Sr. Manager - Specification Engineering

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate Specification Engineers to ensure Pipe & Fittings products are approved for use across all sales territories in alignment with sales budgets & new product launch plans.
• Establish quarterly objectives & KPIs tied to budgets, specification approvals, & launch adoption rates, & define operating cadences with documented actions.
• Represent Westlake on certifying bodies & technical committees & maintain a standards watchlist including CSA, ASTM, AWWA, ASCE, & municipal specifications.
• Implement pre-sales activities for new product concepts & rollouts, create launch playbooks with objection handling, technical one-pagers, installation guides, & failure-mode FAQs, & support sales strategy by developing regional specification plans aligned with territorial plans.
• Prioritize target approvals by sales dollars & margin, & establish a centralized Specification & Approval Library with change control & audit trails.
• Build & maintain an approvals funnel with cycle-time targets & SLA definitions, territory coverage, launch adoption rate, training completion, & Voice of Customer insights delivered to new product development.
• Implement bi-national specification harmonization guidance mapping ASTM versus CSA requirements & standards by product line.
• Manage expense, travel, & promotional budgets for specification engineering, & travel with Specification Engineers to conduct calls on municipalities, contractors, & consultants to develop relationships & promote product adoption.
• Require documented pre-trip risk assessments for site visits, track compliance & corrective actions, & formalize cross- border travel procedures & contingency plans.
• Provide technical support to consulting engineers & municipalities to ensure designs incorporate proper criteria for WPF products, maintain & publish approved CAD/BIM families & details aligned to specification requirements, & track downloads & usage.
• Lead technical portions of RFIs & RFPs with templated responses & rapid turnaround, mandate CRM documentation standards for all specification & approval interactions with periodic data-quality checks, & guide Specification Engineers with new product launches.
• Work with the New Product Development team to design products that meet industry needs, define pilot validation plans including test criteria & acceptance thresholds, designate pilot sites, & document results.
• Implement a structured Voice of Customer program with consultants, municipalities, & contractors, deliver prioritized insights to NPD & marketing, & communicate outcomes to the field.
• Create launch enablement assets & require field certification for Specification Engineers, sales representatives, & CSRs, & work with Sales & CSR management to develop technical training tools & programs.
• Establish QA procedures for calculators & design tools incl. validation of inputs, assumptions, & safety factors, legal disclaimers, versioning, & changelogs, & set a periodic review schedule to ensure compliance.
• Take the lead in proactive safety activities for Specification Eng team site visits & vehicular safety, conduct quarterly safety trend reviews, define leading indicators such as near-misses & vehicle telematics metrics, & implement improvement plans.
• Ensure performance metrics are communicated regularly, track progress, apply mentoring & leadership development, conduct training/developmental projects.
• Publish a quarterly KPI dashboard covering specification wins, cycle time, coverage, launch adoption, training completion, Voice of Customer throughput, & safety indicators.
• Perform other duties as assigned by Senior Management.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering.
• 60 months in sales technical support &/or engineering design, including complex math calculations for sewer & water main design & applying theorems to municipal infrastructure.
• Professional Engineer License (U.S. or Canada).
• Travel Requirement: 48 % Domestic & 12% International (Canada).