Engineering Manager
We’re excited to share an opportunity for an Engineering Manager to lead innovation in our growing organization! In this role, you’ll oversee and enhance the development of new instrumentation and the improvement of existing products. You’ll take ownership of planning and directing all engineering activities—from concept and design through qualification and transition to manufacturing. This is a hands-on leadership role, working closely with cross-functional teams to keep projects on track and deliver exceptional results. You’ll provide strategic direction, manage resources, and inspire a talented team of technical professionals to create high-quality products that make a real impact.
Who Are We?
The Savant Group is a dynamic consortium of internationally recognized companies based in Midland, Michigan, serving the lubrication, transportation, manufacturing, and energy sectors. Our member companies—Savant Labs, Tannas Company, King Refrigeration, the Institute of Materials and Center for Quality Assurance—each offer specialized products or services, working collaboratively to deliver cutting-edge solutions to customers worldwide.
We’re driven by a shared set of values that guide everything we do: service, integrity, quality, continual learning, collaboration, and hard work. These principles shape our culture and fuel our commitment to innovation, professionalism, and long-term growth.
As we expand our global reach, we continue to provide world-class products and services that support the technical advancement of lubricants, fuels, and related fluids.
Why Join Us?
Aside from the fringe benefits or your compensation, the Savant Group takes employee satisfaction above and beyond. In addition to your fringe benefits, you will also get the following benefits by joining the Savant Group:
- A friendly and welcoming environment
- Flexibility, work-life balance
- Career growth, learning and development
- Employee purpose, recognition and appreciation
- A diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce
About the Role
The Engineering Manager’s primary role is to oversee, manage, and enhance the process of developing new instrumentation and updating current products. The focus is on planning, managing, and directing all product development and engineering activities, including design development, qualification, and transition of new product to manufacturing. This role requires hands-on and daily interactions on projects to help keep them on schedule is critical. Working closely between departments for the best product outcome is optimal. Provide professional leadership, focusing on resource management and priority assignment, while guiding a team of technical staff to deliver a high quality, meaningful product within expected timelines.
The responsibilities and duties described in this job posting are meant to provide a general overview of the position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all tasks, duties, and skills required.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage the process of designing, developing, and delivering new products to the company product line according to defined timelines.
- Ensuring that the development process is concise, has clear objectives with definitive due dates.
- Work closely with other managers, stakeholders and departments to ensure the product is of a high quality and aesthetically appealing.
- Manages the process of part number and engineering change releases.
- Establishes leading edge technologies with all developmental projects.
- Prioritizes projects and sets reasonable goals and timing to achieve projects.
- Works to establish resource planning and scheduling with prioritization. Timing should be developed in conjunction with the production and sales teams.
- Professionally manage a team of direct reports both salary and hourly with a focus on continuous improvement and growth.
- Makes recommendations for outsourcing vs insourcing work based on project volume, complexity, timing and internal company competencies.
- Actively develops a cohesive budgeting process that includes projecting annual perpetual (on-going) expenses and capital expenditures for equipment/environmental/hazardous or other needs.
- Manage the patent review and documentation as directed.
- Request and work with functional support teams to help navigate business or company processes. Could include Lab R&D, HR, Sales, Procurement, Finance, IT, Corporate Services/Administration, Safety, Etc.
- Maintains instrument software programs for releases of master version controls on all products.
- Exercises core project management disciplines in delivery of processes and products to the market with one management tool.
- Works with a continuous improvement mindset for the technical development and delivery team.
- Identify opportunities to meet customer and industry needs and evaluate alternative business and technical solutions.
- Ability to collaborate, facilitate and negotiate with customers and industry stakeholders to enhance the products and understand technology. This would include potential travel.
- Launch and stabilize new products into production, sales and service with development of processes, work instructions, and direct report training.
- Establishes quality gate reviews for risk assessments for proper product development. All elements of the project are performed in conjunction with and close partnership with production.
- Develops risk assessments and analysis for each project to help with overall project timing and quality reviews for proper product launch.
- Provides first line assessment of supplier quality prior to production launch for a project. These guidelines must be built into the stage gate system of the project management system.
- Help develop employees to perform at their highest level by providing education and training revolving around the quality requirements and safety aspects of their jobs.
- Manage the engineering team in a positive, constructive and effect methodology according to company guidelines.
- Address employee performance issues consistently, fairly, and immediately.
- Demonstrate the ability to manage all business activities using a balanced combination of qualitative insights and quantitative analysis.
- Understand, develop, and implement ASTM methods and other industry specifications to ensure product compliance, quality standards, and continuous improvement in testing protocols.
- Conduct patent reviews to assess existing intellectual property, identify innovation opportunities, and support product development and compliance with IP regulations.
- Work across the Savant group business when requested but only if quality or productivity does not suffer with primary responsibilities.
- Participate when requested or expressed desire in industry critical meetings and events to promote the company.
- Develop new KPI’s and Metrics to enhance our group and team.
- Able to speak and present key tests and information at industry conferences when necessary.
- Initiates and sets own targets and goals and communicates these to the reporting leader.
- Assist HR in evaluation of employee compensation and recommend adjustments based on factors such as performance, improvement, and commitment.
If you're passionate about what you do and looking to learn and grow, visit our www.savantgroup.com to explore more.
Apply today to become the Engineering Manager at The Savant Group and start a fulfilling career with a global leader in the lubrication industry.
