Director, Transportation Safety

3M•Maplewood, MN

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Transportation Safety sets the commercial, technical, and advocacy strategy for our road, vehicle, and transit safety business worldwide. It is a rare role that combines full commercial ownership of high-impact product portfolios with the opportunity to shape the infrastructure standards and safety policies that govern them. The Director leads a global sales organization, cultivates customer relationships at the highest levels, and partners with Government Affairs to ensure our product roadmap stays ahead of an evolving regulatory landscape. This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career. Reporting to the President of Transportation, the Director owns global commercial growth across our critical transportation safety categories — traffic signage, pavement markings, and vehicle registration solutions. The Director leads and scales international sales teams, manages strategic State and Country customer relationships, and works hand-in-hand with Government Affairs to align product roadmaps with upcoming regulatory shifts. This is a global, cross-regional mandate spanning the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. Success requires equal fluency in commercial strategy, long-cycle government procurement, and transportation safety policy — and the leadership presence to represent the company on the international stage.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher (completed and verified prior to start)
Twelve (12) years of leadership experience, blending global B2B and B2G (Business-to-Government) sales with transportation safety or infrastructure policy in a private, public, government or military environment
Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Business Administration, or a related discipline from an accredited institution.
Global acumen: Proven track record of managing cross-border sales teams and navigating complex, long-cycle government procurement processes across multiple continents.
Regulatory expertise: Deep familiarity with global traffic device standards (such as the MUTCD or European equivalents) and vehicle compliance frameworks.
Direct experience with government procurement and B2G contracting across multiple regions (Americas, EMEA, APAC).
Participation in or engagement with standards-setting bodies (e.g., FHWA, CEN/European Road Safety Charter, national transport ministries).
Experience commercializing engineered-product portfolios in regulated markets.
Demonstrated cross-cultural leadership across international teams.
Strategic commercial leadership: Sets a clear global growth agenda and translates it into regional execution and measurable results.
Executive stakeholder influence: Relationships with senior government officials, contractors and internal stakeholders alike
Cross-cultural agility: Leads distributed, multi-region teams and adapts commercial approaches to diverse regulatory and cultural contexts.
Change leadership: Guides the organization and portfolio through regulatory transitions and evolving technology
Results orientation: Balances long-cycle B2G opportunities with near-term revenue and margin commitments.

Responsibilities

Revenue targets for signage, pavement markings, and vehicle registration products.
Build key customer relationships: Cultivate and maintain executive-level partnerships with Department of Transportation (DOT), global ministries of transport, and large-scale infrastructure contractors.
Go-to-market strategy: Develop and execute commercial strategies tailored to regional regulatory environments, maximizing market penetration for high-visibility and digital traffic solutions.
Revenue and margin ownership: Executing pricing strategy, forecasting demand, and driving profitable growth across all regions.
Collaborate with Government Affairs: Partner closely with internal Government Affairs teams to monitor, influence, and respond to global transportation legislation, funding bills, and safety mandates.
Serve on international committees
Anticipate regulatory shifts: Translate emerging standards and infrastructure funding into commercial opportunity, aligning product roadmaps with the regulatory horizon.
Signage & pavement markings: Drive adoption of high-performance retroreflective sheetings and durable pavement markings designed for both human drivers and autonomous vehicle vision systems.
Vehicle registration solutions: Expand the global footprint of secure vehicle identification products, including retroreflective license plate materials and digital registration technologies.
Portfolio prioritization: Partner with R&D and Product Management to prioritize investment across the portfolio, balancing near-term revenue with long-term category leadership.
Responsibilities of this position include that corporate policies, procedures and security standards are complied with while performing assigned duties.
Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.