R&D Product Director

What we are looking for:

Nova is looking for an R&D Product Director to lead a product line end-to-end from the R&D perspective, driving strategic execution, delivery excellence, and organizational alignment across a complex multidisciplinary environment.

As part of this role, you will hold full accountability for the product-line strategic plan, delivery roadmap, financial planning, and execution across multiple projects and platforms. You will directly manage a team of project and program managers and ensure successful delivery of products with the intended performance, on time and within budget.

In this role, you will work closely with Product Management, R&D, Engineering, Operations, and additional cross-functional stakeholders to align priorities, manage risks, drive organizational decisions, and shape the future product roadmap.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced R&D leader who combines strategic thinking, technical expertise, and strong leadership capabilities with a passion for building high-performing teams and delivering innovative products in a fast-paced technology environment.

Requirements:

What will you be doing:

• Lead, manage, and prioritize product-line activities across the organization to ensure alignment with business and technology objectives.
• Manage and develop a team of project and program managers, ensuring successful execution and delivery of projects according to performance, schedule, and budget commitments.
• Own and drive the product-line strategic plan and multi-year delivery roadmap across products and technology platforms.
• Take ownership of the management governance pipeline, including Project Management Reviews (PMRs), stage-gate reviews, Change Control Boards (CCB), and escalations.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive product-line risk-management and mitigation plan.
• Manage and prioritize the product-line financial plan, including Annual Operating Plan (AOP), budgets, resource allocation, and headcount planning.
• Coordinate cross-platform activities and timelines with other product lines to ensure organizational alignment and optimized execution.
• Partner closely with Product Management on strategic initiatives, business priorities, market-driven roadmap decisions, and outbound activities.
• Provide technical leadership and direction for future product and technology roadmap development.
• Lead intellectual property activities related to the product line, including invention disclosures and patent submissions.
• Drive decision-making, prioritization, and execution across a complex portfolio of projects while balancing business needs, technical challenges, and resource constraints.

• B.Sc., M.Sc., or Ph.D. in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Optics, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in multidisciplinary R&D within an advanced technology environment.
• Proven experience directly managing project managers, program managers, or leading complex multi-project portfolios.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering complex products to specification, on time, and within budget.
• Strong understanding of the complete product lifecycle and product governance processes, including stage-gate reviews, PMRs, Change Control Boards, and design reviews.
• Experience defining strategic plans and managing delivery roadmaps across multiple products and development programs.
• Proven experience managing budgets, Annual Operating Plans (AOP), resource planning, and headcount planning.
• Excellent leadership, prioritization, decision-making, and organizational management skills.
• Strong strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution capabilities.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives in a matrix organizational structure.
• Outstanding communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Fluent English communication skills, both verbal and written.

Advantages:

• Experience within the semiconductor industry.
• Experience leading large-scale multidisciplinary hardware and software development programs.
• Experience working in a global matrix organization.
• Proven contribution to intellectual property generation, including patents and invention disclosures.
• Experience leading product line organizations across multiple technology platforms.

That special something you bring in:

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire, mentor, and develop managers and teams.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to balance long-term vision and short-term execution.
• Excellent technical understanding and system-level thinking.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and make decisions in a dynamic and complex environment.
• Strong ownership and accountability with a commitment to delivering results.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence stakeholders across all organizational levels.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional and global teams.
• High level of resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to drive alignment and commitment.
• A proactive, hands-on approach combined with strong business and technical judgment.

Get to know us better:

Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI) is a global company and a leading provider of innovative metrology solutions for process control in semiconductor manufacturing.

With a team of ~1200 people in three R&D centers and 27 field offices, we bring insights into the world’s most advanced industry. We leverage multiple technology fields such as physics, optics, chemistry, and algorithms to develop hardware and software solutions that measure almost every advanced computer chip built in the world.

Nova dives deep into dimensions and layers at the atomic level to extract unique insights and provide our customers with crucial decision-making data, managing critical challenges by providing unique, differentiated solutions.

Our outstanding people-focused and innovative culture means every person at Nova has the power to make an impact and significantly redefine what people can achieve through technology.

Join us if you are 

A dreamer and brilliant high aimer who sees the impossible as the starting point and loves working in a multidisciplinary global team to create innovative breakthroughs.

If you need assistance due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected]