Technical Director

NPAA; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Nippon Paint Automotive Americas Inc. (NPAA) seeks a Technical Director to lead the automotive coatings technical organization across North America.

The role oversees technical support, product development, technology transfer, and launches—partnering with commercial, manufacturing, quality, and customer teams to drive growth and operational excellence. The position develops technical talent, sets standards, ensures quality compliance, and manages budgets and priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a BS degree in Chemistry or related scientific field; MS degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in industrial or automotive (OEM) contexts are desirable.
• Broad base of scientific knowledge in chemistry, coatings, and polymers.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual and 5-year technology strategy for assigned automotive coatings businesses, aligning with customer requirements and growth objectives.
• Identify current and future technology needs for the North American automotive coatings market and communicate them to stakeholders.
• Direct technical resources supporting OEM and related automotive coatings programs, including pretreatment, electrocoat, primer, basecoat, and clearcoat activities.
• Protect and grow existing business by ensuring strong line support, timely issue resolution, root cause analysis, and CAPA implementation.
• Lead programs that support new customer approvals, product launches, technology transfers, localization efforts, and cost reductions.
• Prioritize projects with commercial, manufacturing, quality, and executive leadership to align technical activities with company goals.
• Establish and maintain relationships with OEMs, tier suppliers, and global affiliates to support collaboration and customer satisfaction.
• Oversee development, validation, specification, transfer, and commercialization of automotive coatings formulations and related processes.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Root cause analysis

Budget management

Education

BS in Chemistry or related field

MS degree preferred

Job description

Cleveland, OH
11110 Berea Road
Cleveland, OH 44102, USA

Cleveland, OH
11110 Berea Road
Cleveland, OH 44102, USA

Nippon Paint Automotive Americas Inc. (NPAA) offers employees a generous, earned bonus structure including monthly hourly attendance bonuses, merit increases and an annual bonus incentive plan. Employees receive eleven paid holidays per year, earn paid time off, can enroll in comprehensive health and welfare plans and a 401K plan with an exceptional company match. We provide employee recognition programs, tuition reimbursement and much more. When you join our team, you are part of our NPAA family. We hold several events throughout the year for our employees to show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication. Come join a great team!

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Technical Director leads the automotive coatings technical organization across assigned product lines, customers, and locations. This role oversees technical support, product development, technology transfer, new product launches, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement while partnering with commercial, manufacturing, quality, and customer teams to drive business growth and operational excellence. The position also develops technical talent, establishes technical standards, ensures compliance with quality and customer requirements, and manages departmental priorities and budgets.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the development and execution of the annual and 5-year technology strategy for assigned automotive coatings businesses, ensuring alignment with customer requirements, technology roadmaps, business plans, and regional growth objectives.
• Identify current and future technology needs for the North American automotive coatings market and communicate those needs to global affiliates, internal leadership, customers, and suppliers as appropriate.
• Direct technical resources supporting OEM and related automotive coatings programs, including pretreatment, electrocoat, primer, basecoat, clearcoat, plastic parts coatings, color development, testing, analytical support, and product/process improvement activities.
• Protect and grow existing business by ensuring strong line support, timely issue resolution, effective root cause analysis, customer communication, and implementation of corrective and preventive actions.
• Lead technical programs that support new customer approvals, product launches, technology transfers, localization initiatives, raw material changes, cost reduction, cycle time improvement, and performance improvement.
• Partner with commercial, manufacturing, quality, field technical service, supply chain, and executive leadership to prioritize projects, resolve business-critical issues, support customer strategy, and align technical activities with company objectives.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key OEM, tier customer, supplier, toll manufacturer, and global affiliate contacts to support technical collaboration, business development, and long-term customer satisfaction.
• Oversee development, validation, specification, transfer, and commercialization of automotive coatings formulations and related manufacturing, storage, quality control, raw material, and work-off requirements.
• Review customer operating conditions, line trial results, product performance data, and technical staff recommendations to determine appropriate actions for product optimization and customer support.
• Provide technical consultation to customers, on-site service representatives, and internal teams, including travel to customer facilities, production sites, laboratories, and affiliate locations as business needs require.
• Manage departmental operating and capital budgets, support future business planning, and ensure technical resources are deployed effectively against the highest business priorities.
• Develop, implement, and maintain technical standards, SOPs, laboratory practices, quality system requirements, training programs, and customer-specific requirements, including support for internal, external, and compliance audits.
• Lead talent development within the technical organization by setting expectations, coaching managers and employees, identifying training needs, supporting succession planning, and promoting a high-performance, inclusive, and accountable culture.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, safety requirements, environmental expectations, customer standards, and prudent laboratory practices; lead or assign appropriate lead for corrective actions for safety concerns, near misses, and process gaps.
• Facilitate regular technical reviews, project meetings, escalation discussions, and management updates to communicate priorities, trends, risks, action plans, and progress on key initiatives.
• Provide departmental support for supplier qualification, raw material evaluation, analytical testing, toll manufacturing transfer, supplier quality audits, technical agreements, confidentiality agreements, and joint development activities as required.
• Research new technologies, materials, processes, and industry trends to identify opportunities for innovation, localization, quality improvement, cost savings, sustainability, and competitive differentiation.
• Serve as the technical representative for assigned sites, customers, audits, and strategic initiatives, and perform other duties or special projects as assigned by executive leadership.

POSTION QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of BS degree in Chemistry or related scientific field; MS degree preferred
• Experience in a specialty chemical manufacturing environment; 10+ years of experience in industrial or automotive (OEM) preferred
• A broad base of scientific knowledge and experience in chemistry, coatings, and polymers

Qualifications

Skills

Behaviors

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Motivations

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Education

Experience

Licenses & Certifications

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.