Director of Business Development & Research and Development (R&D)

Sonic Electronix•Louisville, KY

About The Position

The Director of Business Development & R&D is responsible for driving product innovation, vehicle fitment accuracy, supplier cost optimization, and technical marketing excellence across private label brands. This role ensures that product development strategy, technical data integrity, and market positioning are tightly aligned to support revenue growth, margin improvement, and competitive differentiation. This position serves as the strategic bridge between R&D, business development, marketing, finance, and operations—transforming technical innovation into scalable, profitable growth.

Requirements

Proven leadership experience in product development, R&D, or technical business development.
Strong background in supplier management, cost analysis, and margin optimization.
Experience managing technical data systems, vehicle fitment databases, or complex product catalogs preferred.
Demonstrated ability to translate technical innovation into commercial success.
Excellent cross-functional communication, analytical, and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategic and operational execution of private label product development initiatives.
Manage and allocate an annual new product development budget of approximately $500,000, including tooling investments.
Drive the development of vehicle-specific solutions aligned with market demand, competitive gaps, and revenue targets.
Ensure new product launches are commercially viable, technically validated, and fully supported with documentation and fitment data.
Support company revenue goals by accelerating adoption and performance of newly released SKUs.
Develop and maintain a data-driven pricing and cost-control framework in collaboration with finance and business intelligence teams.
Monitor key cost drivers such as currency fluctuations, raw material trends, and freight costs to inform supplier negotiations.
Establish and maintain industry pricing benchmarks to ensure competitive unit costs.
Present quarterly cost-savings and margin improvement reports, highlighting financial impact and GMROI performance.
Own the accuracy and integrity of the vehicle fitment database across all private label products.
Ensure newly released vehicle models are added to the fitment system within defined timelines.
Guarantee all new catalog products are accurately mapped prior to launch.
Continuously expand and refine vehicle coverage to support catalog growth and customer confidence.
Oversee the creation, refinement, and maintenance of technical product content across websites and catalogs.
Ensure product descriptions, specifications, and guides are accurate, SEO-optimized, and customer-focused.
Maintain consistency of technical data across all customer-facing platforms, including fitment applications.
Serve as a technical subject-matter expert for marketing initiatives, including video and educational content.
Develop structured reporting frameworks to track product development progress, budget utilization, and fitment expansion.
Prepare and present quarterly performance updates to senior leadership.
Ensure reporting aligns with cross-functional business objectives and supports decision-making at the executive level.
Ensure all product development, R&D, supplier management, and fitment processes are fully documented and reviewed regularly.
Contribute to the development and validation of training materials related to product development, fitment, and technical specifications.
Partner with HR, marketing, and sales teams to support onboarding, internal training, and external partner education.
Promote standardized processes and knowledge sharing through LMS and internal documentation systems.
Define product development priorities and roadmap based on market analysis and strategic goals.
Allocate budgets and approve tooling, supplier selections, and production timelines.
Approve new product launches, ensuring readiness across technical, fitment, and marketing requirements.
Lead, mentor, and develop team members by setting clear expectations and performance standards.