Senior Manager, Engineering (Onsite - Irvine)

Position Overview 

The Senior Manager, Engineering will lead the Irvine Manufacturing site’s engineering and maintenance functions to support safe, compliant, reliable, and efficient production operations. This role provides direct leadership to a team of approximately five engineers and indirect leadership through the Manager, Maintenance Operations, who leads a maintenance organization of approximately ten direct reports. The position is responsible for equipment reliability, manufacturing engineering support, process improvement, capital execution, technical problem solving, and cross-functional partnership with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, EHS, Facilities, and global engineering teams. The successful candidate will be a visible, hands-on leader who spends meaningful time on the manufacturing floor, sets clear technical priorities, develops talent, and ensures engineering and maintenance strategies support Irvine’s production, quality, safety, and growth objectives. 

Responsibilities  

• Lead the site engineering function for Irvine Manufacturing, including manufacturing engineering, maintenance engineering, equipment reliability, process improvement, and technical production support. 

• Manage and develop a team of approximately five engineers and provide leadership oversight to the Manager, Maintenance Operations and the broader maintenance team of approximately ten direct reports. 

• Own the site’s technical strategy for equipment uptime, reliability, capacity, safety, quality, and cost performance, using KPIs such as OEE, MTBF, MTTR, yield, throughput, downtime, and maintenance execution performance. 

• Partner with Operations to ensure production equipment, processes, staffing support, and escalation processes are sufficient to meet Irvine production commitments and business objectives. 

• Establish engineering priorities, assign resources, remove barriers, and ensure timely execution of technical projects, corrective actions, equipment upgrades, process improvements, and sustaining engineering activities. 

• Lead structured problem solving for recurring equipment, process, yield, quality, safety, and productivity issues using appropriate tools such as DMAIC, 8D, root cause analysis, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and CAPA support processes. 

• Oversee manufacturing engineering support for automated and semi-automated equipment, including troubleshooting, design improvements, process optimization, controls escalation, documentation, and manufacturability improvements. 

• Provide leadership oversight for the maintenance strategy, including preventive and corrective maintenance, spare parts strategy, EAM/CMMS discipline, equipment inspections, vendor coordination, and escalation of critical equipment or facilities issues. 

• Manage the site machine shop capability, including prioritization of shop work, safe operation, tooling and fabrication support, maintenance of shop equipment, and alignment of machine shop activities with production, maintenance, engineering, and safety requirements. 

• Develop and manage engineering and maintenance budgets, capital plans, resource plans, and project timelines to support operational needs and long-term site growth. 

• Lead or support capital equipment projects, equipment transfers, facility upgrades, automation improvements, installation readiness, commissioning, qualification support, and production ramp activities. 

• Own and execute equipment upgrade initiatives and, when required, lead the design, fabrication, build, installation, commissioning, and qualification support for new manufacturing or support equipment. 

• Ensure engineering work is performed in alignment with applicable quality system requirements, change control processes, validation expectations, safety standards, and documented procedures. 

• Create, review, approve, and maintain technical documentation related to equipment, processes, troubleshooting, maintenance programs, engineering changes, standard work, and improvement projects. 

• Serve as a key member of the site leadership team and partner cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, EHS, Facilities, HR, Finance, and global engineering stakeholders. 

• Participate as a member of the Safety Committee. Own select or assigned safety programs and take an active role in ensuring compliance with OSHA regulations, accident prevention, incident investigation, safety training, and environmental rules and regulations. 

• Build a cohesive, high-performing technical organization by setting expectations, coaching leaders and individual contributors, developing career pathways, strengthening accountability, and reinforcing positive team culture. 

• Perform other tasks assigned by superiors/Leadership. 

Required Leadership/Interpersonal Skills & Behaviors 

• Competence – actively listens, synthesizes information, and makes sound judgments even in unfamiliar areas by leveraging critical thinking and available resources. 

• Decision making – has a systematic and methodical approach to making decisions, seeks out and explores relevant information, thinks creatively beyond the immediate problem, assimilates facts quickly, challenges assumptions, and considers business implications of potential solutions. 

• Adaptability – demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous learning and the flexibility to take on diverse responsibilities as needed. 

• Communication – conveys information effectively, actively listens, and resolves conflict constructively. 

• Work organization – takes a structured, economical approach to resources including time, people, money, and equipment. 

• Problem solving – uses a systematic, methodical approach to gather facts, define problems, generate and implement solutions. 

• Initiative – makes decisions and takes actions appropriately. Willing to take risks as circumstances require. 

• Planning – sets goals and priorities, thinks ahead, and identifies activities and resources needed to achieve goals. 

• Perseverance – achieves objectives by overcoming difficulties through tenacity and resilience. 

• Talent Developer – actively coaches and partners with direct reports on career aspirations.  Hold employees accountable for consistent performance and behavior expectations. 

• Culture Setter – fosters an inclusive, collaborative environment by modeling organizational values, promoting trust, and encouraging behaviors that strengthen team cohesion and engagement. 

Required Skills and Competencies 

• Strong technical engineering background in manufacturing, automation, equipment reliability, maintenance engineering, or related disciplines. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead engineers, technical leaders, and maintenance organizations in a manufacturing environment. 

• Advanced problem-solving capability, including root cause analysis, data analysis, structured troubleshooting, and corrective action execution. 

• Strong understanding of quality systems, change control, process validation support, documentation discipline, and regulated manufacturing expectations. 

• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, DMAIC, TPM, reliability engineering, and continuous improvement methods. 

• Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment manuals, process documentation, specifications, and applicable government or safety regulations. 

• Working knowledge of automated manufacturing equipment, mechanical systems, controls, vision systems, robotics, fixtures, tooling, and high-volume production processes preferred. 

• Experience using systems such as Microsoft Office, SAP, EAM/CMMS platforms, CAD or drawing review tools, manufacturing execution systems, and data visualization/reporting tools. 

• Strong project management skills, including scope definition, timeline management, budget tracking, risk mitigation, vendor coordination, and stakeholder communication. 

• Financial and business acumen, including budgeting, capital planning, cost reduction, resource allocation, and prioritization of high-impact work. 

• Effective written, verbal, and floor-level communication skills with the ability to translate technical issues into clear operational actions and leadership updates. 

Education and Experience 

• Preferred Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 

• Preferred 10+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, maintenance engineering, automation, equipment reliability, plant engineering, or related technical manufacturing functions. 

• Preferred 5+ years of people leadership experience, including direct leadership of engineers and/or technical leaders in a regulated or high-volume manufacturing environment. 

Additional Information 

• The position is fully in-person at Insulet’s Irvine, CA office and manufacturing site. 

• Travel is estimated at <10% but will flex depending on business need.