Full-Time Chief Technical Officer/ Director of Engineering
Job Description
About BURN
Based in Kenya, BURN designs, produces and distributes East Africa’s best-selling, most durable and economical charcoal and wood cookstoves that also dramatically reduce harmful smoke emissions which can cause significant health problems, even death. See our promo video.
Not only does BURN sell the world’s most fuel-efficient charcoal and wood household stoves, but we are also the only cookstove company which manufactures all its products in sub-Saharan Africa’s only state-of-the-art clean cookstove manufacturing facility.
Since 2013, BURN has sold 650,000+ Jikokoa ™ stoves in East Africa. These stoves have helped 3,000,000 beneficiaries save $215 million in fuel expenditures and 2.6 million tons of wood while reducing indoor air pollution by 65%. BURN currently sells ~25,000 stoves per month and are on track to double sales over the next 12 months by expanding its successful model across Africa. BURN has 300 employees and expects strong growth in the number of employees in the coming years.
BURN is now poised to bring its revolutionary biomass cookstoves – as well as a new range of electric, hybrid, and liquid fuel stoves – to Sub-Saharan Africa & beyond. Over the next 3 years BURN will enter 6 new countries and launch 5 new products.
About the role
BURN is looking for a Director of Engineering whose overall responsibility will be to bring new products through the product development process and launch them into the factory, including design, testing, engineering, process development, and developing/launching new production lines.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Have overall responsibility for launching new products in the factory, including timelines, budgets, and risk analysis in addition to technical aspects.
- Manage the detailed design of new products, including process development, equipment selection, design for manufacturability, durability testing, material selection, etc.
- Design and produce production, assembly, and QC tooling as well as custom factory equipment.
- Oversee initial production of new products.
- Manage a team of engineers, testing lab employees and workshop employees. Work closely with designers, the market research team, factory management and the quality control team.
- Develop SOP’s, WI, specs, tolerances, QA processes and procedures.
- Create and adhere to budgets and timelines.
- Support the factory, including troubleshooting, root cause analysis, equipment startup, and continuous improvement.
- Act as a key member of the senior management team and input into key strategic decisions about the direction and growth of the company.
Skills & Experience
General
- A minimum of 6 years’ relevant experience in new product introduction, specifically in a manufacturing setting
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
- Excellent project management skills are required for this role. The candidate should be able to demonstrate the ability to push projects over the finish line with sound planning and persistent execution
- Proven understanding of how to align resources, seek the input of key constituents, and manage others to achieve desired results
- Demonstrated ability to develop repeatable processes or improve existing processes in and out of product development
- Capacity to draw insights from our inhouse durability laboratory (market research and supply chain) to feed into the product development process
- Comprehension of how product development intersects with other areas of the business and how to develop a viable, profitable and scalable product
- Must have developed and launched at least 1 consumer product and must have launched at least 1 production line
Technical Skills
- Sheet metal punching and forming
- Jig and fixture design
- Working knowledge of materials, specifically metals and plastics
- Basic knowledge and troubleshooting of mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems
- Experience with tool/die or moulds
Other information
The role will be based in Ruiru (just outside Nairobi), Kenya. If the successful candidate requires a work permit to carry out the role then Burn will process this. The start date is flexible but is ideally within Q4 2019 or beginning of 2020.
Compensation is commensurate with experience.