Engineering Development & Systems Manager

Job Summary:

Ag Express Electronics is seeking an experienced Engineering Development & Systems Manager to lead the development of innovative, reliable electronic repair solutions and help expand our technical capabilities. This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for a hands-on engineering professional who enjoys solving complex electronics challenges, developing technical talent, and turning ideas into practical solutions that deliver real value for customers and the business.

In this role, youll lead engineers and technical specialists through the full development lifecycle—from evaluating new repair opportunities and defining technical approaches to troubleshooting, validation, controlled release, and operational implementation. Youll use your expertise in electronics, diagnostics, failure analysis, and engineering development to challenge assumptions, guide technical decisions, and ensure solutions are reliable, repeatable, and scalable. Collaborating across departments and with business leadership, youll help shape the future of Ag Express Electronics repair capabilities while building a strong culture of innovation, accountability, and technical excellence.

This position is located at our Des Moines, Iowa location.

Qualifications

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

- Direct and evaluate the technical work of engineers and technical contributors responsible for electronic repair capability development, diagnostic development, test engineering, validation, and release readiness.

- Critically review and challenge engineering assumptions, troubleshooting methods, circuit analysis, proposed repair strategies, test coverage, validation results, and technical conclusions.

- Require engineers to support recommendations with appropriate technical analysis, test data, documented results, and consideration of failure modes and operational risk.

- Apply working knowledge of electronic components, circuitry, schematics, signal behavior, communication protocols, diagnostic methods, test equipment, and failure-analysis techniques to engage substantively in technical reviews.

- Ask informed technical questions, identify gaps or inconsistencies, and redirect work when the engineering approach, supporting evidence, documentation, or validation is insufficient.

- Make or facilitate timely technical decisions regarding feasibility, design direction, validation requirements, repair methodology, release readiness, and technical risk.

- Establish clear expectations for engineering quality, technical rigor, documentation, productivity, and project execution.

- Approve, conditionally approve, or reject technical development deliverables and release packages based on established requirements and delegated authority.

- Remain actively engaged in complex troubleshooting, design reviews, validation planning, root-cause analysis, and technical escalations.

- Coach engineers and technical contributors while holding them accountable for accurate, complete, repeatable, and timely work.

Engineering Systems Leadership

- Lead the cross-functional development system that advances qualified opportunities from scope through execution, validation, release, and post-release review.

- Ensure project roles, ownership, deliverables, timelines, resource requirements, and success criteria are clearly defined before development authorization.

- Maintain visibility into active development work, risks, blockers, priorities, resource constraints, and next actions.

- Reinforce accountability and execution discipline to ensure development activities progress toward completion.

- Align engineering development activities with defined business value, customer demand, operational needs, throughput improvement, and scalability objectives.

- Drive collaboration among engineering, sustainment, service operations, documentation, purchasing, manufacturing, and external technical partners.

Repair Capability Development

- Lead the development of repeatable, production-ready repair solutions for electronic control modules, displays, instrumentation, sensors, and related equipment electronics.

- Ensure development work defines the failure condition, diagnostic approach, root cause, repair method, component requirements, test methodology, acceptance criteria, and release documentation.

- Evaluate available schematics, circuit behavior, component specifications, communication data, known failure modes, and physical evidence to guide repair-development decisions.

- Ensure repair solutions address the underlying failure and do not rely solely on symptom-based component replacement without adequate technical validation.

- Challenge engineers to consider alternative failure modes, intermittent conditions, environmental factors, component tolerances, software or firmware interaction, and repeatability across multiple units.

- Confirm that validation samples, test coverage, fixtures, procedures, and acceptance criteria are sufficient to support a reliable operational release.

- Partner with Service Operations to verify that repair methods can be safely, consistently, and efficiently performed by trained technicians.

- Monitor post-release performance, including repeat failures, warranty outcomes, technician feedback, cycle time, material cost, and realized business value.

Development Standards & Process Discipline

- Establish and reinforce practical standards for Statements of Work (SOWs), validation plans, test procedures, technical documentation, release packages, and post-release reviews.

- Maintain disciplined development gates for scope approval, execution authorization, validation, release readiness, and operational handoff.

- Ensure technical documentation supports repeatable and scalable service operations.

- Direct the development of standardized methods, fixtures, tooling, procedures, and validation practices.

- Maintain oversight of active project capacity, prioritization, and resource planning.

- Improve the consistency and quality of technical handoffs between engineering and operational teams.

Project & Portfolio Accountability

- Maintain an active development portfolio with defined ownership, timelines, priorities, RYG status, risks, blockers, and next actions.

- Ensure approved projects have clearly defined scope, deliverables, resource plans, and measurable success criteria.

- Monitor project progress and take or escalate corrective action when scope, timing, quality, cost, or resources are at risk.

- Prioritize development activities based on customer demand, revenue opportunity, margin impact, technical feasibility, throughput improvement, and long-term scalability.

- Ensure development-related labor, materials, prototype expenses, tooling costs, and external support costs are properly captured for leadership review.

- Provide leadership with clear reporting on development progress, priorities, risks, resource needs, and completed outcomes.

Cross-Functional Leadership

- Partner with Service Operations to ensure released technical solutions can be implemented consistently within production repair environments.

- Collaborate with Purchasing and Supply Chain regarding component sourcing, supplier quality, lifecycle risk, obsolescence management, and external partner coordination.

- Work with documentation resources to ensure procedures, validation records, bills of materials (BOMs), technical guides, and release documentation are complete and accurate.

- Advise business leadership regarding technical investment priorities, capability expansion, staffing needs, and long-term development strategy.

- Communicate technical issues, risks, timelines, and tradeoffs in clear and practical business language.

- Foster collaboration and alignment among technical, operational, and business teams.

Team & Capability Development

- Lead and develop engineers, technical specialists, and support personnel involved in repair capability development.

- Establish role clarity, performance expectations, measurable objectives, and accountability for technical contributors.

- Identify staffing, training, tooling, and technical resource needs necessary to support future growth.

- Recommend organizational structure improvements and long-term capability plans for the technical development function.

- Support career development and succession planning for technical team members.

- Build and reinforce a practical engineering culture focused on accountability, execution, quality, repeatability, innovation, and business impact.

- Strengthen long-term capability in electronics development, diagnostic systems, validation engineering, test engineering, and controlled release.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

Required Technical Knowledge and Applied Capability

Demonstrated technical knowledge and applied experience in the following areas is required:

- Analog and digital electronics.

- Schematic interpretation and circuit-level analysis.

- PCB-level diagnostics, troubleshooting, and repair development.

- Electronic measurement, signal analysis, and diagnostic equipment.

- Failure analysis and root-cause analysis methodologies.

- Functional testing, validation planning, and execution.

- Engineering documentation, change management, and release control.

Applied experience in multiple additional areas is strongly preferred:

- Electronic control modules.

- Embedded systems and firmware interaction.

- Communication protocols, including CAN and serial communication.

- Functional test systems and test-fixture development.

- Component selection, substitution, and obsolescence management.

- Harnesses, connectors, sensors, actuators, and equipment electronics.

- Design for testability and serviceability.

Leadership Competencies

- Strong technical judgment and practical problem-solving ability.

- Ability to lead technical teams while maintaining execution focus and accountability.

- Strong prioritization, organization, and decision-making skills.

- Effective communication skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts into practical business terms.

- Ability to operate effectively in environments with incomplete information or evolving priorities.

- Sound judgment regarding quality, timing, customer impact, cost, risk, and business value.

- Ability to balance technical excellence with practical execution and operational scalability.

- Ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, operations, purchasing, service, and executive leadership functions.

- Ability to build structure, accountability, and process discipline without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience within the agricultural, construction, industrial, automotive, military, off-highway, or heavy-equipment industries is preferred, including exposure to:

- Reverse engineering or development of undocumented electronics.

- Diagnostic systems, service tools, or functional test-equipment development.

- Vehicle networks, sensors, and control modules.

- Low-volume, high-mix technical environments.

- Lifecycle sustainment and obsolete electronics support.

- Depot-level technical repair and sustainment operations.

- Coordination with external engineering firms, contract manufacturers, or specialty test providers.

- ISO standards, quality systems, controlled documentation, or engineering release environments.

Required Experience/Education/Training/Certifications:

- Education:

Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a closely related technical discipline strongly preferred.

- Equivalent military, industrial, or applied electronics experience may be considered when accompanied by substantial hands-on electronics expertise, demonstrated engineering-level technical judgment, and prior leadership of engineers or highly technical personnel

- Work Experience:

Eight or more years of progressively responsible experience in electronics engineering, electronic repair development, embedded systems, test engineering, validation engineering, controls engineering, or a closely related field.

- Three or more years of direct leadership experience managing engineers or multidisciplinary technical teams.

- Demonstrated ability to independently review, question, and evaluate engineering analysis and technical work products.

- Hands-on experience interpreting schematics, evaluating circuit behavior, using electronic measurement and diagnostic equipment, and conducting structured failure analysis.

- Experience advancing technical work from initial problem definition through development, verification, validation, controlled release, and post-release monitoring.

- Experience developing or reviewing BOMs, test specifications, validation plans, engineering changes, work instructions, technical reports, and release packages.

- Experience coordinating technical work across engineering, operations, purchasing, service, and business leadership.

- Experience balancing engineering rigor with customer requirements, operational practicality, business priorities, cost, timing, and risk.

Physical Demands:

- Lifting and Carrying: Occasionally, the role may involve lifting and carrying office equipment or materials weighing up to a certain limit.

- Standing and Walking: Ability to navigate various departments and facilities within the organizations premises as part of operational oversight and engagement.

- Communication: Skill in exchanging accurate information with customers, co-workers, vendors, etc., utilizing verbal, written, and electronic communication methods.

- Sitting for Extended Periods: Much of the work will be conducted at a desk requiring the ability to sit for extended periods while performing tasks.

- Repetitive Motion: Some tasks may involve repetitive motions of the hands, especially prolonged periods of typing on a computer to perform administrative and operational tasks. Ergonomic practices should be followed to minimize the risk of repetitive strain injuries.

- Safety Awareness: Awareness of and adherence to safety protocols and procedures is essential when navigating the organizations facilities to ensure compliance and minimize the risk of workplace hazards or accidents.

Ag Express Electronics is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities and ensuring a supportive work environment. Candidates are encouraged to discuss specific needs during the application process.

Why Ag Express Electronics?

- 100% Employee-Owned Company and ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

- Competitive salary plus performance-based incentive opportunity

- Safe Harbor 401(k) with company contribution

- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits

- Paid Time Off and paid holidays

- Company-paid life insurance

- Professional development and training opportunities

- Opportunity to work with industry-leading precision agriculture technology and an outstanding team committed to serving agriculture

Benefits:

Ag Express Electronics offers a leading benefits package as highlighted below:

- Employer-Sponsored Benefits: Medical, Dental, Group Life, Short-Term Disability (STD) with buy-up options

- Voluntary Benefits: Vision, Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account(s) (FSA), Life Insurance

- 401(k): Safe Harbor 401(k) including an annual 3% company contribution and Profit Share funded annually at the discretion of Ag Express Electronics.

- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP): Contribution funded annually at the discretion of Ag Express Electronics.

- Paid Time Off (PTO): PTO allowance to support work-life balance and provide employees with opportunities for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits.

- Holiday Benefits: Recognition and observance of holidays by Ag Express Electronics, allowing employees to celebrate.

- Flexible Hours : Flexible work hours empower employees to have greater control over their work schedules, fostering a better work-life balance and increased flexibility to accommodate personal commitments.

- Educational Assistance : Support for employee development through educational assistance, including financial support for further education or professional certifications relevant to their roles, ensuring continuous learning and growth opportunities.

- Casual Dress Environment: Enjoy a casual dress environment at work, with company-provided branded clothing to promote comfort and a sense of belonging among employees.

Ag Express Electronics is an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, sex, gender, identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law.

About Us:

Ag Express Electronics is a leading provider of innovative electrical solutions for agricultural, construction, and industrial applications. We specialize in designing custom electrical harnesses and distribution systems to meet the unique needs of our clients. Our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality, reliable, and efficient solutions that exceed customer expectations.

Join a 100% Employee-Owned Company

At Ag Express Electronics, we're passionate about helping agricultural producers maximize the performance of their equipment through innovative electronics repair, precision agriculture solutions, and exceptional customer support. As a 100% Employee-Owned (ESOP) company, every employee shares in our success and plays a direct role in our future.