Manager, Product Engineering

Xylem is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company dedicated to advancing sustainable impact and empowering the people who make water work every day. As a leading water technology company with 23,000 employees operating in over 150 countries, Xylem is at the forefront of addressing the world's most critical water challenges. We invite passionate individuals to join our team, dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through innovative and sustainable solutions.

The Product Engineering Manager will oversee the design, customization, and technical support team at our Cheektowaga, NY heat transfer manufacturing plant. This role manages projects, budgets, and priorities while ensuring performance, cost, and code compliance. As part of the site leadership team, the manager collaborates cross‑functionally, drives improvement, and provides strong talent leadership. Reports to the Director of Product Compliance, Safety & Engineering Services and supports innovative thermal and sustainable technologies.

Essential Duties/Principal Responsibilities:                     

Team Leadership, Coaching & Development

• Provide daily hands-on direction for a team of early‑career engineers and draftsmen, including guidance on calculations, modeling techniques, drawing practices, and design fundamentals.
• Build a structured training program that includes heat exchanger design principles, drafting standards, manufacturing considerations, and relevant industry codes.
• Promote cross-training to ensure coverage across thermal design, mechanical design, drafting, bill of materials, and production support activities.
• Set clear expectations, give regular feedback, and coach engineers toward technical independence and growth.

Product Design & Technical Oversight

• Provide close technical oversight for heat exchanger designs, including reviews of thermal sizing, pressure vessel calculations, materials selection, weld design, and manufacturability considerations.
• Approve engineering deliverables such as 3D models, drawings, calculation packages, and BOMs.
• Ensure compliance with ASME, API, TEMA, PED, or customer-specific requirements.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts for design issues, field failures, and manufacturing challenges.

Hands-On Support & Engineering Execution

• Work directly with engineers to resolve technical challenges—reviewing models, improving drawings, correcting calculations, or validating design assumptions.
• Partner closely with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to address build issues, reduce cost, and optimize design for fabrication.
• Empower the team to escalate questions early and frequently; model strong problem-solving techniques and engineering judgment.

Project Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support Sales & Applications Engineering interpreting requirements & developing engineered-to-order solutions.
• Lead/facilitate design reviews, ensuring the team follows sound engineering principles & risk evaluation methods.
• Support project schedules by effectively assigning resources, balancing workloads, and monitoring progress.

Process, Standards & Continuous Improvement

• Strengthen engineering discipline by developing design standards, checklists, calculation templates, and best-practice guidelines.
• Drive standardization of components and engineering methods to reduce design time and improve quality.
• Improve team efficiency through better workflows, use of PDM/PLM systems, and strategic use of CAD tools.
• Promote a culture of structured problem solving and continuous improvement.

Safety, Compliance & Quality

• Ensure all designs adhere to engineering codes, safety standards, and internal quality requirements.
• Support EHS compliance and promote safe design practices.
• Work with Quality Engineering on inspection requirements, testing protocols, and validation.

Minimum Qualifications: Education, Experience, Skills, Abilities, License/Certification:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or related technical field or equivalent.
• 7+ years of experience in product or mechanical engineering, preferably heat exchangers or pressure vessels.
• 5+ years leadership experience, ideally managing or mentoring early-career engineers.
• Strong proficiency with CAD and engineering analysis tools.
• Knowledge of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, structural analysis, and manufacturing processes.
• Process oriented, and adaptive learner.
• Strong organization and computer skills utilizing all MS Office products.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s or Doctorate’s Degree in Engineering, or in product support, application engineering, or field service within the heat transfer or HVAC industry.
• Professional Engineer or PE License
• Experience with ASME Section VIII Div. 1, TEMA, API, PED, or similar codes.
• Demonstrated success building and developing a young team.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or other CI training
• Experience working with geographically diverse team members, across several time zones.

Physical Demands:

• Work is generally conducted in an office environment.
• Regularly required to sit, stand, walk and reach with hands and arms.
• Frequently required to communicate orally.
• Ability to use hands and fingers dexterously to operate office equipment.

Work Environment:

• Standard office / manufacturing plant environment:  65/35
• Minimal travel required

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Join the global Xylem team to be a part of innovative technology solutions transforming water usage, conservation, and re-use. Our products impact public utilities, industrial sectors, residential areas, and commercial buildings, with a commitment to providing smart metering, network technologies, and advanced analytics for water, electric, and gas utilities. Partner with us in creating a world where water challenges are met with ingenuity and dedication; where we recognize the power of inclusion and belonging in driving innovation and allowing us to compete more effectively around the world.