Product Development Lead: Rapid Prototyping & Lab Ops

CareerWise Recruitment; Ennis (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

CareerWise Recruitment seeks a Product Development & R&D Lab Lead to direct development projects in a composite materials environment. You will supervise one R&D Technician and coordinate with commercial teams to deliver practical product solutions from concept to manufacturing implementation.

The role emphasizes hands-on prototyping, material qualification, and rapid testing to meet customer needs with strong documentation and compliance practices.

Qualifications

• Strong technical background with materials science knowledge.
• Proven ability to plan, execute and manage projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication across teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead product, material, and process development from concept through prototyping and implementation.
• Manage the development lab, equipment, test capability, lab safety and day-to-day priorities.
• Line-manage one R&D Technician including workload planning and coaching.
• Hands-on prototyping, sample development, colour matching and proof-of-concept testing.
• Plan and execute development and production trials with data collection and reporting.
• Support raw material qualification, supplier evaluation and external testing.
• Collaborate with commercial, operations, quality and suppliers to translate requirements into practical solutions.
• Maintain clear development documentation for grants, vouchers, and project reviews.
• Identify test protocols to characterize application performance; conduct desktop reviews on materials and technologies.

Skills

Technical background

Project management

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Self-starter

Stakeholder management

Education

BS degree + experience

Job description

CareerWise Recruitment seeks a Product Development & R&D Lab Lead to direct development projects in a composite materials environment. You will supervise one R&D Technician and coordinate with commercial teams to deliver practical product solutions from concept to manufacturing implementation.

The role emphasizes hands-on prototyping, material qualification, and rapid testing to meet customer needs with strong documentation and compliance practices.