Senior Director, Technology Development

United States Digital Space LLC; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Mental health resources

Equity packages

Paid time off & holidays

Parental leave

Job summary

the company in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Director of Technology Development to lead the multi‑year battery and manufacturing technology roadmap for next‑gen products. You will align Product Design, Hardware Eng, Quality, Sourcing, and contract manufacturers to translate emerging tech into scalable production capabilities.

This executive role requires hands‑on leadership, deep technical judgment, supplier engagement, and driving technologies from concept to ramp and qualification across

Job description

Our mission at the company is to empower every person to own their inner potential. Our award-winning products help our global community gain a deeper knowledge of their readiness, activity, and sleep quality by using their the company Ring and its connected app. We've helped millions of people understand and improve their health by providing daily insights and practical steps to inspire healthy lifestyles.

Empowering the world starts with living our values and empowering our team. As a quickly growing company focused on helping people live healthier and happier lives, we ensure that our team members have what they need to do their best work — both in and out of the office.

the company is seeking a Senior Director, Technology Development to lead the manufacturing technology roadmap for the next generation of the company products. This leader will connect Product Design, Industrial Design, Hardware Engineering, Materials, Quality, Sourcing, Operations, suppliers, and contract manufacturers to turn emerging technologies into scalable, repeatable production capabilities.

The role will build a technology development model that engages early in product definition, strengthens design for manufacturability, and creates reusable process platforms across programs. The initial focus areas are battery technology, zirconia and other brittle materials, PVD coatings, molding and encapsulation, and manufacturing automation.

This is a hands‑on executive role requiring strategic leadership, deep technical judgment, supplier and factory engagement, and the ability to move technologies from concept through production.

What you will do

• Own a multi-year roadmap for battery manufacturing, zirconia/brittle materials, PVD, molding/encapsulation, automation, and adjacent capabilities.

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team of senior engineers, technology developers, and subject‑matter experts.

• Establish reusable “golden processes” and technology platforms that improve yield, reliability, cost, cycle time, capacity, and launch speed across products.

• Partner early with design and engineering teams to influence architecture, materials, tolerances, specifications, and process choices.

• Create a disciplined development funnel from opportunity identification and experimentation through qualification, early validation, NPI, and ramp.

• Lead supplier and contract manufacturer engagement, including process development, equipment selection, qualification, capability improvement, and scale‑up.

• Set technical readiness standards, maintain roadmaps and risk registers, and communicate clear investment recommendations to leadership.

• Identify and protect proprietary manufacturing methods, process know‑how, and other intellectual property.

Technology focus areas

• Partner with battery, PD, electrical, quality, and supplier teams on cell architecture, energy density, safety, dimensions, tolerances, manufacturability and reliability.

• Qualify new cell technologies, materials, suppliers, assembly methods, and automation, with robust controls for critical‑to‑quality characteristics.

• Lead development of brittle material, forming, machining, sintering, finishing, inspection, and handling capabilities.

• Improve yield, durability, cosmetics, and cost while establishing material specifications, process windows, failure‑mode understanding, and qualification methods.

• Drive DFM and design‑for‑process reviews with design teams, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.

• Advance PVD capabilities for functional and cosmetic requirements, including cleaning, pretreatment, buffer layers, masking, color control, adhesion, wear, corrosion, and rework.

• Partner with ID CMF and PD to balance appearance, durability, capability, and cost.\

• Own the roadmap for injection molding, epoxy molding, encapsulation, sealing, tooling, and dispensing.

• Improve process windows, tooling, materials, equipment, and controls to deliver high yield, water‑tightness, dimensional stability, and cosmetic quality.

• Reduce defects including leakage, voids, incomplete fill, component damage, contamination, and cosmetic fallout.

• Develop next gen molding processes and tooling to achieve the minimization, efficient encapsulation, high yield and faster turnaround.

• Define the right level of automation across assembly, battery processing, molding, inspection, testing, kitting, and material handling—balancing quality, speed, flexibility, capital, and risk.

• Lead automation from concept through equipment specification, supplier selection, buyoff, installation, qualification, ramp, and sustaining.

• Advance robotics, machine vision, AOI, error‑proofing, digital work instructions, process monitoring, and automated data capture.

What success looks like

• A clear, funded roadmap aligned with product and manufacturing strategy.

• Earlier, stronger technology and DFM input into product architecture.

• Reusable process platforms that reduce launch risk, development time, and reinvention.

• Improved capability and yield across battery, zirconia/ brittle material, PVD, molding, and automated operations.

• Faster transition from technology demonstration to qualified production.

• Stronger supplier capability, equipment standards, data systems, documentation, and intellectual property.

• A trusted expert team that is effective across Product, Engineering, Quality, Sourcing, and Operations.

What you bring

• 15+ years in technology development, advanced manufacturing, process engineering, supplier industrialization, or a related field in consumer electronics, wearables, medical devices, semiconductors, or similarly complex products.

• Proven experience building and leading multidisciplinary teams across materials, processes, equipment, and automation.

• Deep expertise in several of the following: batteries, zirconia or brittle materials, PVD/coatings, molding/encapsulation, automation, precision assembly, or high‑cosmetic manufacturing.

• A track record of taking technologies from concept and experimentation through supplier qualification, NPI, ramp, and sustained improvement.

• Strong knowledge of DFM/DFA, DOE, process capability, measurement systems, failure analysis, reliability, qualification, and statistical process control.

• Experience defining equipment and tooling strategies, selecting technology partners, and influencing global suppliers and contract manufacturers.

• Ability to connect technical decisions to product experience, quality, schedule, cost, capacity, and business value.

• Excellent communication skills with technical and executive audiences.

• Willingness to travel internationally as needed.

Benefits

At the company, we care about you and your well‑being. Everyone here at the company has a ring of their own and we are continually looking to improve employee health.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and equity packages

• Health, dental, vision insurance, and mental health resources

• An the company Ring of your own plus employee discounts for friends & family

• 20 days of paid time off plus 13 paid holidays plus 8 days of flexible wellness time off

• Paid sick leave and parental leave

the company takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. US locations are categorized into tiers based on a cost