Engineering Manager - Mechanical

About Verterra Energy

At Verterra Energy, we’re on a mission to harness the power in the world’s rivers, canals and oceans. To do this, we are commercializing our first device, VOLTURNUS. It is a pioneering water-power technology that deploys in harmony with the current to capture baseline, zero-emission electricity.

Backed by top-tier investors and multiple government contracts, we are growing our founding team to help hit key milestones. Partners and collaborators include the DoD, DoE, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Air Force.

Recent press releases: https://www.verterraenergy.com/news

The Role

We are hiring our first dedicated Engineering Manager to lead our mechanical engineering team. This is a player-coach job. You will manage people, priorities and schedules, and still get to do real engineering work.

What You Will Do

You will report to the CEO | Inventor and lead a team of 4-8 mechanical engineers, fabricators and machinists. You will:

• Manage the people - Lead and coach. Set clear expectations, run regular 1:1s, give direct feedback, and own the group’s performance.
• Own the plan - Turn contract scope and company goals into engineering work plans with owners, dates and effort estimates.
• Deliver the programs - Serve as technical lead for engineering deliverables on our government contracts, including an active Air Force Research Laboratory prototype program. Work with our Program & Operations Manager on milestones, reports and customer reviews.
• Build the process - Set up and run a lightweight but real design process: requirements, design reviews, analysis sign-off, drawing release, change control and lessons learned. Keep CAD, drawings, BOMs and test data organized.
• Stay hands-on - Contribute to the exoskeleton, drivetrain (gearbox, belt drive, generator), structural and mounting design. Review FEA, CFD and hand calcs. Help plan and interpret flume and field tests.
• Manage outside help - Scope and manage outside engineering consultants and vendors when we need specialized expertise. Write clear statements of work and hold people to them.
• Keep leadership informed - Build and maintain the engineering KPIs leadership uses to run the business: schedule adherence, effort vs. plan and open issues.
• Keep people safe - Champion shop safety and OSHA compliance in the engineering and fabrication area.

Who We Are Looking For

We care about how you work and what you have shipped. The right person will have:

• A track record - You have taken hardware from concept through prototype, test and release, and hit the dates. You can tell us about a program that went sideways and what you did about it.
• Strong machine design fundamentals - Rotating equipment, drivetrains, bearings, seals, structures and fatigue.
• Real management experience - You have led or formally supervised engineers, and you give feedback people can actually use to improve.
• Shop sense - You have worked with machinists and fabricators, and you know what is easy and hard to make on a CNC mill or lathe.
• Clear, direct communication - You can brief an executive, write a status report a customer will read, and manage up and down.
• Ownership - You know where the team stands, who is overloaded and what is slipping, without anyone having to chase you for it.
• Comfort in a small company - You are willing to do the work as well as manage it, and to build process where none exists.
• Mission driven - You are focused on getting things right, not on being right.

Helpful but not required: government R&D contracts (DoD, AFRL, SBIR/STTR), fluid machinery or turbomachinery (hydro, wind, marine, pumps), FEA/CFD in Ansys or similar, composites and corrosion-resistant materials for submerged use, ISO 9001 or AS9100, or a PE license.

Requirements

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field
• 10+ years of mechanical/mechatronics engineering experience, including 2+ years leading or supervising engineers
• Fluent in 3D CAD (SolidWorks preferred) and GD&T
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and able to pass a background check (we work on government and defense programs)
• Able to work on-site in New Brighton, MN, with occasional travel to test sites and customer meetings

What You Will Get

• Full benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401(k) and PTO
• A talented team that is ready for a leader, and a CEO who will give you the room to lead it
• The chance to build the engineering function of a growing clean-energy company from the ground up
• A small, mission-driven company where your work directly shapes the product and the business

Verterra Energy is an equal opportunity employer. We hire on character and capability.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid life, disability, and basic protection
• 401(k) with employer match
• Unlimited paid time off + 2 weeks sick and safe leave
• 7 company-paid holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day
• Stocked kitchen

Equal opportunity

Verterra Energy does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.