Director of Engineering

Nidec Automation; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Nidec Automation in Chicago seeks a Director of Engineering to define and execute the engineering strategy that supports business goals, safety, quality, and cost objectives. You will lead engineering managers and teams to deliver safe, reliable, and scalable products and systems.

You will partner with Product, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, and IT; establish roadmaps, budgets, KPIs, governance, and continuous improvement to drive innovation and enterprise value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field.
• 3+ years of managerial experience.
• 10-15+ years of progressive engineering experience.
• Experience leading engineering teams and complex programs.
• Executive-level communication and cross-functional influence.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute engineering strategy aligned with business goals, product roadmaps, and operational needs.
• Establish engineering priorities, roadmaps, and investment plans.
• Ensure alignment between engineering execution and enterprise standards, safety, and quality expectations.
• Oversee delivery of engineering projects, programs, and initiatives.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, design practices, and review processes.
• Ensure engineering outputs meet performance, reliability, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Support development and optimization of products, processes, or systems across the lifecycle.
• Partner with Product, Manufacturing, or Operations on new introductions, scale-ups, and continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and adopt new technologies, tools, or methodologies to enhance engineering effectiveness.
• Lead, mentor, and develop engineering managers, engineers, and technical specialists.
• Establish performance expectations, capability models, and succession plans.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and innovation.
• Collaborate with Product Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, and IT.
• Support enterprise initiatives such as growth, transformation, digitalization, and M&A integration.
• Ensure engineering activities comply with safety, regulatory, and quality requirements.
• Identify and mitigate technical, operational, and execution risks.
• Support investigations and corrective actions for significant technical or quality issues.
• Establish KPIs to measure engineering performance, quality, delivery, and efficiency.
• Use data and analytics to drive decisions and continuous improvement.
• Standardize processes and improve engineering productivity and scalability.
• Own engineering budgets, forecasts, and resource planning.
• Balance cost, schedule, and performance priorities across programs.
• Ensure effective utilization of engineering talent and external partners.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Job description

The Director, Engineering is a senior management role responsible for defining and executing engineering strategy to support business objectives, operational excellence, and innovation. This role oversees engineering teams and programs to ensure delivery of safe, reliable, high-quality, and cost-effective products, systems, or services.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute engineering strategy aligned with business goals, product roadmaps, and operational needs
• Establish engineering priorities, roadmaps, and investment plans
• Ensure alignment between engineering execution and enterprise standards, safety, and quality expectations
• Oversee delivery of engineering projects, programs, and initiatives
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, design practices, and review processes
• Ensure engineering outputs meet performance, reliability, regulatory, and customer requirements
• Support development and optimization of products, processes, or systems across the lifecycle
• Partner with Product, Manufacturing, or Operations on new introductions, scale-ups, and continuous improvement
• Evaluate and adopt new technologies, tools, or methodologies to enhance engineering effectiveness
• Lead, mentor, and develop engineering managers, engineers, and technical specialists
• Establish performance expectations, capability models, and succession plans
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and innovation
• Collaborate with Product Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, and IT
• Support enterprise initiatives such as growth, transformation, digitalization, and M&A integration
• Ensure engineering activities comply with safety, regulatory, and quality requirements
• Identify and mitigate technical, operational, and execution risks
• Support investigations and corrective actions for significant technical or quality issues
• Establish KPIs to measure engineering performance, quality, delivery, and efficiency
• Use data and analytics to drive decisions and continuous improvement
• Standardize processes and improve engineering productivity and scalability
• Own engineering budgets, forecasts, and resource planning
• Balance cost, schedule, and performance priorities across programs
• Ensure effective utilization of engineering talent and external partners

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field
• Requires 3+ years of managerial experience.
• Typically 10-15+ years of progressive engineering experience
• Significant experience leading engineering teams, managers, and complex technical programs
• Broad knowledge of engineering principles, systems, and development methodologies
• Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Ability to influence executive leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders
• Experience managing complex projects, trade‑offs, and technical risk
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills
• High integrity, accountability, and results orientation

Travel

• Both Domestic and International Travel up to 10%