Engineering Manager (m/f/d)

As Engineering Manager for Tier-1 automotive supplier, you lead the entire engineering organization and ensure the successful launch, industrialization, and ongoing technical support of customer projects — from the quotation phase through to series production. Working closely with customers, production, quality, tooling, and maintenance, you ensure that new products are introduced on time, on budget, and to the highest quality standards. The role combines technical leadership, project management, and organizational development, with overall responsibility for department budgets and for four core areas: Program Management, Product Engineering, Pre-Series Manufacturing, and Tooling Engineering. Engineering Manager (m/f/d) Responsibilities Program & Project Management - Overall responsibility for customer projects, from nomination through to series production - Ensure adherence to project milestones, budgets, and start-of-production targets - Act as the escalation point for technical and project-related matters - Ensure clear, professional customer communication during launch and industrialization phases Product Engineering - Own product design reviews and engineering changes - Ensure manufacturable, cost-effective (design-for-manufacturing) product design - Support technical coordination with customers and suppliers - Manage engineering change control Pre-Series Manufacturing & Industrialization - Lead prototype, sample, and pre-series activities - Ensure robust process validation and production readiness - Support APQP, PPAP, and series-launch activities - Ensure a smooth transition from development to series production Tooling Engineering - Own tooling strategy, tool development, and tool modifications - Manage tooling suppliers and budgets, as well as internal tool design and tool manufacturing Organization & Continuous Improvement - Manage the Manufacturing Engineering and New Product Engineering budgets, aligning resources with business goals - Establish and maintain a clear chain of command and escalation paths through senior engineering leads - Ensure the engineering team maintains, develops, and improves all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) - Align engineering capacity and headcount to current and future business needs - Advance engineering processes and project-management methods, and support automation and manufacturing-technology projects - Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and cross-functional collaboration Requirements - Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Plastics, or related discipline) - 10+ years of experience in injection molding or automotive industry - 5+ years in a leadership or engineering management role - Strong customer-facing communication and relationship management skills - Demonstrated experience managing engineering budgets - APQP, PPAP, and PFMEA knowledge preferred - Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams in an automotive production environment - Sound knowledge of injection molding, tooling, industrialization, or product development - Strong project-management skills - Knowledge of control plans and automotive quality standards (e.g., IATF 16949) - Business-fluent German and English