Design Manager

Design Manager Job Description
Role Snapshot
Role TitleDesign ManagerDepartmentDesign / EngineeringReports ToManaging DirectorTeam Managed89 members Design Team Lead, Sr. Design Engineers, Jr. Design EngineersIndustry Background PreferredRice mill machinery, agri-processing machinery, or heavy fabrication / capital equipment manufacturingExperience Required812 years in mechanical design engineering, including 3+ years leading a design teamEducationB.Tech / Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (CAD specialization preferred)Employment TypeFull-timeCTC Band812 LPA (suggested confirm against your internal benchmarking)About the Role
ARMTEC ENGINEERINGS is targeting 150 crore in sales for FY 202627. Hitting that number needs a Design department that can turn around drawings and BOMs fast, keep production and dispatch moving without design bottlenecks, and push new product development not just today's current 9-member team run without a Design Manager in place.
Today the department's senior-most person (Design Team Lead) reports straight to the MD and manages 8 people while still doing hands-on drawing work himself. That has created two gaps this role exists to close: (1) delegation and system-building so the department runs on process, not on one person's bandwidth, and (2) dedicated bandwidth for New Product Development, which keeps getting pushed aside by day-to-day drawing and BOM work.
This is a Team Win for the current Design Team Lead and engineers (a manager above them takes pressure off, clears a growth path) and a Business Win for ARMTEC (faster design turnaround, fewer production delays from missing drawings/BOMs, and a real NPD pipeline).
Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs)

1. Design & Engineering Delivery Own accuracy and turnaround of GA drawings, fabrication drawings, and BOMs across all machinery lines (SILOS, dryers, mills, and allied rice mill equipment). Approve and release every drawing before it reaches production. Zero dispatch delays caused by missing or wrong drawings/BOMs.
2. Team Leadership & Delegation Manage and develop the 89-person design team (Design Team Lead, Sr. and Jr. Design Engineers): assign work, build their CAD and product knowledge, run weekly reviews, and take routine drawing/BOM work off your own plate so you spend time managing, not just drafting.
3. New Product Development (NPD) & Cost Optimization Run a standing NPD pipeline (new products, product improvements, in-house development) instead of letting it get crowded out by daily work. Drive BOM cost optimization and reverse-engineering projects that cut material and fabrication cost.
4. Cross-Department Coordination Be the single point of contact between Design and Production, Sales (custom/non-standard orders), and Service (design-related customer complaints). Close the loop on design-related complaints and manufacturing coordination issues fast.

Task Breakdown
One-Time (Setup, first 90 days)
Map every current design SOP (drawing release, BOM sign-off, dispatch checklist) and fix gaps
Set up a design task/drawing-tracking system so status doesn't live in one person's head
¢ Audit the current team's skill gaps (per engineer) and build a 90-day training plan
Daily
¢ Review and approve drawings/BOMs queued for release
¢ Check production floor for any design-related blockers (missing drawing, wrong BOM, clarification needed)
¢ Attend/run the Operational Morning Meeting (O) with the design team yesterday's output, today's plan, blockers
Weekly
¢ 1-on-1 Review to React (R) meeting with each design team member
¢ Review NPD/reverse-engineering project progress against timeline
¢ Review open design-related customer complaints with Service
Monthly
¢ Report design department output vs. plan to MD (drawings released, dispatch-blocking incidents, NPD progress)
¢ Participate in the Growth Accelerator Meeting (G) present department wins, misses, and next month's targets
¢ Review BOM cost-optimization savings achieved that month
Must-Have Qualifications & Skills
¢ B.Tech / Diploma in Mechanical Engineering; additional CAD/tool-design certification is a strong plus
¢ 812 years in mechanical design, with proven experience leading a design/drafting team of 5+ people
¢ Hands-on expertise in Creo, SolidWorks, or AutoCAD (Creo preferred current ARMTEC team standard) plus DXF/DWG nesting and CNC file preparation
¢ Track record in GA drawings, fabrication drawings, BOM accuracy, and reverse engineering for machinery or capital equipment
¢ Prior exposure to rice mill, agri-processing, or similar heavy fabrication/sheet-metal machinery manufacturing strongly preferred
¢ Demonstrated ability to delegate and build a team rather than personally executing every drawing
¢ Working knowledge of ERP-based design validation and documentation
¢ Fluent in Telugu and English (Hindi a plus) for coordinating across shop floor, sales, and management
Behavioral Expectations
¢ 100% attendance and punctuality discipline; leads the design team's discipline standard, doesn't just enforce it
¢ Delegates by default builds the team's capability instead of pulling every drawing back to themselves
¢ Full participation in the G.R.O meeting system: runs the daily Operational Meeting, holds weekly 1-on-1 Reviews, and shows up prepared to the monthly Growth Accelerator Meeting
¢ Takes ownership of design-related production and dispatch issues end-to-end no handing problems back upstream
¢ Gives and takes direct feedback; comfortable being measured on team output, not just personal output
Success Metrics First 6 Months
MetricTargetDispatch delays caused by missing/wrong design or BOMZero by Month 3Drawing turnaround time (request to release)Reduced by 30% vs. current baselineDesign SOPs documented and in use100% of core processes by Month 2Active NPD / reverse-engineering projects runningAt least 2 by Month 6Design-related customer complaints closed within agreed TAT90%+Team members with documented KRAs/KPIs100%Weekly 1-on-1 Reviews held with each team member100% adherence