Director – Platform Hardware Engineering

Fluence Energy•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Director – Platform Hardware Engineering is a leadership role responsible for defining and driving multi-platform hardware architecture, engineering strategy, and organizational capability across complex product portfolios. Reporting directly to Engineering Leadership (VP), the Platform Director leads and mentors Platform Leaders and Engineers to ensure cohesive execution, technical leadership, platform modularity, high reliability, and operational excellence from concept through global deployment. The role operates across long-term business strategy, hardware architecture, multi-generational product roadmaps, and cross-functional operational governance. It owns portfolio-level Design-to-Cost goals, time-to-market performance, alignment with tactical and strategic capability partners, and deployment of engineering standards across global engineering teams. The Director leads hardware engineering throughout the product lifecycle, from concept and prototyping through testing, validation, pilot builds, manufacturing rollout, and phased releases.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, systems engineering, or a related hardware discipline.
12+ years of progressive hardware engineering experience in complex electrical, mechanical, or power electronics systems.
Demonstrated track record of conceptualizing, launching, and scaling successful multi-generational hardware platforms in global markets.
Legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application and throughout employment, without employer sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Define and drive multi-generational hardware platform architectures, including reusable building blocks, standard interfaces, and scalable options and variants for global project configurations.
Lead technology trade-off studies and integration of technologies such as advanced power conversion, thermal systems, and auxiliary integration.
Provide technical requirements direction to engineering leads and specialists across workstreams and related disciplines.
Support engineering leads in developing technical competency frameworks, best practices, design standards, training programs, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms.
Foster technical rigor, accountability, innovation, data-driven decision-making, continuous improvement, and ownership.
Build collaboration across global engineering teams and establish mechanisms to share architecture, design standards, lessons learned, and reusable solutions.
Collaborate with Systems Engineering to establish system and component requirements in Jama.
Align engineering planning with P2D gates and define engineering milestones for each gate.
Lead hardware engineering milestones across release gates, from concept definition through prototyping, testing, validation, pilot builds, and full-scale manufacturing rollout.
Establish hardware design specifications and acceptance criteria aligned with international standards, including IEC, UL, and IEEE.
Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering and cross-functional teams to deliver cost-effective, high-quality designs on program timelines.
Coordinate prototype builds and engineering validation activities to ensure hardware readiness for development milestones, stage-gate reviews, and certification testing.
Provide executive-level reporting on technical progress, project status, key risks, resource requirements, and strategic recommendations.
Ensure Engineering and NPI embed Design for Manufacturability, Design for Serviceability, Design for Quality, and Design to Cost rules early in product design.
Partner with Quality Engineering on FMEA, root-cause analysis for component non-conformances, and qualification protocols.
Ensure design compliance with grid codes, standards, and market regulations identified by Compliance and Certification teams.
Partner with Product Management and Sales Engineering to validate hardware requirements, establish design-to-cost targets, and support complex technical bids.
Support sustaining handoffs and work with Supply Chain, Procurement, and Contract Manufacturers during prototype builds, certification, and system testing.
Align Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Commercial organizations with the platform strategy and product roadmap.
Lead root-cause investigations and resolution of complex technical issues across design, testing, manufacturing, and field operations.
Partner with electrical and mechanical Design, Product Definition, and Engineering PLM teams to plan and execute phased releases, ensuring on-time design deliverables at each stage gate.
Ensure design teams practice effective variant management and use options and variants to optimize product configurations and maintain design flexibility.