) years related industry structural engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a management role. A bachelor’s degree in Engineering is required. BS Degree from an accredited college or university in Engineering. A MS in Structural Engineering is desirable. Advanced education may be a substitute for additional years of the required experience. Must have a SE license in AZ and/or CA or equal.
Specialized Knowledge – Certificates & Licenses
As outlined in the Core Competencies, an individual must have thorough knowledge and an advanced understanding of each competency outlined above in order to carry out the essential functions of this position. Specialized Knowledge is also required in the following areas: Knowledge of customary construction terminology and knowledge estimating software packages.
- Leadership Abilities (Coaching & Mentoring)
- Knowledge of Structural Steel fabrication and erection standards
- Must be extremely knowledgeable in Seismic Design and Analysis as well as Wind Design.
- Must have a working knowledge of the basics of Erection Engineering for support of our Erection Engineering staff.
- Material Pricing
- High attention to detail, accuracy, and thoroughness
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to read and interpret technical and legal documents.
- Familiarity of steel estimating systems
- Workforce Planning
- Continuous Improvement methodologies
- Conflict Resolution
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Budget Planning/Forecasting
Additional Software & Technology
Position will require the frequent use of various office equipment personal computer, scanner and copier. Extensive knowledge of MS Windows 7 and/or MS Windows 10, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook. Blue Beam PDF Software, SES (Schuff Estimating System) and AutoCAD:
Work Environment
Position requires as many hours needed to fulfill the daily and weekly obligations required to carry out the functions. Work is generally performed in a climate controlled office area. Travel may be required. Reasonable accommodations may be made upon request for those who have disabilities that qualify under the American with Disabilities Act.
Aitken Manufacturing is an Equal Opportunity Employer with and Affirmative Action Plan.
Employee is required to sign this document in the space provided below, acknowledging receipt, review and comprehension of this job description.
