Director R&D Product Development Engineering - Middletown, CT, USA at TE Connectivity | WORK180

At TE, you will unleash your potential working with people from diverse backgrounds and industries to create a safer, sustainable and more connected world.

Job Overview

TE Connectivity’s R&D/Product Development Engineering Teams conceive original ideas for new products, introduce them into practice. They are responsible for product development, and qualification from market definition through production and release; assist in the qualification of suppliers for new products to ensure suppliers deliver quality parts, materials, and services for new or improved manufacturing processes; conduct feasibility studies, testing on new and modified designs; direct and support detailed design, testing, prototype fabrication and manufacturing ramp. The R&D/Product Development Engineering Teams provide all required product documentation including, but not limited to, Solid Model, 2D/3D production drawings, product specifications, and testing requirements. They create and modify detailed drawings and drafting or conceptual models from layouts, rough sketches or notes and contribute to design modifications to facilitate manufacturing operation or quality of product. Typical fields of expertise include: materials, mechanics and systems, electrical, optics, chemistry, software, automation systems, packaging, testing and measurement, and manufacturing of electrical, mechanical and electronic components, products, and their integration into systems

As a member of the Digital Data Networks (DDN) business unit in TE Connectivity, the Director R&D Product Development Engineering will be responsible for defining and executing a technical vision and strategy for assigned product lines within the Converged portfolio. This includes leading a global team of 50+ engineers across multiple disciplines, primarily located in Asia and the U.S., to design and develop high-speed products used in switches, servers, and storage systems for data communication and wireless infrastructure.

In this role, you will drive technology and product decisions that directly impact business performance. You will lead innovation and execution to enhance competitiveness, while building a high-performing team and fostering a culture of adaptability, continuous learning, and experimentation. Success in this role requires achieving business objectives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, while promoting innovation, high performance, and employee wellbeing.

Year 1 Success Factors:

Demonstrable knowledge and familiarity of high-speed product lines within the Converged Portfolio for data center applications and alignment to the Converged portfolio roadmap

Job Responsibilities:

Lead your team to successfully develop high-speed connector, cable assembly, and/or socket solutions from market definition through production and release.
Leverage relationships within customer and supplier communities to identify and capitalize on performance gaps, working across engineering disciplines and functions to apply existing technologies and create new business opportunities. Key cross-functional partners include Product Management, the Chief Technology Office, Product Execution, Operations, and Sales.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers to deeply understand their technical needs, strategic goals, and pain points. Leverage these insights to align product development efforts, prioritize features, and drive customer-focused innovation that delivers measurable outcomes.
Contribute to the definition of technology roadmaps that align with business growth objectives and long-term product strategy, helping to prioritize and guide new product development initiatives.
Support the deployment and continuous improvement of quality-in-design processes, ensuring that all new products are developed in compliance with applicable standards and customer expectations.
Translate the BU strategy into a clear vision and purpose for your global organization that balances both transformational and incremental changes necessary to execute on the BU strategy both in the short-term and long-term.
Effectively lead a global team of engineers across multiple disciplines managing individuals with diverse backgrounds, experience levels, and cultural perspectives.
Set relevant and actionable performance goals for your team aligned to the BU strategy with a focus on developing capabilities and increasing efficiency and productivity.
Drive high performance by providing your team routine coaching and feedback, holding your team accountable to meet performance objectives, and providing meaningful development to increase individual/team capability.
Manage employee wellbeing by prioritizing work, effectively managing resource loading, and providing flexibility to enable employees to successfully balance their work and personal lives.
Drive organization effectiveness by structuring your organization in a way that best enables the BU strategy, maximizes resource efficiency and productivity, and provides role clarity and clear lines of accountability.
Build a high performing team to support the business now and in the future by identifying organization skillset/role gaps and plans for filling those gaps, assessing talent fit ensuring the right talent is matched to the right roles to meet business needs, and hiring diverse and high performing talent to complement and strengthen the team.

What your background should look like:

Bachelor's / Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent relevant work experience.
Typically requires 10-18 years of related experience.
Generally requires a minimum of 7 years of progressive leadership and people management experience, including proven ability to lead and develop global, multi-disciplinary engineering teams with diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experience levels.
Strong leadership skills in setting performance goals, coaching, providing feedback, driving accountability, and fostering high-performing teams through talent development, succession planning, and effective hiring.
Experience managing resource allocation and workload balancing to support employee wellbeing and maintain productivity.
Clear understanding of how organizational design and people management influence business results, with proven ability to structure organizations that align with strategy, maximize efficiency, and clarify roles and responsibilities.
Broad industry knowledge across multiple technical domains critical to business success in high-speed product lines for data center applications
Proven experience leading teams to deliver high-speed products on time and within budget, managing the full product lifecycle—from customer requirements through concept development, prototyping, manufacturing scale-up, and global deployment.
Extensive experience in scaling high-speed solutions in manufacturing, including qualification and high-speed testing, product documentation, and integrating process capabilities with digital design to ensure high-quality outcomes.
Exhibits strong business acumen with a deep understanding of the interdependencies among engineering, operations, plant manufacturing, and product management functions.
Strong understanding of competitive products and intellectual property (IP) positions, with a demonstrated ability to generate IP and leverage it to create competitive advantage and business value.
Demonstrates sound judgment in navigating complex technical challenges, with the ability to clearly communicate actions and impacts to stakeholders including executive leadership, customers, and the technical community.
Innovates by building on traditional approaches and integrating external knowledge to develop effective, forward-thinking solutions.
Strong collaboration and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to contribute to both Business Unit product leadership and engineering functional leadership within TE. Proven track record of building relationships across organizations and working effectively with stakeholders at all levels, cultures, and functional backgrounds, including senior management.
Outstanding communication and presentation skills. A convincing communicator who shares compelling perspectives that drive engagement and excitement both up and down the organization.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally between 25% - 35%

Director R&D Product Development Engineering - Middletown, CT, USA

Job Overview

Job Responsibilities:

What your background should look like:

Competencies