Chief Design Engineer - Automotive at Prostaff Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Job Summary 

A well-established Automotive Body company requires the above to be responsible for the technical design and quality within the company, either as a direct responsibility for the company's products, or to ensure technical compliance in specifically production and facilities/equipment.

Minimum requirements for the role:

• A tertiary qualification in mechanical engineering (B Eng) is essential for this role.
• Previous design experience 5 years, as well as managing a technical department, preferably in the bodybuilder design and manufacturing industry (CIT, Military vehicles, Body Builders).
• Ability to create sound mechanical designs, from concept through to detail design.
• Must have mechanical and spatial insight.
• Must be proficient in SolidWorks.
• Must be able to manage people and processes.
• The successful candidate must have market insight and a strategic mindset.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Responsible for the technical design and quality within the company, either as a direct responsibility for the company's products or ensuring technical compliance in specifically production and facilities/equipment. The position is also responsible for all new product proposals, both technically as well as commercially.
• Initiating and designing, based on market feedback and technical feasibility, new product designs for the company, mainly mechanical, but also managing the integration of the electrical and software elements.
• Prototyping the designs, and creating the data pack for the new product, including initial costing.
• Ensuring that the design is market and production-ready, through the creation of BOMs, fabrication drawings, costing, creation of required parts NRs, loading costs and parts into the ERP system etc.
• Transferring knowledge to relevant departments (production, sales and marketing, finance etc), to ensure their success with the new product.
• Managing the sales process of all leads brought into the company by the S&M Manager, including client liaison, technical input and generation of comprehensive client proposals.
• Providing technical input and expertise to all areas of the company.
• Be involved with the MANCO to ensure the success of the company as a whole.
• Managing all aspects of the employee life cycle of 8 direct reports.
• Ensuring that all designs and products offered by the company are in line with market requirements.
• Ensuring that all documents and processes are in place to ensure product success, both externally and internally.
• Ensuring accuracy in quotations, use costings feedback to increase accuracy.
• Warranty accounts and claims as an indicator of product (design) defects.