Director of Product Engineering

JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Product Engineering is a hands-on engineering executive who will lead and drive the execution of product development, scaling, and commercialization of autonomous vehicles designed for demanding environments. The Director is expected to be an active participant in critical program delivery, personally driving teams to meet milestones while establishing and enforcing engineering KPIs that create a culture of accountability and measurable results.

This leader will manage 8-10 direct reports. They will set the pace and standard for engineering execution, step into critical programs when needed, and delegate steady-state operations to Chief Engineers with clear expectations and follow-through.

The role operates in a Helix model, partnering with Product Management for mission execution while taking direct functional responsibility for the Engineering department. This requires strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills to bridge between product priorities and engineering excellence.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Active Delivery Leadership & KPI Accountability

• Set and enforce execution standards that deliver on schedule and quality, stepping into critical programs as needed while holding Chief Engineers accountable for day‑to‑day operational delivery.
• Define, implement, and own engineering-specific KPIs across all divisions, including on-time delivery rates, defect rates, prototype milestone adherence, and Verification & Validation pass rates.
• Establish regular cadences (program reviews, milestone check-ins, delivery readiness assessments) to track KPI performance and hold engineering leaders accountable for results.
• Personally intervene to unblock critical-path programs, resolve cross-division dependencies, and escalate delivery risks before they become misses.
• Build a performance-driven engineering culture where teams understand what "done" looks like and are measured against it.

Product & Engineering Leadership

• Lead Product Engineering across multiple divisions, partnering with Product Group leadership to align engineering execution with business priorities, OKRs, and PDP gate requirements.
• Direct Chief Engineers and Division Chiefs providing functional oversight, escalation support, and technical alignment.
• Represent Engineering in executive‑level reviews, including staffing, risk mitigation, scope changes, and delivery readiness.

Robotics & Autonomous Systems Development

• Bring deep engineering experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or mechatronics development to guide architecture decisions, technology trade-offs, and development approaches.
• Provide technical credibility and leadership to multi-disciplinary engineering teams spanning mechanical, electrical, embedded software, and autonomy disciplines.
• Champion engineering best practices specific to robotic and autonomous system development, including sensor integration, motion planning considerations, and real-time system constraints.
• Drive the definition and standardization of systems engineering processes, including requirements decomposition from market needs through system and part‑level requirements.

Functional Safety & Compliance

• Serve as a knowledgeable engineering partner to the Safety personnel, with deep familiarity in functional safety methodologies including STPA (System-Theoretic Process Analysis) and HARA (Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment).
• Ensure functional safety requirements are integrated into product designs from early-stage development through production release decisions.
• Own engineering oversight for Quality Management System procedures aligned with ISO 9001, ASPICE, IEC 61508, and OSHA, including configuration management and change management.
• Challenge and validate safety analyses, ensuring engineering teams design for safety-critical performance from the outset rather than retrofitting compliance.

Organizational Design & Talent Leadership

• Lead organizational design and workforce planning for Product Engineering, including role definition, hiring plans, and contractor strategy.
• Actively participate in senior engineering hiring, including Division Chiefs, Chief Engineers, Development Managers, and key Engineers.
• Mentor engineering leaders and provide guidance on career development, succession planning, and leadership readiness.
• Serve as engineering point of contact for strategic partners and contractors, aligning delivery KPIs, onboarding plans, and skill demand forecasts.

ESSENTIAL EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE, JOB SKILLS

Education and Experience:

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Engineering; Preferred: Master's degree in Engineering, Robotics, or MBA.
• 15 years of experience in Engineering, R&D, or product development.
• 10 years in engineering leadership roles with increasing scope and responsibility.
• Demonstrated track record of actively driving teams to deliver complex, multi-disciplinary products on time and to specification and personally ensuring delivery on critical programs.
• Experience defining and enforcing engineering KPIs (delivery, quality, milestones) and building accountability systems around them.
• Experience managing engineering organizations of 100 people.
• Demonstrated expertise in product development with a proven history of successfully launching large-scale products.
• Engineering leadership experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or mechatronics development, ideally having led engineering teams that designed, built, and deployed robots or autonomous machines.
• Deep familiarity with functional safety methodologies including STPA, HARA, and standards such as IEC 61508; able to serve as a credible technical partner to a dedicated Safety team.
• Experience in heavy construction, mining, agriculture, or other rugged outdoor autonomous vehicle environments.