Engineering Leader - New Product Development

Eaton Corporation•Greenwood, SC

2d•$165,000 - $242,000

About The Position

Eaton Corporation is seeking an Engineering Leader for New Product Development (NPD) within its Electrical Sector and Power Distribution and Assemblies Division (PDCA). The role may be based in Arden, Fayetteville, or Charlotte, North Carolina, or Greenwood, South Carolina. Reporting to the Director Engineering for PDCA, the leader is responsible for new product engineering delivery across the Medium Voltage Assemblies, Low Voltage Assemblies, Medium Voltage Control Assemblies, and Motor Control Centers product lines. The PDCA business has 3,500 employees, eight manufacturing locations, and $2 billion in business across North America. The Engineering Leader directs product-line NPD teams in the United States and Mexico and the NPD organization at the Pune India Innovation Center. The role turns Product Management roadmaps and business cases into launched, certified, and manufacturable products. It sets the portfolio’s multi-year NPD strategy, manages the integrated NPD portfolio and engineering capacity, oversees stage-gate execution and technology readiness, standardizes processes and technical practices, partners with Systems Engineering on architectures and governance, and owns the NPD portion of the R&D budget. The leader also coaches and develops NPD managers and engineers and builds succession plans for key leadership and technical roles. The position requires at least 10 years of engineering experience, including at least five years leading engineering managers or teams, and demonstrated NPD and stage-gate experience in electrical power distribution or control equipment. An undergraduate degree is required; a master’s degree is preferred. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.

Requirements

At least 10 years of engineering experience.
At least five years leading engineering managers or engineering teams.
Demonstrated new product development and stage-gate experience in electrical power distribution or control equipment.
Experience leading teams across multiple sites or locations.
Legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship.
An undergraduate degree is required.
Demonstrated ability to drive and manage change, challenge the status quo, and champion new and innovative ideas.
Professional presence and the ability to communicate articulately and confidently.
Demonstrated written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Demonstrated success providing leadership to employees in a constantly changing environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with medium- and low-voltage switchgear, switchboards, assemblies, or motor control centers.
A master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Set the multi-year NPD engineering strategy for the PDCA portfolio in alignment with the division growth plan and Director of Engineering priorities.
Own the integrated NPD portfolio view across all four product lines, balancing growth programs, technology development, and capacity to prioritize the highest-value work.
Serve as engineering owner for PROLaunch stage-gate execution on growth business-opportunity cases, ensuring gate deliverables, technical readiness, and risk closure at every gate.
Lead technology exploration and PreLaunch activities, including NTI, to de-risk new technologies before they enter a committed launch schedule.
Establish entry and exit criteria between technology development and product development so programs launch on mature, proven technology.
Standardize NPD processes, tools, and technical standards.
Define and deploy common design processes, design review practices, and design-to-cost methods across PDCA NPD teams and sites.
Build and maintain the NPD resource and capacity plan across U.S., Mexico, and India sites.
Partner with Systems Engineering to ensure NPD programs follow agreed product architectures, requirements management, and configuration governance.
Own the NPD portion of the R&D budget, driving cost discipline and productive use of engineering spend.
Coach and develop NPD managers and engineers and build succession plans for key NPD leadership and technical roles across all sites.
Drive and manage change, challenge the status quo, and champion innovative ideas.
Leverage functional and cross-functional resources to solve problems, improve processes, and meet objectives.
Communicate effectively in written, verbal, and interpersonal contexts and provide leadership in a constantly changing environment.