Director of Production Engineering

About

With a record backlog of boats to build we are seeking a motivated individual to lead Production Engineering activities at SAFE Boats. The Production Engineering leader leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for translating product designs into manufacturable, compliant, and well‑documented production outputs. This role owns the end‑to‑end conversion of Engineering Bills of Materials (EBOM) to Manufacturing Bills of Materials (MBOM) with high accuracy, ensures adherence to applicable industry standards, and delivers production support materials—electrical schematics, work instructions, routings, and contract‑required Technical Data Packages (TDPs)—that enable safe, repeatable, and cost‑effective manufacturing.

You will ensure that our team of boat builders has the right information in the right place at the right time to efficiently and effectively build high‑quality products. Working closely with the Product Development team, you and your team will take information from contract to “Ready to Build” production‑ready status.

Responsibilities

General Managerial & Strategic

• Team Leadership & Mentoring: hiring, training, and mentoring marine engineers, drafters, designers, and Manufacturing Engineers.
• Project Planning & Budgeting: set project schedules, milestones, and manage budgets (personnel, material, equipment).
• Establish clear objectives, performance metrics, and development plans for team members.
• Establish clear, reportable metrics for the department and share with internal customers and leadership.
• Foster a culture of safety, continuous improvement, and cross‑functional collaboration with Business Development / Sales, Program Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Procurement.
• Compliance & Standards: ensure all work meets industry regulations (e.g., ISO, ABYC, Classification Society rules for marine).
• Support ITAR/EAR and contract‑specific requirements, including configuration.
• Continuous Improvement: drive CI to improve design, reduce waste, and improve production efficiency.
• Establish clear process for peer reviews of engineering deliverables across disciplines.

Drafting & Technical Documentation

• Oversee, plan, author, and deliver TDPs per contract requirements (drawing packages, reports) and contract schedule.
• Coordinate with Compliance/Contracts, Program Management, and Quality to ensure completeness, accuracy, and on‑time delivery.
• Standards Maintenance: ensure adherence to CAD standards and drafting best practices.
• Data Management: manage PLM/ERP systems to control document versioning.

Bills of Material (BOM) Management

• Oversee the EBOM‑to‑MBOM transformation, ensuring correct part structures, make/buy classifications, alternates/substitutes, and manufacturing‑level component assignments.
• Lead the Manufacturing Engineering team to define routings, work centers, standard work, and labor standards aligned to ERP requirements.
• Maintain configuration control, traceability, and revision integrity across PLM/ERP systems; manage ECR/ECO workflows and effectivity dates.
• Conduct structured MBOM reviews to eliminate discrepancies and reduce change‑induced disruption.

Manufacturing Engineering

• Design for Manufacturing (DFM): develop rules and methods to ensure designs can be easily fabricated, assembled, and installed.
• Tooling & Fixtures: design and implement production tools and fixtures.
• Production Support: provide technical support during manufacturing to resolve issues on the shop floor (Fab Support Specialists, Production Engineers).
• Process Optimization: analyze production workflows to reduce downtime and improve efficiency.

Marine Design

• Oversee marine design and technical integrity.
• Drive cross‑functional alignment and quality execution.
• Assist Manufacturing Engineer in tooling & fixtures efforts.
• Provide production support to resolve shop‑floor issues.
• Assist in process optimization for information continuity and transparency.

Electrical & Mechanical Production Support

• Oversee electrical and mechanical engineering teams in developing complete systems packages for production, ensuring all components, assemblies, and documentation are integrated and validated for manufacturability.
• Ensure system‑level packages include accurate schematics, mechanical layouts, wiring harnesses, and assembly instructions that meet design intent and production requirements.
• Drive collaboration between design and production teams to resolve integration issues and optimize system‑level build processes.
• Ensure documentation is clear, controlled, versioned, and accessible at point‑of‑use (digital or printed) to minimize ambiguity and variation.

Core Skills / Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Marine, or Electrical Engineering (Master’s or MBA preferred).
• 5+ years in marine production/manufacturing engineering with 3+ years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience converting EBOMs to MBOMs and deploying documentation into PLM/ERP systems.
• Strong knowledge of configuration management, ECR/ECO processes, and revision control.
• Proficiency with PLM/ERP tools (e.g., ARAS, EPICOR/IFS) and CAD/ECAD (e.g., SolidEdge, Rhino 3D, AutoCAD Electrical).
• Excellent communication skills; ability to influence cross‑functional teams and present to internal/external stakeholders.
• Effective verbal and written communication, including the ability to teach and train others.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills with a systems‑thinking approach.
• Advanced PC skills: AutoCAD, MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, Visio, PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of lean principles and ability to apply them to manufacturing value streams.
• Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing, Just‑in‑Time, and Total Quality Management principles.
• Ability to convert product designs into production action plans.
• Ability to work independently in an ambiguous environment, with minimal supervision, and as part of a team.
• Flexibility to work overtime, different shifts, or on short notice as needed.

Physical Requirements

• Grasping, writing, standing, sitting, walking, kneeling, crawling, repetitive motions, bending, climbing, stooping, squatting, and stretching.
• Listening and hearing ability and visual acuity.
• Must be able to go underway on high‑performance watercraft, as needed, in a variety of weather conditions.
• Able to access boats in production and easily navigate a shop‑floor environment.