Director, Engineering

ABOUT US
tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world's leading brands. With 1,200+ employees across 26 countries, we offer an impressive range of solutions - from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.
Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business, and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for our clients, including Starbucks, T-Mobile, O2, McDonald's, and adidas.
Most importantly, we're a place where you can achieve great things, and be recognized as the best.
WHAT MATTERS THE MOST
Breakthrough, business-driving ideas come from extraordinary people with the freedom to be their most authentic selves at work. Authenticity and diversity are critical elements of our business. They can only be realized when we create access and equity for all. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and aspire to be ever-evolving.
tms is a place where brilliant people are better together. If you want your ideas to be heard and to contribute to a culture of inclusion and authenticity, bring us your voice! Visit us at tmsw.com.
WHY WE THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROLE
tms is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead our team into the next era of innovative consumer product creation. In this pivotal role, you will lead and develop high-performance engineering teams, translating product concepts into high quality, functional solutions that are as beautiful as they are functionally intuitive. You will champion a culture of collaboration across the organization, fostering alignment and promoting adaptability and resilience. You lead teams to navigate ambiguity and change with confidence, modelling agility, flexibility, and an eagerness to adapt to an evolving business landscape. You effectively activate resources in support of diverse engineering initiatives and you're not afraid to roll up your sleeves and get hands-on to ensure the successful execution of project deliverables. If you are an effective leader eager to make a significant impact by bringing innovative ideas to reality, we want to hear from you!
WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE ORGANIZATION

• Support long term vision and strategy by partnering with senior leadership and partners to translate business objectives into clear roadmaps and strategies. Secure the necessary capacity and technical capabilities to meet business goals, factoring in resource constraints.
• Oversee the translation of product designs into robust, scalable manufacturing solutions that meet consumer and business needs while exceed customer expectations for quality and performance.
• Collaborate with project management, product management, and cross-functional leaders to plan future seasonal launches, create project schedules, and allocate resources. Ensure workloads are prioritized to meet project goals effectively.
• Ensure on-time, on-budget, and high-quality execution across the entire project portfolio. Facilitate quality involvement throughout the development process, and support quality teams in resolving technical or performance issues.
• Partner with overseas production engineering leadership and team to ensure technical alignment. Capture best practices and insights from factory processes to minimize development time and costs, while upholding high-quality standards.
• Develop scalable engineering processes and frameworks to support long-term business growth and evolving product portfolios.
• Develop and utilize data analytics to optimize engineering development, manufacturing processes, and operational efficiencies.
• Drive efficiency across engineering teams by developing, refining, and enforcing processes that simplify workflows. Ensure consistent adoption and adherence across teams to support faster, streamlined product delivery.
• Lead initiatives to explore and implement emerging technologies, ensuring the team remains at the forefront of industry innovation.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and support to engineering team members for their professional growth and technical development. Foster a positive work environment by gathering feedback, addressing concerns, and aligning individual goals with Product Development team goals and company objectives.
• Champion engineering needs within the new Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, identifying challenges and guiding its development to support team workflows and objectives.
• Perform other related duties as assigned to support the engineering team and organization goals.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO HAVE

• Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success in delivering a continuous flow of products with aggressive timelines across multiple product lines by leveraging global, virtual teams.
• Team Development and Mentorship: Extensive experience in hiring, mentoring, and developing high-performance teams, with a strong focus on nurturing top talent, growing skills at all levels, and fostering professional growth.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Skilled at working closely with leaders in product management, project management, industrial design, quality, production engineering, and supply chain, fostering effective cross-functional communication and partnership that leads to mutually beneficial outcomes. Functions well in a highly matrixed organization.
• Technical Expertise: Demonstrate extensive technical expertise and application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice.
• Project Management: Skilled in organizing, planning, scheduling, and coordinating diverse resources to meet deadlines and milestones across initiatives, with a strong focus on keeping key partners and stakeholders informed through development.
• Communication: Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills, communicating effectively to technical and non-technical audiences, maintaining professionalism when giving and receiving information.
• Drive for Results: Takes initiative with strong time-management, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Demonstrates a bias for action, driving results and seeking ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Adaptability: Remain adaptable, resilient, and responsive to shifting priorities, adjusting team focus and resources to meet changing customer and organizational needs. Approach ambiguity and setbacks by evaluating options and implementing effective action plans to ensure balanced execution across engineering initiatives.
• Change Management: Proven and effective change management skills. Leads teams through uncertainty or ambiguity to achieve positive and beneficial outcome for the team, championing the organization's vision.
• Analytical and Clarity Focused: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to simplify complex concepts and bring clarity to ambiguous situations.
• Manufacturing Knowledge: Advanced knowledge of manufacturing processes (e.g., stainless steel hydroforming, plastic injection molding, silicone molding) and materials related to hard goods (e.g., stainless steel, plastic, silicone, glass, ceramics) a plus.
• Software: Expert with SolidWorks and Microsoft Office

EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in an Engineering discipline; an MBA is a bonus.
• 15+ years of experience as a practicing engineer of hard goods or durable consumer products; experience in design, project management, or production is a bonus.
• 8+ years of experience managing and mentoring technical teams and team members.
• Experience leading engineering teams spanning multiple engineering disciplines.
• Previous experience as a director of engineering in a similar senior-level position in an engineering department.
• Required to work in Seattle office in person 2-3 days per week.
• Ability to travel up to 20% as required.

Salary: $160,000 - $240,000
tms is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. tms is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please contact [email protected].
The base pay range for this position is for a successful candidate within the state listed. The successful candidate's actual pay will be based on multiple factors, such as job-related knowledge, skills, qualifications, and experience. tms is a total rewards company, which includes rewards beyond base salary. At tms, full-time employees are eligible for an annual bonus, based on company and individual results. In addition, we offer a variety of employee benefits, personalized time off, holiday pay, dental, vision, 401(k), and much more.
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Nearest Major Market: Seattle