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Vice President of Engineering
Job Location:
Job Location:
Randolph, MA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not provided by the employer
Monthly Salary:
Posted:
1 July 2026 (30+ days ago)
Posted:
Application Deadline:
28 September 2026
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Vacancies:
Job Summary
VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING
Cambridgeport HVAC Manufacturing
Department: Engineering
Reports to: President
Direct Reports: Engineering Managers Principal Engineers R&D Leads Product Engineering
Location: On-site / Hybrid (Randolph MA HQ; travel to GeorgetownMAand customer sites)
Employment Type: Full-time Exempt
Industry: HVAC Manufacturing Custom Air Handlers (AHUs) and Computer Room Air Handlers (CRAHs)
Position Summary
Cambridgeport is entering its most ambitious growth phase to date. We are an established HVAC manufacturer of custom air handlers and the fastest-growing independent supplier of Computer Room Air Handlers (CRAHs)tothe data center market. Over the next 24 to36 months we will significantly expand our engineering organization scale CRAH production to meethyperscalerdemand continue delivering bespoke AHU solutions to our pharmaceutical and industrial customers and invest heavily in the manufacturing infrastructure that supports both lines.
Reporting to the President the VP of Engineering will own the full engineering function: product engineering for both HVAC custom units and CRAH platforms manufacturing engineering across our Randolph and Georgetown facilities R&D for next-generation data center cooling and engineering operations. The leader will translate aggressive commercial goals into a scalable engineering organization. This is a builders role: the leader will shape the team the processes and the technology platform that will define Cambridgeports next decade.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on executive who has scaled an engineering organization through hyper-growth in HVAC manufacturing has direct experience designing or scaling data center cooling products (CRAH CRAC in-row rear-door heat exchangers or liquid cooling) and has stood up engineering capabilities across multiple sites. Experience withhyperscalercustomers (Tesla Microsoft Google Meta AWS or AI infrastructure providers) is a significant plus.
Why This Role Matters
- Custom Air Handler demand from long-standing industrial and pharmaceutical customers continues to grow alongside the data center VPmust lead engineering across both product lines without trading one off against the other.
- We are transitioning our Georgetown facility to support CRAH panel production. The VP will lead the engineering elements of that transition tooling process design validation and tight coordination with our Prima power machine operations.
- Our manufacturing infrastructure mustscaleto support multiples of current throughput. The VP will lead the engineering investments automation design-for-manufacturability supplier engineering that make that possible while protectingmargin.
- Data center cooling is a strategic platform bet. The VP will own the R&D pathway for next-generationCRAHand complementary cooling products ashyperscalerthermal demands evolve toward AI-scale densities.
Our Values
Cambridgeports culture is defined by three values that the VP of Engineering will be expected to embody reinforce and scale across a growing organization:
Where the Best Are Built
- We hold ourselves and our products to the highest standard. The VP will set and protect that bar in the people we hire the products we ship and the engineering practices we build and will ensure that as we grow the quality of our work grows with us.
We Do What We Say
- Commitments are sacred at Cambridgeport. The VP will instill an operating discipline where commitments to customers partners and each other are met or proactively renegotiated never silently broken and where program forecasts can be trusted at the executive and senior leadership level.
We Are Always Getting Better
- Standing still is falling behind. The VP will lead a culture of continuous improvement in product quality manufacturing performance engineering practices and personal growth and will model that learning posture personally including welcoming feedback and adjusting course quickly.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy and Growth Leadership
- Partner with the President and executive team to translate Cambridgeports growth strategy into a multi-year engineering roadmap covering custom HVAC product engineering CRAH platform engineering manufacturing engineering capacity and capability investments.
- Set engineering OKRs aligned to revenue margin on-time delivery and quality targets for both AHU and CRAH product lines; report progress to the executive team and Cox Engineering.
- Own the engineering operating budget and capital plan; make build-vs-buy and outsource-vs-insource decisions that protect margin while accelerating throughput.
- Serve as the senior engineering voice in customer-facing executive conversations on programs technology direction and risk including hyperscaler engagements and pharma validation discussions.
Organizational Build-Out
- Scale the engineering team from its current size to a multi-site organization capable of supporting 2 to 3x revenue growth while preserving the technical bar and culture.
- Design the engineering org structure: define functional groups (custom AHU engineering CRAH product engineering manufacturing engineering R&D quality engineering engineering operations) levels career ladders and managerial spans.
- Personally lead recruiting for senior and principal-level hires; partner with HR and Talent Acquisition on a hiring plan that includes university pipeline experienced hires and strategic acquihires where appropriate.
- Build out engineering leadership across Randolph (HQ Custom AHU final CRAH assembly) and Georgetown (CRAH panel hub) including establishing local management practices and ensuring tight integration across sites.
- Establish performance management compensation philosophy and leveling rubrics that scale with the organization.
Product Lines and Program Execution
- Own delivery across all active product programs both custom AHU configurations for pharma industrial and commercial customers and CRAH platforms for hyperscaler and AI infrastructure customers. Set program governance gate reviews and stage-gate criteria; intervene personally on at-risk programs.
- Drive the next-generation CRAH product roadmap to address evolving data center thermal loads (chip-level cooling AI training cluster densities water-cooled augmentation rear-door heat exchanger compatibility).
- Stand up new product line engineering teams from concept through launch including requirements design prototyping validation and transfer to manufacturing.
- Drive design-for-manufacturability design-for-cost and design-for-quality principles into every program from day one.
- Establish a portfolio view of engineering investment and R&D pipeline; balance near-term customer commitments with longer-horizon platform bets in data center cooling.
Manufacturing and Infrastructure Scale-Up
- Lead the manufacturing engineering function: process engineering tooling fixturing automation and continuous improvement to support multi-fold throughput increases on both AHU and CRAH lines.
- Lead the engineering elements of the Georgetown facility transition to CRAH panel production including tooling design line layout validation and integration with the Prima power machine.
- Partner with Operations and Supply Chain on capacity planning line layouts equipment selection and capital investments at both sites.
- Champion lean manufacturing Six Sigma and operational excellence practices specific to sheet metal fabrication panel assembly and air handler integration; drive measurable improvements in cycle time yield scrap and unit cost.
- Sponsor digital transformation in engineering and manufacturing PLM Epicor ERP/MES integration model-based design CFD simulation for thermal and airflow and data-driven manufacturing.
Quality Compliance and Risk
- Be the executive owner for engineering quality outcomes design quality supplier quality involvement and manufacturing quality engineering across both product lines.
- Ensure compliance with applicable HVAC industry standards (AHRI AMCA ASHRAE) data center customer-specific quality systems (hyperscaler-specific QMS) pharma cleanroom and validation requirements (cGMP FDA-relevant where applicable) and general standards (ISO 9001 baseline; AS9100 path if pursued).
- Maintain a transparent risk register for engineering and manufacturing programs; lead mitigation planning and executive escalation.
- Partner with EH&S to ensure all engineering activity meets safety and environmental requirements including refrigerant handling sheet metal fabrication safety and site-specific ergonomic considerations.
Executive and Cross-Functional Leadership
- Serve as a peer to the Cambridgeport Leadership Team; build the cross-functional fabric required for multi-site multi-program execution.
- Communicate clearly to Cambridgeport leadership customers and the broader organization about engineering progress risks and decisions.
- Model the leadership behaviors and culture Cambridgeport wants to scale: customer obsession technical rigor ownership and humility.
Qualifications
Required Experience
- 15 years of engineering experience in HVAC manufacturing mechanical equipment manufacturing or hardware-intensive industrial manufacturing including at least 7 years in senior engineering leadership.
- Direct product engineering experience with air handlers CRAHs CRACs precision cooling or related thermal management products. Either custom AHU design or data center cooling design is required; both are strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience scaling an engineering organization through a period of significant growth (e.g. doubling team size or revenue launching new product lines opening new sites).
- Track record of leading product engineering and manufacturing engineering simultaneously from concept through volume production.
- Direct experience standing up or significantly expanding engineering capability at a new geographic site.
- Hands-on familiarity with stage-gate program management PLM ERP/MES (Epicor experience a plus) CFD/thermal simulation and modern engineering tooling.
- Operating experience with lean manufacturing Six Sigma and continuous improvement methods at an executive level.
- Bachelors degree in an engineering discipline (Mechanical Electrical Industrial or related); advanced degree (MS or MBA) preferred.
Preferred Experience
- Direct experience designing or scaling data center cooling products for hyperscaler or AI infrastructure customers.
- HVAC industry leadership experience with familiarity in AHRI AMCA ASHRAE standards and pharma/cleanroom HVAC validation requirements.
- Experience in a private or PE-backed company through a high-growth or transformation period; experience working within a holding-company structure is a plus.
- M&A experience including engineering due diligence and post-merger integration of engineering organizations.
- Customer-facing executive experience in a B2B technical-sales environment with long-cycle high-dollar capital equipment.
Leadership Competencies
- Builders mindset: energized by ambiguity comfortable building structure where none exists today.
- Operating discipline: instinctively manages by metrics root-cause thinking and clear accountability.
- Talent magnet: a leader other strong engineers want to work for and follow.
- Bias for action with engineering rigor moves fast without compromising quality safety or technical integrity.
- Executive presence: credible with hyperscaler procurement pharma validation auditors and a shop-floor team alike.
Compensation and Benefits
Cambridgeport offers a competitive executive compensation package including base salary performance-based annual bonus long-term incentive participation comprehensive health and welfare benefits retirement plan with company contribution and relocation assistance where applicable. Specific terms will be discussed with finalists.
Required Experience:
Exec
About Company
As one of New England’s premier mechanical contractors, Cox brings over a century of proven expertise in delivering complete, end-to-end building systems.
