The Role
Leads a 30-person, multi-site R&D engineering organization responsible for new product introduction, custom product quoting and design, design for manufacturability, production support, cost reduction, prototyping, and patent submissions. Partners with Product Lifecycle Management and Operations teams on NPI roadmaps, quality, productivity, and large customer orders. Oversees engineering software resources and ensures designs meet customer, manufacturing, and quality requirements.
Summary Generated by Built In
Job Summary & Responsibilities
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
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in electrical or mechanical engineering from an accredited program
- At least 10 years of R&D experience
- At least 5 years of management experience
- Experience with Stage Gate NPD processes and Design for Six Sigma
- Experience developing DFMEA analyses for product design risk mitigation
- Experience implementing design for manufacturability at an organizational level
- Passive component/circuit environmental, mechanical, and electrical testing experience
- Working knowledge of intellectual property management, including writing and submitting patents
- Experience with fast prototyping of new designs
- Ability to obtain a US security clearance
- Eligibility to work in the US without restriction to ITAR documentation and materials
- MBA
- Multi-site engineering management experience
- Experience in capacitor design and manufacturing
Knowles Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Knowles Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Knowles Corporation.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is often considered strong, with medical, dental, vision, telehealth, and wellness programs commonly highlighted. Feedback suggests these offerings are a notable plus, even if specifics vary by location and role.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company match and broader financial-wellness support are emphasized and described favorably. These elements contribute to a perception of a solid, competitive benefits package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid vacation, holidays, sick time, and family leave are frequently called out. Feedback suggests time off policies support reasonable work-life balance for many roles.
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The Company
What We Do
Knowles Corporation is a global leader and provider of advanced audio and precision device solutions. The company specializes in high-performance capacitors, RF and microwave filters, and micro-acoustic components, such as microphones and balanced armature speakers. It serves a wide range of demanding end markets, including consumer electronics, hearing health, medical technology, defense, aerospace, and industrial electrification.
