Dustin Schmidt

Engineering Manager at Oshkosh Defense

Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah Area

About

Engineering Manager in Aftermarket and Product Support at Oshkosh Defense, leading the configuration, reliability, and maintenance task development departments supporting complex vehicle systems. I focus on building and developing strong engineering teams by hiring top talent, coaching for technical and leadership growth, and creating clear career development paths. I am passionate about fostering accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement. My technical background includes project management, failure mode analysis, service plan development, level of repair analysis, and driving design for maintainability to improve readiness and lifecycle cost.

Experience

  • Oshkosh Defense (Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States)
    • Engineering Manager
      Feb 2026 - Present · 5 mos

      Manage the Configuration, Reliability and Maintainability, and Maintenance Task Development departments.

    • Project Engineer
      Sep 2021 - Feb 2026 · 4 yrs 6 mos

      Manage the Reliability and Maintainability department with 4 direct reports. Responsible for analyzing failure modes, identifying maintenance tasks, and leveraging data to optimize the level of repair for all vehicle platforms. • Led the hiring process for two engineers from the candidate screening to onboarding. • Drove Design-for-Maintainability initiative by performing cross-functional subsystem reviews to increase serviceability and minimize special tools and warranty claims. • Forecasted part demand for parts planning, revenue modelling, and customer readiness. • Ensured serviceability and maintainability requirements were being met for the NGDV program through reviews with design engineering. • Developed new process, documentation, and internal training to support Service Bill of Material initiative

  • TANN Corporation (6 yrs 4 mos)
    • Reliability Engineer
      Jul 2017 - Sep 2021 · 4 yrs 3 mos

      Responsible for increasing system uptime by collecting fault data, suggesting design and maintenance improvements, and implementing service contracts with our customers. • Created and maintained a failure database by recording fault codes from multiple systems. Used root cause and failure mode analysis to identify which component failed and how to prevent failure from reoccurring. • Ensured product reliability by performing a variety of tests including solenoid cold weather, valve cycle, shaft alignment, and hardware clamp load. • Led vibration analysis efforts through data collection, analysis, and diagnostics for all products.

    • Engineering Designer
      Jun 2015 - Jul 2017 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      Performed engineering calculations to properly size RTO components, modeled designs in SolidWorks, and produced detailed fabrication drawings. • Delivered complete, fabrication-ready drawing packages that enabled the shop to build RTO components accurately and without rework.

  • Project Engineer Co-Op at Expera Specialty Solutions
    Oct 2014 - Jun 2015 · 9 mos

    Managed paper mill capital projects from start to finish including scheduling, budgeting, and supervising installation. • Led the installation of multiple projects including a caustic delivery system, paper machine shower head, and coater change system, ensuring all projects were completed on time and within budget.

  • UW Platteville Math and Engineering Tutor at UW Platteville
    2011 - 2014 · 3 yrs

    Tutored math and general engineering classes