Design Manager

Position Summary
The Head of Design will lead the complete design lifecycle — from customer and project requirements through structural design, 3D modelling, FEA analysis, detailed drawings, BOM release, design optimization, and coordination with manufacturing and project teams. The role owns the mechanical design, structural analysis, and CAD engineering function, with a proven track record of leading design teams, driving DFMEA/UL certification efforts, ensuring engineering compliance, and delivering cost-effective, manufacturable designs.
The ideal candidate will bring strong cross-functional leadership across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and international teams, along with a solid background in solar structures, structural steel, steel fabrication, sheet metal, or related engineering manufacturing industries.
Key Responsibilities
1. Leadership & Team Management
• Lead and manage the complete Design & Engineering Department, including a multidisciplinary team of design engineers.
• Define and track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the design team, ensuring productivity, quality, and adherence to project deadlines.
• Plan departmental resources and monitor design schedules to ensure timely completion of project deliverables.
• Mentor and develop Design Engineers, Senior Engineers, and the overall technical team, providing technical guidance and career development support.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration across the design organization.
2. Structural, Mechanical & Solar Design
• Lead the design and engineering of ground-mounted solar structures, solar mounting systems, structural steel components, sheet metal parts, fabricated assemblies, and automobile components.
• Oversee structural design and CAD modelling of products/structures (e.g., solar trackers, poles, pressure vessels, enclosures, or equivalent structural systems) ensuring compliance with international safety, durability, and reliability standards.
• Direct structural analysis using STAAD Pro, ANSYS, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to validate designs against wind loads, seismic conditions, buckling, and long-term environmental durability.
• Review and approve design calculations, structural drawings, 3D models, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and technical documents, including detailed GD&T for manufacturability and assembly feasibility.
• Guide design calculations, thermal simulations, and CFD analysis as required for product validation.
3. Design Optimization & Manufacturing Feasibility
• Drive design optimization and value engineering to reduce material consumption, weight, cost, wastage, and manufacturing complexity.
• Ensure designs are optimized for manufacturing, fabrication, galvanizing, transportation, installation, and site assembly, applying DFM/DFA principles.
• Ensure designs meet customer requirements, project specifications, applicable standards, quality requirements, and manufacturing feasibility.
• Establish and maintain design standards, standard components, templates, calculation methods, and engineering procedures.
4. Compliance, Quality & Documentation
• Own and drive DFMEA processes for UL and other regulatory/international certifications.
• Ensure design documentation complies with industry standards (ISO, ASME, ASTM, IS) and internal quality systems.
• Ensure proper revision control, design documentation, engineering change management (ECN), and BOM accuracy.
• Establish and maintain drafting manuals, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and document control systems.
• Ensure secure and organized CAD data management using PLM tools (Windchill, Vault, PDM).
5. Cross-Functional & Business Collaboration
• Coordinate with Projects, Production, Quality, Procurement, Sales, Planning, NPD, and Site teams for effective design execution.
• Resolve critical design and technical issues arising during manufacturing, fabrication, galvanizing, installation, or project execution.
• Partner with sales and marketing teams to provide technical support, design clarifications, and proposal input for new business opportunities.
• Prepare and present technical documentation, design presentations, and progress reports to senior management, customers, consultants, and project stakeholders.
• Represent the design function in discussions with international offices/teams for global project alignment, training, and knowledge sharing.
6. Process, Automation & Continuous Improvement
• Champion automation initiatives (e.g., Drive works, Python scripting) to streamline design workflows and reduce cycle time.
• Support the development of new products and improved solar structure designs.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
Required Technical Skills
Structural & Solar Engineering
• Strong knowledge of structural steel design and solar mounting structures.
• Experience in designing ground-mounted solar structures and related structural systems will be highly preferred.
• Good understanding of wind loads, dead loads, live loads, seismic loads, load combinations, deflection, buckling, and structural stability.
• Knowledge of steel sections, structural members, bolted connections, welded connections, and foundation interfaces.
Sheet Metal & Fabrication
• Strong experience in sheet metal design and steel fabrication engineering.
• Knowledge of flat patterns, bend allowance, bend deduction, tolerances, and material selection.
• Strong understanding of fabrication processes including cutting, punching, drilling, bending and forming, rolling, welding, grinding, assembly, and galvanizing.
• Strong understanding of Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA).
Automotive Components (Added Advantage)
• Experience in the design and development of automotive components, precision-engineered parts, and machined components will be an added advantage.
• Understanding of CNC, VMC, and HMC machining processes, including machining feasibility and component manufacturability.
CAD, FEA & PLM Software
• Proficiency in CAD tools such as SolidWorks, NX, Creo, UGNX, and AutoCAD.
• Strong command of FEA tools (ANSYS Workbench) and structural analysis software (STAAD.Pro).
• Strong knowledge of GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) principles.
• Familiarity with CAD data management/PLM tools (Windchill, Vault, PDM).
• Working knowledge of design automation tools (Drive works, Python) is a plus.
• Proficiency in MS Excel and engineering calculation tools.
Standards Knowledge
• Familiarity with international and domestic standards such as ISO, ASME, ASTM, IS, and UL certification processes.
Required Experience
10–15 years of total experience in Design & Engineering, preferably with significant experience in one or more of the following:
• Solar Mounting Structures / Solar Structural Systems
• Structural Steel / Steel Fabrication
• Sheet Metal Manufacturing
• Renewable Energy / Heavy Engineering / Industrial Engineering Products
Candidates with experience in Solar Mounting Structure design and manufacturing will be given strong preference.
Minimum 3–5 years of experience in a senior leadership role such as Design Manager, Engineering Manager, Lead Design Engineer, or Head of De

Skills
Python, Excel, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Procurement, Documentation

Experience
10-15 yrs

Work arrangement
No