Founded in 1978 CMC designs and manufactures professional rescue equipment used by customers around the world. This on-site role is based at our world headquarters in Santa Barbara, California, where close collaboration with product development, engineering, testing, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and end users is essential to moving ideas effectively from concept to production.
We are seeking an experienced Design Engineering Manager to lead the development of innovative professional rescue products from early opportunity definition through commercial launch. This role combines hands-on technical leadership, people management, and cross-functional product development ownership. The manager will guide concept development, engineering analysis, prototyping, verification and validation, and design transfer while ensuring that new products meet customer needs, business objectives, regulatory requirements, and cost, quality, and schedule targets.
Key Responsibilities
- Team Leadership and Development: Recruit, lead, and mentor a growing team of engineers responsible for developing PPE for the rescue and rope access markets, including soft goods, harnesses, and technical hardware. Build team capability in customer-focused product development, engineering design, prototyping, testing, design for manufacture, and disciplined project execution while establishing clear roles, performance expectations, and professional development plans.
- Product and Design Strategy: Partner with product management, commercial teams, end users, and engineering leadership to translate market opportunities and customer needs into product requirements, technology roadmaps, development priorities, and clear objectives for the next generation of rescue products.
- Product Development Execution: Lead multiple development programs from opportunity definition and concept selection through detailed design, prototyping, verification and validation, design transfer, and commercial launch. Establish development plans, milestones, resources, budgets, risks, and decision points to deliver products on schedule and within approved investment targets.
- Design and Technical Leadership: Guide concept generation and selection, resolve technical trade-offs, and lead design reviews throughout development. Review and approve product requirements, risk analyses, 3D models, engineering drawings, prototypes, test methods, verification and validation results, and technical documentation to ensure designs are safe, reliable, manufacturable, and ready for release.
- Cross-Functional Product Development: Collaborate with product management, manufacturing engineering, quality, regulatory, supply chain, commercial teams, and end users to define product requirements and deliver solutions that balance customer value, performance, safety, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and time to market.
- Customer and Market Insight: Participate in customer research, field observation, product evaluations, and competitive assessment to identify unmet needs, validate concepts, and ensure development decisions remain grounded in real-world rescue applications.
- Design for Manufacture and Launch Readiness: Work closely with manufacturing engineering and supply chain to define production processes, tooling, supplier requirements, quality controls, cost targets, and launch-readiness criteria. Support design transfer, pilot builds, issue resolution, and production ramp-up.
- Quality, Risk, and Compliance: Embed applicable quality, safety, regulatory, and risk-management requirements into the product development process from the earliest design stages. Establish engineering standards, maintain disciplined design documentation and change control, support product certification, and continuously improve development workflows using lessons learned and measurable performance indicators.
Requirements and Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field; a master’s degree is preferred.
- Experience: 7 to 11+ years of progressive mechanical engineering and product development experience, including responsibility for taking physical products from concept through design, prototyping, verification and validation, design transfer, and production launch. At least 2 to 3 years of formal people leadership, engineering management, or significant technical and project leadership experience is required.
- Product Development Expertise: Demonstrated success leading cross-functional development of complex physical products in a structured stage-gate or equivalent development process. Experience with safety-critical products, personal protective equipment, rescue equipment, or regulated products is strongly preferred.
- Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency with 3D CAD and product data management tools, with the ability to evaluate engineering analyses, prototypes, test data, and design documentation. Experience using analysis tools to support design decisions is strongly preferred.
- Core Competencies: Deep knowledge of mechanical design, GD&T, design for manufacture and assembly, prototyping, engineering risk management, verification and validation, design transfer, and prototype-to-production lifecycles. Demonstrated ability to translate customer and product requirements into robust engineering solutions is essential.
- Leadership Competencies: Demonstrated ability to make sound decisions with incomplete information, facilitate productive technical debate, resolve cross-functional conflicts, manage development risk, and keep teams focused on customer needs and program priorities. The successful candidate will communicate expectations clearly, hold teams accountable, and remain effective under schedule pressure.
- Communication: Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the ability to present product concepts, technical trade-offs, program risks, test results, and recommendations to technical and nontechnical audiences. Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word is required.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Work environment is in a manufacturing facility with moderate noise level. The physical demands described here are representatives of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, stand, and use the hands to handle, finger, or feel objects, tools, or controls. Occasionally, the employee must crouch or kneel. Successful performance requires specific vision abilities that include close vision. The employee must regularly exert or lift up to 40 pounds of materials. Some business travel is required.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
- 7 to 11+ years of progressive mechanical engineering and physical product development experience
- Experience taking physical products from concept through design, prototyping, verification and validation, design transfer, and production launch
- At least 2 to 3 years of formal people leadership, engineering management, or significant technical and project leadership experience
- Experience leading cross-functional development of complex physical products in a structured stage-gate or equivalent process
- Advanced proficiency with 3D CAD and product data management tools
- Deep knowledge of mechanical design, GD&T, design for manufacture and assembly, prototyping, engineering risk management, verification and validation, design transfer, and prototype-to-production lifecycles
- Ability to evaluate engineering analyses, prototypes, test data, and design documentation
- Ability to translate customer and product requirements into robust engineering solutions
- Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word
- Master’s degree
- Experience with safety-critical products, personal protective equipment, rescue equipment, or regulated products
- Experience using analysis tools to support design decisions
What We Do
CMC Rescue (now CMC) designs, manufactures, and sells life-safety equipment for technical rescue, rope access, and other work-at-height applications. Its products include hardware, harnesses, straps, packs, belts, and related equipment for rescue and work-at-height professionals. The company also offers rescue training through CMC Rescue School and manufactures most of its products in the United States. Customers include fire departments, search-and-rescue teams, the military, and industrial users.
