Director, Design Engineering The Client is seeking an experienced Director, Design Engineering to lead its European engineering and product development activities.

This senior leadership role is responsible for managing product development from concept through to production launch, across HealthTech, Industrial, Power Infrastructure and A/D markets. Products are primarily electro-mechanical, with elements of software and connectivity.

The successful candidate will combine strong engineering leadership, commercial acumen and people management skills, leading multi-disciplinary teams while driving customer engagement, business growth and operational performance.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead the European engineering strategy and provide overall leadership to the design engineering organisation.
- Manage product development across the full lifecycle, from concept and requirements through design, verification, validation, design transfer and production launch.
- Lead multi-disciplinary teams across mechanical, electrical, software, test, project management and product development.
- Ensure programmes meet customer requirements, quality standards, cost targets and delivery schedules.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with customers, Sales and senior stakeholders, acting as a trusted engineering partner.
- Identify new business opportunities and support the development of technical solutions, proposals and engineering quotations.
- Own engineering business performance, including budgets, resource planning, revenue, margins and operational targets.
- Build, develop and retain high-performing engineering teams, including managers,



senior engineers and technical leaders.
- Establish clear KPIs, governance and operating processes to drive accountability, continuous improvement and delivery performance.
- Develop the engineering capabilities required for future growth, including people, technical expertise, laboratories, prototyping and testing infrastructure.
- Manage engineering investment and resource priorities in line with business and customer requirements.
- Represent the engineering organisation with senior customers, leadership teams and external partners.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
- 12+ years' experience in product development, design engineering or engineering services.
- Significant experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and complex product development programmes.
- Proven experience managing people, budgets, resources and business performance.
- Strong customer-facing and commercial experience, including proposals, negotiations and senior stakeholder management.
- Experience taking products from concept through to production and commercialisation.
- Strong understanding of engineering design, testing, quality, manufacturing and design transfer.




- Excellent leadership, communication, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Experience:

- Experience within HealthTech, Medical Device, Industrial, Power Infrastructure or other regulated/high-reliability industries.
- Experience with design for manufacturability, design transfer, industrialisation or commercialisation.
- Experience developing or transforming engineering organisations and technical capabilities.
- Knowledge of embedded systems, mechatronics, robotics or connected products.
- Experience working across international engineering or manufacturing environments.

Key Competencies:

- Strong technical and engineering leadership.
- Excellent business and commercial acumen.
- Proven ability to lead, coach and develop high-performing teams.
- Strong customer relationship and stakeholder management skills.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to turn strategy into execution.
- Confident decision-maker in complex and fast-moving environments.
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
- Strong focus on quality, delivery, innovation and continuous improvement.

Working Conditions:

- Primarily office-based with regular interaction across engineering, commercial, manufacturing and customer teams.
- Regular travel within Europe, with additional travel to customer and company locations as required.

By applying to this job post you agree that Sterling Engineering may process your personal data for recruitment purposes. For more information and a confidential chat please contact Gerard Cunniffe on +353861908885

📌 Director of Design Engineering (Valencia)
🏢 Sterling Engineering Ltd - Ireland u0026 Europe
📍 Valencia