Director of R&D
Knowles
Liberty, SC · Posted November 11, 2026
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About the job
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