Director, Hardware Engineering

NovaTech Automation•Lenexa, KS

12h

About The Position

NovaTech Automation is seeking a seasoned Director of Hardware Engineering to provide strategic and technical leadership across all hardware development disciplines at the company. This role will consolidate hardware engineering, quality assurance, RMA operations, and hardware certification under a single leader. The Director will report directly to the SVP of Engineering and Product Development and will manage teams distributed across NovaTech's US and international locations. NovaTech's hardware portfolio spans substation automation products including RTUs, GNSS clocks, industrial Ethernet switches, power meters, and merging units. Products operate in demanding grid infrastructure environments and must meet rigorous industrial, safety, and EMC standards. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on hardware design expertise in embedded industrial platforms alongside the leadership experience to drive engineering excellence across a multi-site organization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
15 or more years of progressive hardware engineering experience, with at least 8 years in a formal engineering management or director-level role.
Demonstrated depth in PCB design and layout for high-density, mixed-signal industrial products, with strong preference for Altium Designer experience
Hands-on experience with embedded hardware platforms, specifically Xilinx Zynq-7000 or similar Zynq/SoC families, and NXP i.MX or comparable ARM-based processors.
Proven expertise in analog and power supply design including DC/DC conversion, isolation, and protection circuitry for industrial environments.
Proficiency with SPICE-based simulation tools (Altium, LTspice or equivalent) for circuit analysis and design validation, with experience embedding simulation into formal design review and gate criteria.
Practical experience with FPGA development toolchains
Experience performing reliability predictions using MIL-HDBK-217 or Telcordia SR-332, including Parts Count and Parts Stress Analysis
Experience conducting FMEA and DFMEA at the component, board, and system level, including facilitation across cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated experience managing component obsolescence, approved vendor list (AVL) governance, and long-term BOM supportability for products with multi-year field warranty obligations
Experience owning hardware design for testability (DFT) and production test strategy, including ICT, functional test, and boundary scan where applicable
Familiarity with hardware certification programs including UL 61010-1, cUL product safety listing, FCC Part 15, and CE marking (EMC and LVD directives), sufficient to provide effective oversight of a certifications manager and team.
Working knowledge of IEC 61850-3 environmental requirements for substation or similar industrial equipment.
Demonstrated ability to manage engineering teams across multiple geographic locations and time zones.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a track record of delivering hardware products from concept through volume production.

Nice To Haves

Designing ruggedized hardware for extended industrial temperature ranges (-40 to +85C) and harsh electrical environments.
Familiarity with IEC 61000-4 series immunity requirements (ESD, electrical fast transient, surge, conducted RF) as applied to substation or industrial product design
Experience with industrial networking hardware including Ethernet switches, serial communication interfaces, and fiber optic interconnects in substation or grid environments.
Familiarity with IEC 62443 cybersecurity requirements as they apply to hardware design (secure boot, hardware security modules, TPM integration).
Background in grid infrastructure, substation automation, energy management, power metering, or protection relay hardware.
Experience with precision timing hardware including IEEE 1588 PTP hardware timestamping, GNSS receiver integration, and IRIG-B interfaces.
Familiarity with NERC CIP physical and electronic security requirements as they relate to hardware design.
Experience supporting manufacturing operations in a contract manufacturing environment, including DFM reviews and production test strategy.

Responsibilities

Lead all hardware engineering activities across PCB design, embedded platform development, power and analog design, and signal integrity.
Define and enforce hardware architecture standards, design methodologies, and best practices across the organization.
Drive hardware simulation practices using SPICE, LTspice, and related tools to reduce design iterations and improve first-pass success rates.
Provide hands-on technical guidance on complex design challenges involving Xilinx Zynq-7000, i.MX, and similar embedded SoC platforms.
Collaborate closely with software, product management, and systems engineering teams to ensure hardware and software co-design alignment.
Evaluate and introduce new tools, technologies, and design automation capabilities to improve team throughput and quality.
Own hardware development schedules, resource allocation, and technical risk management across active programs.
Oversee the manager responsible for enclosure and mechanical design, as well as product certification programs covering UL 61010-1, cUL, FCC, CE, and IEC 61850-3 environmental requirements.
Oversee the QA manager responsible for inspection processes, test coverage, manufacturing quality feedback, root cause analysis, corrective action, and field return reduction.
Provides strategic direction, removes organizational obstacles, ensures cross-team alignment, and holds managers accountable to quality, schedule, and process improvement goals.
Manage and develop a geographically distributed organization across US and international locations, spanning hardware engineering, mechanical and certifications, and QA/RMA functions.
Build a high-performance culture grounded in engineering rigor, accountability, and continuous learning.
Partner with the SVP and HR to develop workforce plans, succession pipelines, and talent acquisition strategies for hardware disciplines.
Foster strong cross-functional relationships with software engineering, product management, technical support, and operations.