Associate Director, Engineering – West Coast

Description

Image Engineering was founded as a company that pushes boundaries, develops new ideas through design and fabrication, and is a leader in the visual display and special effects industry. We are a team of artists, engineers,event producers, fabricators and creative thinkers who deliver experiences that move audiences.

We’ve executed thousands of projects across live entertainment, sports and large-scale events, creating permanent and temporary interactive installations for world-class venues and partners. Building on our heritage in lasers, projection, lighting, automation and practical effects, we continue to scale our engineering and fabrication capabilities to deliver complex, reliable, and safe solutions from concept through build.

The Associate Director, Engineering – West Coast oversees the West Coast engineering team at our Valencia, CA office, ensuring technical excellence, operational efficiency, and client satisfaction across all phases—from early design and quoting through fabrication, testing, and delivery. This leader will partner closely with the Director of Engineering and the Associate Director, Engineering – East Coast to align standards, processes, and strategy across regions.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team & Technical Leadership:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the West Coast–based engineering team; set priorities, remove roadblocks, and model best-in-class technical direction.
• Participate in and lead internal/external design reviews.
• Collaborate with East Coast engineering leadership to standardize methods, tools, and expectations.

Design Quality & Reviews

• Review engineering designs in progress and prior to client submission to ensure accuracy, feasibility, and compliance with necessary standards.
• Review complete deliverable packages (models, drawings, calculations, BoMs) before submission for quality and alignment.

Project Delivery & Oversight

• Contribute to project deliverables when needed.
• Maintain project budgets, schedules, and oversee resource planning, forecasting, and prioritization.
• Coordinate with the West Coast Project Management team and ensure strong cross-departmental coordination.

Estimation, Quoting & Commercial Support

• Assist Director, Engineering Operations with preparation of accurate and competitive project quotes and engineering estimates
• Support financial performance through value-engineering approaches and efficient resource allocation

Fabrication & Manufacturability

• Collaborate with Fabrication early in the process to ensure designs meet requirements for manufacturability, structural integrity, and efficient production
• Validate build strategies and QA checkpoints to reduce rework and meet production timelines

Process, Documentation & Tools

• Champion CAD standards, documentation quality, and engineering change control
• Support implementation and optimization of PDM/PLM systems for data integrity and version control
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that streamline engineering, PM, and fabrication workflows

Client Representation & Stakeholder Management

• Represent the company in client meetings and technical reviews as necessary
• Communicate scope, risks, schedules, and engineering implications clearly to internal stakeholders and clients.
• Proactively manage change, identify risks, and maintain alignment with client expectations

Cross-Coast & Strategic Alignment

• Work closely with engineering leadership across regions to align on strategy and efficiency creation
• Establish processes that ensure consistency, predictability, and clarity for partner teams
• Develop, track, and report departmental KPIs to drive continuous improvement for direct reports.

Compliance & Safety Expectations

• Ensure engineering work meets the highest safety and regulatory standards.
• Promote safety-by-design across all engineering phases.
• Partner with PM, Fabrication, Field, and Compliance teams to conduct risk assessments and verify design compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Structural, Electrical, Systems, or related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of engineering experience with increasing responsibility.
• 3+ years leading engineers or cross-functional teams.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining quality.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Proficiency with modern CAD and documentation workflows; familiarity with PDM/PLM preferred.

Preferred Experience

• Experience collaborating with fabrication/manufacturing teams.
• Background in specialty fabrication, live events/experiential, or themed entertainment engineering.
• Experience defining and monitoring engineering team or departmental KPIs.
• Experience with Lean or other continuous-improvement methodologies.

Benefits

• Aetna Health, Dental, & Vision Insurance
• Flexible Time Off Program
• Paid Holidays
• John Hancock 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Company-Paid Life Insurance
• Aflac Supplemental Insurance
• Robust Employee Assistance Program
• Dependent Care FSA Program
• CE Allowance
• ...and more!