POSITION SUMMARY:
The Vice President of Engineering provides strategic leadership and enterprise-wide oversight for all engineering functions across White River Marine Group. This role is responsible for establishing and executing the engineering vision that supports the company's product innovation strategy, brand differentiation, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and long-term business objectives.
The VP of Engineering leads multi-disciplinary engineering teams responsible for marine systems, components, product integrity, manufacturing engineering support, and new product development. This leader serves as a key member of the WRMG leadership team, collaborating closely with Product Management, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Brand Leadership to deliver best-in-class products that exceed customer expectations while driving profitability and market leadership.
The position is accountable for fostering a culture of innovation, engineering excellence, continuous improvement, and talent development across the organization while ensuring alignment between product strategy, engineering execution, and manufacturing capabilities.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Develop and execute the engineering strategy, technology roadmap, and innovation initiatives that support White River Marine Group's business objectives, product portfolio, and long-term growth.
- Lead all engineering functions, ensuring the development of innovative, reliable, compliant, and manufacturable products that meet customer expectations, quality standards, and business performance goals.
- Provide executive leadership for the product development lifecycle, including concept development, design, testing, validation, launch, and ongoing product improvement.
- Establish and maintain engineering standards, processes, governance, and best practices that drive consistency, efficiency, quality, and continuous improvement across the organization.
- Partner with Operations and Manufacturing leadership to optimize product designs, improve manufacturability, support production performance, and ensure effective engineering change management.
- Champion innovation through the evaluation and integration of emerging technologies, materials, systems, manufacturing methods, and industry best practices.
- Ensure compliance with applicable safety, regulatory, environmental, and industry standards while promoting a culture of product quality, reliability, and risk management.
- Collaborate with executive leadership, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, and other key stakeholders to align engineering priorities, investments, and resources with organizational objectives.
- Serve as the primary engineering advisor to executive leadership on product development, technology strategy, manufacturing capabilities, and industry trends.
- Build, develop, and lead a high-performing engineering organization through effective talent management, succession planning, leadership development, and employee engagement.
- Develop and manage engineering budgets, capital investments, and organizational resources to maximize operational effectiveness and return on investment.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators to measure engineering effectiveness, project execution, innovation outcomes, product quality, and overall business impact.
- ALL OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED
EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS:
- Minimum Degree Required: Bachelor's Degree
- Preferred Degree: Master's Degree in Engineering or a related technical field
- Years of experience: Minimum 15 years of progressive engineering leadership experience, including senior leadership responsibility within a manufacturing environment.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITY:
- Proven success leading large, multi-disciplinary engineering organizations and delivering innovative products from concept through production.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute engineering strategies that align with business objectives, drive innovation, and support operational excellence.
- Strong knowledge of product development, systems engineering, manufacturing operations, quality systems, and engineering best practices.
- Experience leading organizational transformation, process improvement, and standardization initiatives across complex, multi-site operations.
- Knowledge of regulatory compliance, product safety, testing, certification, and risk management practices.
- Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively across executive leadership teams and matrixed organizations.
- Strong business and financial acumen, including experience managing budgets, capital investments, and resource planning.
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to travel as needed to support manufacturing facilities, suppliers, customers, and business operations.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Regularly sits and works on a computer.
Occasionally stands and walks.
Seldom/never lifts up to 50 lbs.
INDEPENDENT JUDGEMENT:
Develops strategic direction, goals, plans and policies for an area of responsibility. Sets broad objectives and is accountable for overall results in respective area of responsibility. Authority to make independent decisions on matters of significance. Requires a high degree of independent judgment and problem solving of complex problems.
Full Time Benefits Summary:
Enjoy discounts on retail merchandise, our restaurants, world-class resorts and conservation attractions!
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Health Savings Account
- Flexible Spending Account
- Voluntary benefits
- 401k Retirement Savings
- Paid holidays
- Paid vacation
- Paid sick time
- Bass Pro Cares Fund
- And more!
Bass Pro Shops is an equal opportunity employer. Hiring decisions are administered without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.
Reasonable Accommodations
Qualified individuals with known disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please visit your nearest location or contact us at [email protected].
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- Master's degree in Engineering or a related technical field
- At least 15 years of progressive engineering leadership experience
- Senior leadership experience within a manufacturing environment
- Experience leading large, multidisciplinary engineering organizations
- Experience delivering innovative products from concept through production
- Knowledge of product development, systems engineering, manufacturing operations, quality systems, and engineering best practices
- Experience leading organizational transformation, process improvement, and standardization across complex, multisite operations
- Knowledge of regulatory compliance, product safety, testing, certification, and risk management
- Strong business and financial acumen, including budget, capital investment, and resource planning experience
- Ability to travel as needed to support facilities, suppliers, customers, and business operations
Bass Pro Shops Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Bass Pro Shops and has not been reviewed or approved by Bass Pro Shops.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision with HSA/FSA options and an advertised employer HSA credit for eligible plans. Wellness programs plus life and disability insurance provide additional coverage.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid vacation, sick time, and holiday pay are available for eligible team members. Hourly employees have seen enhancements to early‑tenure paid time off in recent updates.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Substantial merchandise discounts and savings at company restaurants, resorts, and attractions are a standout perk. A hardship fund offers one‑time grants for qualified needs.
Bass Pro Shops Insights
What We Do
Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today we provide customers with premier destination retail in more than 150 locations across North America. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Guided by the visionary leadership of our founder and CEO Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is making a significant impact in on the future of conservation and the communities we serve. More than 40 years after Johnny began helping people connect with nature through a tiny bait shop, our conservation mission is to inspire people to enjoy, love and conserve the great outdoors. Beyond retail, Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of boats, plus award-winning resorts and nature destinations including Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Our passion for connecting people to nature extends to our CLUB program where customers earn points toward free gear and experiences, and a series of not-for-profit conservation attractions.
