We, at Leggett & Platt Inc., are searching for a Director of Product Engineering  within our Product Development team to help support our Work Furniture* *business.  Our Work Furniture business brings an intense focus on the customer, innovation, world-class manufacturing capabilities, and a global footprint together to create full package solutions for the industry.  We do not make furniture.  We make furniture more comfortable.  We need the best people on our team to support our strategy, and your work will ensure people around the world have a little more comfort in their lives.

As a Director of Product Engineering,  you will lead a global engineering team accountable for product design, development and launch, operations integration, and field sales technical support. You will  use  your passion for innovation with a continuous learning mindset and willingness to explore new technologies, processes, and methodologies to contribute to the success of the business, The team you will be working with is innovative and values challenging work while empowering and supporting each other to reach their full potential. 

So what will you be doing as a Director of Product Engineering?

Develop and implement the engineering department's strategic vision, goals, and objectives in alignment with the company's and WFG business unit's overall strategy.

Supervise the planning, execution, and delivery of engineering projects, ensuring they are completed within budget and on schedule.  

Own and / or support team's ownership of end-to-end technical customer engagements from pre-RFQ phase through production ramp up phase and ongoing technical support.

Effectively collaborate with cross functional teams both within the BU as well as in other L&P BUs for project execution, best practices, leveraging resources, etc.

 Allocate resources and manage project risks to ensure successful outcomes.  

Establish and track milestones across all active engineering projects and customer programs and manage technical resources to meet those objectives using established NPD process.

Monitor project progress, identify potential roadblocks, and proactively implement corrective actions.

Ensure product solutions meet design criteria of internal and / or customer teams.  

Foster environment that drives the level of detail and responsiveness customers require.

Develop near and long-term plans for continuous improvement that will increase engineering productivity and effectiveness via standardization, advanced methods/technologies, tools, and processes.

Accountable for people management of global engineering teams including recruitment, hiring, managing, and developing.  

Drive People First culture and work environment into the DNA of the PD&L teams.  

Foster proactive, continuous improvement, and growth mindset culture for global team.

Provide technical direction and growth opportunities to members of engineering team and serve as professional skill mentor and coach.  

Provide technical direction to internal and external customers.  

Become BU expert in key compliance areas such as BIFMA, sustainability, etc.

Support cross-functional efforts in Voice of the Customer research, concept validation, technical sales presentations, trade shows, and internal product training.

Continuously evaluate engineering processes and metrics to track and measure engineering success.

Support efforts to create and maintain a WFG BU innovation pipeline.  

Contribute to the development of the innovation strategy and technical roadmap, guided by market and customer research.  Partner with the R&D team and other L&P BUs for new technology development and introduction.

Serve as a contact point for internal and external customers.  Foster environment that b