Technical and strategic leader
Technical and strategic leader
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Departmental Strategy
Departmental Strategy
In my most recent role as Director of Mechanical Engineering, I generated short-term and long-term goals for the department, performed SWOT analyses of the department and company, and collaborated with the rest of the senior leadership team to coordinate interdepartmental efforts. As the largest department in the company by far, the ME group was often the guinea pig for adopting new structures and practices. I was often at the forefront of that effort, creating how-to and other documentation to capture that information and disseminate it to the relevant audiences.
Skills Analysis and Training
Skills Analysis and Training
Before the company hired an HR manager, I was responsible for coordinating and managing both technical and non-technical trainings for the entire company. I brought in tens of thousands of dollars of grant money to pay for training courses. I led a cross-functional training group that helped identify specific needs for various departments. In addition to formal training courses, I also developed numerous training documents. Since people learn in different ways (auditory, visual, participatory), deployment was typically a mix of written materials and live presentations which were recorded for future viewing. I built up a vast repository of reference and training materials that became the core of our company's intranet. I also developed a system to track hours spent on professional development across the company and reported on quarterly progress in order to stay within an internal budget.
As a company, we habitually had problems answering the question "who's an expert at _____?" in order to connect engineers with internal resources or to support business development and resourcing needs. To address that problem for my department, I developed a list of skills that everyone would rate themselves on line-by-line. Frustrated with AI tools' failure to provide consistent and reliable answers, I developed an Excel and PowerBI-based tool to aggregate the data from dozens of individual spreadsheets live and present them in a dashboard for easy searching and analytics.
Technical Oversight
Technical Oversight
To ensure our clients were always getting high-quality output from our team, I regularly met with the technical leads of all projects that fell under my purview to review progress toward deliverables and technical approach, provide design guidance, discuss the performance of other mechanical engineers on the team, assess risks and resource loading, and support them in any way I could. That could entail explaining how other project teams tackled a similar problem, finding additional temporary resources, elevating concerns to project management, or working with managers to address underperforming engineers.
Personnel Management
Personnel Management
As the company grew, it became clear that promoting people based on the gut feeling of their manager was not going to cut it anymore. I worked with other leaders within the department to generate extensive descriptions of characteristics and expectations for each level of engineer (I, II, Senior, Principal) in order to get employees, managers, project managers, and senior leadership on the same page about performance evaluations, career development, hiring, and promotions. I approved promotions and other compensation changes based on evidence-based cases made by the employees' direct managers.
As the hiring manager for the most job requisitions the company posted during my tenure as Director, I led much of the hiring effort for the department. I set which roles should be opened (engineering level and geographic location) based on resource needs. I personally generated a suite of technical exercises used in interviews customized to each hiring level where there was previously no formalized process. I screened resumes and interviewed each candidate that made it through the various stages of the interview process. These efforts contributed to rapid growth of the department as well as development of an additional geographical market to service. I managed this process while at Tool as well and have probably conducted hundreds of interviews over my career.
I worked with Resource Management and key program managers to assign appropriate individuals to projects based on skills, personality, prior experience, and employee preferences.
Sales and Marketing Support
Sales and Marketing Support
Sales is the life blood of consulting. I regularly participated in quoting and proposal-writing activities. I would meet with potential clients, assess the scope, follow up with technical questions, and then generate a plan for how to address their needs on the mechanical side. Effort estimation and Gantt chart development were an integral part of this work, although risk assessment is perhaps a more subtle skill I've also developed over the years that has just as much impact on a quote. I've been through the process enough times to know that there are always unforeseen challenges and new scope that arise.
I also supported marketing and lead generation efforts by attending trade shows and manning the company's booth and robotic arm demo. Seeing what kind of traffic we got helped me form strategic plans for addressing departmental skills gaps and influencing sales strategy.
"I had the privilege of working closely with Bill Liteplo, and I can confidently say he is one of the most dedicated and reliable engineering leaders I’ve worked with. Bill brings exceptional thoroughness, technical depth, and integrity to every project he touches. His ability to organize complex work, support his team, and deliver high-quality results makes him a standout in any engineering organization. Bill cares deeply about developing people, strengthening processes, and driving consistent, predictable execution. He led key initiatives in training, career frameworks, and cross-office collaboration, all while mentoring engineers and improving overall team alignment. Whether he’s supporting hands-on engineering challenges or driving functional strategy, Bill is steady, thoughtful, and committed to doing the right thing. Any organization would benefit tremendously from his leadership, work ethic, and technical expertise. I recommend him without hesitation." – VP Operations, Goddard
"I have had the opportunity to partner with Bill on a range of new business development initiatives at Goddard including trade shows, strategic messaging, customer qualification, proposal development, and customer site visits. Bill approaches every engagement with professionalism, strong technical understanding, and a genuine sense of collaboration. He has an exceptional ability to connect the dots between customer needs, engineering capability, and business strategy. Whether refining a pitch, developing proposal content, or representing the company in front of clients, Bill brings clarity, consistency, and credibility to the message. What stands out most is how much Bill invests in his team. He actively looks for ways to help people grow, creating learning and development opportunities that build both skill and confidence. His leadership style encourages curiosity and accountability, empowering others to take ownership and contribute at a higher level. Working with Bill always felt like having a true partner, organized, thoughtful, and driven to deliver quality outcomes. His blend of technical insight, commercial acumen, and commitment to people makes him an exceptional leader in any organization." – VP Industrial Automation, Goddard
"I’ve had the privilege of working with Bill over the past 6 years, both as the Director of Mechanical Engineering and as my direct manager. Throughout that time, he consistently demonstrated strong technical leadership and a deep understanding of mechanical engineering fundamentals. Bill excels at guiding projects from early concept through detailed design, testing, and implementation, and he brings a thoughtful, hands-on approach to solving complex engineering challenges. Whether setting clear direction at a high level, conducting thorough design reviews, or diving into the theory behind key engineering decisions, Bill is a dependable source of insight and sound judgment. He collaborates effectively across teams, communicates clearly, and fosters an environment that balances innovation with practical, manufacturable solutions." – Senior Manager and Principal Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
"I had the privilege of working under Bill Liteplo during my time as a Principal Mechanical Engineer at Goddard, where he served as Director of Mechanical Engineering. Bill brought the kind of leadership that makes you raise your standards without even realizing it’s happening. We partnered most closely on a major overhaul of the quality review process used across the Industrial Automation department. His depth in GD&T was also a major asset. When technical roadblocks cropped up (and they always do), Bill had a knack for navigating them quickly and collaboratively. He could juggle multiple high-visibility projects while still making time for real conversations, real mentorship, and real improvements to how the team operated. The impact was tangible: better quality control, stronger deliverables, and a more efficient team. Bill elevates the work and the people around him, and he does it with steady leadership, technical excellence, and a welcome sense of humor. I’d work with Bill again in a heartbeat, and anyone who has the chance to do so is in excellent hands." – Engineering Manager and Principal Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
"I had the pleasure of working with Bill during my first two years at Goddard... Bill consistently demonstrated strong technical expertise, clear communication, and a steady leadership style that helped our team deliver high-quality results... He helped define standards and workflows to keep Goddard's Engineering outputs at the quality that our clients could consistently rely on. I would confidently recommend Bill for any organization seeking a technically strong, thoughtful, and dependable Engineering leader who elevates company culture, team performance, and product quality." – Engineering Manager and Senior Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
"As a technical leader, he provided organizational guidance to ensure project success. Bill is great to work with and I’d recommend him for any mechanical engineering or management/leadership roles without hesitation." – Senior Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
"He has driven improved design, collaboration and community everywhere that he has tread." – Senior Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
"He provided a depth of experience-backed technical expertise and was efficient at helping his team breakdown large problems into manageable chunks by following sound engineering best practices. He is an expert technical resource and advisor for projects involving heavy mechanics problems, FEA and CAD creation/maintenance. He has extensive consumer product development project history as well that help inform his approach to new problems." – Senior Mechanical Engineer, Goddard
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