Systems - R and D Manager in West Jordan, Utah at Quality Electrical Systems

Primary Responsibilities:

The Systems & R&D Manager will lead QES’s Systems Engineering and Research & Development function, reporting directly to the Director of Engineering. This role is responsible for establishing and advancing a formal systems engineering discipline across the organization, bringing structured requirements management, architectural definition, and traceable design processes to a company that has historically relied on tribal knowledge and informal workflows.

The Systems & R&D Manager will also supervise the R&D engineering team, providing leadership, technical direction, and accountability to a group responsible for new product development across electrical, mechanical, and HVAC disciplines. This individual will serve as the primary interface between Sales, Project Management, and Engineering for requirements capture and front-end project definition, ensuring that QES does not begin detailed design work without a thoroughly understood and documented system scope.

Leadership & Team Management

• Directly supervise the Systems & R&D team, including R&D electrical and mechanical engineers, and any future additions to the group.

• Set clear performance expectations, run structured 1:1s, and conduct formal performance reviews for all direct reports.

• Foster a culture of accountability, proactive communication, and engineering rigor within the team.

• Mentor R&D engineers on systems-level thinking, documentation practices, and structured product development methodologies.

• Participate in hiring decisions and onboarding for future Systems & R&D team members.

Systems Engineering Implementation

• Lead the adoption and implementation of a SPICE-based (or equivalent) systems engineering approach across QES engineering projects.

• Define and maintain a structured project lifecycle framework: SYS 1 (stakeholder requirements), SYS 2 (system requirements), SYS 3 (system architecture), SYS 4 (integration and validation), aligned to QES product lines including E-Houses, switchgear, MCC, VFD panels, and PDC structures.

• Ensure that no detailed design work begins on a new project until system-level requirements have been captured, reviewed, and baselined.

• Implement requirements traceability practices that connect customer inputs through to design, test, and delivery.

• Manage and maintain the systems engineering repository in SharePoint, establishing organized folder structures and access controls for all SYS-level documentation.
Sales & Engineering Interface

• Serve as the primary technical interface between Sales, Project Management, and Engineering during pre-PO and early project phases.

• Work with Sales to ensure that RFIs, proposals, and customer requirements are captured using a systems-based framework before engineering resources are committed.

• Define and enforce front-end project gates that prevent scope ambiguity from reaching the design floor.

• Collaborate with the Engineering Integration Manager to ensure smooth, controlled handoffs from Sales into engineering execution.

• Partner with Project Management to align system-level milestones (35%, 65%, 95% phases) with production scheduling and customer deliverables.

R&D & New Product Development

• Lead structured R&D project initiation: define scope, objectives, budget, schedule, and market rationale before any design work begins.

• Manage the R&D pipeline in coordination with the Director of Engineering, ensuring active projects are prioritized, resourced, and tracked.

• Drive the development of QES’s proprietary product lines, including custom HVAC systems, enclosures, and next-generation E-House configurations, using a disciplined product development process.

• Coordinate UL certification, AHRI performance testing, and other regulatory or certification activities required for new product releases.

• Ensure R&D work products (requirements documents, design specs, test plans, BOMs) are documented, version-controlled, and stored in PDM or SharePoint as appropriate.

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify and eliminate process gaps that cause rework, schedule overruns, or quality escapes in the systems and R&D function.

• Champion the continuous development of QES engineering standards, including product architecture templates, standard requirement categories, and reusable system-level design patterns.

• Contribute to the Engineering Management team’s sprint discipline: maintain a visible two-week backlog, report status clearly, and escalate blockers proactively.

• Support the broader Engineering Management team’s initiatives around sprint execution, capacity planning, and organizational documentation.
Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• Demonstrated experience applying systems engineering methodologies (SPICE, A-SPICE, INCOSE SE Handbook, or equivalent) in a product development environment.

• Experience managing or leading small technical teams with accountability for output, schedule, and quality.

• Ability to translate ambiguous customer requirements into structured, traceable engineering specifications.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work across Sales, Engineering, and Operations stakeholders.

• Experience with product lifecycle management, requirements management tools, or structured documentation systems.
Preferred Skills

• Experience with industrial electrical systems, switchgear, custom enclosures, HVAC equipment, or engineered-to-order (ETO) manufacturing environments.

• Familiarity with UL/NEMA certification processes and regulatory submission workflows for electrical or HVAC products.

• Proficiency with SolidWorks PDM, SharePoint, or equivalent document and data management platforms.

• Background in A-SPICE, ISO 15288, or similar formal systems engineering standards.

• Experience building R&D processes from the ground up, including market analysis, feasibility scoping, and structured prototype programs.

Why Join QES

This is a unique opportunity to build and lead a new strategic function within QES, directly influencing how engineering operates, collaborates, and delivers value across the organization.