Director of Mechanical Engineering

Overview

Lead mechanical design across six plants, standardize practices, and drive innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• technical support
• design automation
• kpi tracking
• supplier qa
• safety compliance
• team leadership

Tasks

At Virginia Transformer, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the mechanical engineering vision for North America’s leading manufacturer of custom power transformers. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with strategic influence, ensuring that innovation, reliability, and precision remain at the heart of every product we build. This role will be responsible for standardizing design practices, improving manufacturability, and ensuring all mechanical designs meet rigorous standards of quality, performance, and safety. You will collaborate closely with plant-level engineering teams, corporate R&D, sourcing, and vendor quality to drive innovation, consistency, and cost optimization across the organization. -Provide direct, hands-on technical support when needed — including concept development, modeling, and problem-solving for complex design challenges. -Apply deep understanding of metallurgy, polymers, and material properties to improve product performance, longevity, and thermal characteristics. -Participate in design reviews, non-conformance investigations (NCRs), and root cause/corrective action efforts to resolve mechanical and manufacturing issues. -Work closely with plant management and production teams to ensure mechanical designs support operational goals and manufacturability. -Review and approve detailed mechanical drawings, design calculations, and documentation for accuracy and compliance with internal and industry standards. -Establish, update, and enforce design automation and process assurance systems to maintain consistency and reduce variability in mechanical design outputs. -Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for the design teams, driving measurable improvement in design quality, efficiency, and throughput. -Partner with Sourcing and Vendor Quality Assurance to qualify suppliers and evaluate materials or components for new or alternative sourcing. -Partner with corporate R&D to advance new mechanical design initiatives and introduce innovative materials, features, and product enhancements. -Lead, mentor, and develop a team of mechanical design engineers across multiple sites, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement. -Collaborate with Safety and Compliance functions to ensure adherence to industry, regulatory, and environmental standards. -Ensure consistent application of the mechanical design manual and design standards across all six plants. -Oversee the design and development of mechanical assemblies, ensuring manufacturability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

Requirements

• mechanical engineering
• solidworks
• fea
• leadership
• 15+ years
• metallurgy

What You Bring

Virginia Transformer Corporation is seeking a hands-on Director of Mechanical Engineering to lead the mechanical design and development function across six manufacturing plants. The ideal candidate will bring deep technical expertise in mechanical systems, metallurgy, and polymers, along with strong leadership experience in custom electromechanical equipment design. Location: Roanoke, VA (On-site, with regular travel to multiple U.S. plants) -Strategic mindset with operational discipline — balancing innovation with manufacturability and cost control. -Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, able to influence across engineering, operations, and executive leadership. -Demonstrated success leading engineering teams in a plant, multi plant or global manufacturing environment. -Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, Master’s degree in mechanical engineering preferred. PE is a plus. -Strong knowledge of FEA/FEM analytical tools, CAD systems, and 3D design platforms (SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent). -Deep technical understanding of materials, thermal performance, stress analysis, and mechanical reliability. -Minimum 15-20 years of experience in thermo-mechanical design of custom electromechanical equipment, with at least 5 years in a senior management or multi-site leadership role. -Hands-on problem solver with a proactive, floor-level approach to engineering challenges. -Expert-level proficiency in CAD design practices, finite element modeling, and mechanical systems analysis. -Strong organizational ability to lead large engineering teams (100+ engineers) across multiple sites. -Proven background in metallurgy, polymers, material science, or industrial product design from manufacturing, energy, aerospace, rail, or related industries.

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About Virginia Transformer Corp

-Supplies custom transformers to major data centers in Arizona, Ohio, Texas, and South Carolina, emphasizing expertise in mission-critical power infrastructure. -Service portfolio includes liquid-filled, dry-type, rectifier, autotransformers, and pad-mount units, plus field services like testing, repairs, and automated diagnostics. -Financial trajectory shows steady expansion, driven by substantial data-center contracts and strategic plant investments.

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