Director of R&D

Knowles Corporation; Liberty (SC); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Knowles Corporation in the United States seeks a Director of R&D to lead and grow a multisite engineering team across Liberty, New Bedford, and Mexicali. You will drive custom capacitor product design, meet aggressive lead-times, and ensure manufacturability through DFMA and stage-gate processes.

The role emphasizes collaboration with PLM, Operations, and IT tools like internal DesignBot, while guiding IP strategy and patent submissions to protect innovative designs.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in R&D, with at least 5 years in management.
• Experience in multi-site engineering leadership across Liberty, MA, and Mexicali settings.
• Familiarity with Stage Gate NPD processes and six sigma design concepts.
• Experience developing DFEMA analyses for risk mitigation in product designs.

Responsibilities

• Lead a 30-strong engineering team located at Liberty, New Bedford and Mexicali plants.
• Ensure quotes for custom parts meet market lead-times.
• Design custom parts meeting customer/CD specs and manufacturability goals.
• Coordinate with Operations for DFMA and CAD drawing accuracy in weekly meetings.
• Support cost-saving initiatives, scrap reduction, and productivity improvements.
• Oversee IP management including patents for new designs.
• Project manage large orders to meet customer commitments.
• Collaborate with PLM on the 3-year NPI roadmap and new product ideas.

Skills

R&D management

Multi-site engineering management

Capacitor design

Design for manufacturability

Stage Gate NPD processes

DFEMA analysis

IP management / patents

Fast prototyping

Security clearance eligibility

Education

BS in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering

MBA (preferred)

Job description

Job Overview

The Director of R&D leads the team of engineering personnel with a primary objective of:

• Launching new products that meet the specifications outlined by the PLM team in the CD multi-year NPI roadmap
• Quoting and designing custom CD products that meet customer specifications and that are easily built by the Operations team

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manage a group of 30 engineering personnel that are located at our Liberty, New Bedford and Mexicali plants
• Ensure quotes for custom parts meet market level lead-times
• Ensure the design of custom parts meet customer and CD specification and quality levels, while ensuring best practices in design for manufacturability
• Ensure design team meets the needs of the Operations groups that will be responsible for building the product, including design for manufacturability, CAD drawing accuracy, and attending weekly production meetings, etc.
• Support plant continuous improvement initiatives for cost savings which can include scrap reduction, quality improvements, and direct labor productivity improvements through DFMA
• Support the Operations team when questions and/or concerns are raised about the designs that are produced by this team
• Support the Operations team in projects involving cost reduction and improvement in production yield
• Provide leadership to the IT resources responsible for the internally developed software design tools such as CD’s DesignBot
• Project manage large orders to ensure customer commitments are met by Engineering and Operations
• Work with the PLM team to generate new product ideas in the development of the 3-year NPI roadmap
• Ensure the R&D team submit patents on novel products and features in a timely manner

Qualifications & Skills

• BS Degree in electrical or mechanical engineering from an accredited program
• MBA preferred but not required
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in R&D, with 5 years in management is required
• Multi-site engineering management experience is desired
• Experience in capacitor design and manufacturing is desired
• Experience with Stage Gate NPD processes and design for six sigma
• Experience developing DFEMA analysis for risk mitigation of product designs
• Prior involvement in implementing design for manufacturability at a cultural level
• Passive component/circuits environmental, mechanical, and electrical testing experience
• Working knowledge of processes for intellectual property management including writing and submitting patents
• Experience with fast prototyping of new designs
• Must have the ability to obtain a US security clearance
• All applicants must be eligible to work in the US without restriction to ITAR documentation and materials