Director of Electrical Engineering

Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Salary Range: $190,000–$200,000 annually

Bonus: 6%–8% annual bonus

Travel: Occasional domestic shoreside travel

Position Overview

This company is seeking an experienced Director of Electrical Design to provide technical leadership and people management for a team developing next-generation, high-reliability telecommunications hardware. This position will have approximately 6–8 direct reports and is ideal for an accomplished electrical design leader who combines deep hands‑on engineering expertise with the ability to lead and develop a technical team.

Analog circuit and electrical design expertise is at the core of this position. The Director must be a highly experienced electrical engineer who understands hardware development at a detailed level and can lead products from initial concept and architecture through PCB/PCBA development, prototyping, testing, qualification, manufacturing transfer, and production . This is not solely a people‑management position. The Director must be technically strong and comfortable going into the lab, reviewing circuit designs, troubleshooting hardware, analyzing failures, and helping the engineering team solve difficult technical problems.

The successful candidate will bring 10+ years of telecommunications industry experience , strong senior‑level electrical design experience, and demonstrated experience leading engineers. Candidates may currently be Directors, Engineering Managers, Principal Engineers, or Lead Engineers who have successfully led technical teams and are ready to grow into a Director‑level position.

The Director will be expected to anticipate technical challenges, identify risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and drive technical decision‑making across the complete product‑development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of approximately 6–8 electrical engineers and technical professionals , providing technical direction, mentorship, performance management, and career development.
• Provide end‑to‑end technical leadership from initial product concept through manufacturing and production .
• Lead the development of complex, high‑reliability electrical hardware and PCB/PCBA designs for telecommunications products.
• Serve as a senior technical authority for analog circuit design , while also providing leadership across digital circuitry and integrated electrical systems.
• Own and oversee the end‑to‑end PCB/PCBA development process , including architecture, schematic design, component selection, layout coordination, prototyping, fabrication, assembly, testing, qualification, and manufacturing transfer.
• Remain actively involved in engineering development and be comfortable working hands‑on in the laboratory to troubleshoot circuit, board, component, and system‑level issues.
• Lead design reviews, architecture reviews, technical‑readiness assessments, and engineering problem‑solving activities.
• Guide engineers through circuit simulation, prototyping, design verification, qualification, reliability testing, and root‑cause investigations.
• Partner closely with manufacturing to ensure hardware designs are producible, testable, scalable, and successfully transitioned into production .
• Lead technical troubleshooting of production and laboratory failures, including analysis of electrical and manufacturing test data.
• Provide technical leadership across electrical, optical, mechanical, firmware, systems, test, and manufacturing engineering teams.
• Develop hardware incorporating advanced electrical and electro‑optical technologies used in high‑reliability telecommunications products.
• Establish engineering priorities, allocate resources, and ensure project milestones and technical deliverables are achieved.
• Identify technical and program risks early , anticipate potential downstream problems, and develop effective risk‑mitigation strategies.
• Drive technical decision‑making while balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, schedule, and product requirements.
• Develop and mentor engineers, strengthening the team's technical capabilities and preparing future technical leaders.
• Partner with suppliers, component manufacturers, external engineering partners, eCAD specialists, and manufacturing organizations.
• Communicate technical challenges, risks, recommendations, and project status effectively to senior leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience within the telecommunications industry.
• Extensive experience as a Senior, Lead, Staff, or Principal Electrical Design Engineer developing complex hardware products.
• Deep hands‑on expertise in analog circuit design , including circuit architecture, component selection, simulation, prototyping, testing, and troubleshooting.
• Strong experience developing electrical hardware from initial concept through manufacturing and production .
• Demonstrated expertise with the complete PCB/PCBA lifecycle , including schematic development, board design, layout coordination, fabrication, assembly, bring‑up, testing, qualification, and manufacturing transfer.
• Strong understanding of design for manufacturability, production readiness, and manufacturing management as it relates to electrical hardware.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex electrical hardware and resolve technical issues in a hands‑on laboratory environment .
• Experience leading a group of engineers or technical professionals, including responsibility for technical direction, mentoring, workload management, and team performance.
• Proven ability to provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience with analog and digital circuit simulation and modeling using LTspice or equivalent tools.
• Experience with design verification, product qualification, reliability testing, root‑cause analysis, and technical problem resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate engineering challenges, evaluate technical risks, and develop effective risk‑mitigation strategies .
• Ability to balance hands‑on technical leadership with people management, project execution, and longer‑term engineering strategy.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Experience directly managing approximately 6–10 engineers or technical professionals .
• Experience as a Principal Engineer or Lead Engineer with significant technical team leadership responsibilities and a desire to advance into engineering management/director leadership.
• Experience developing high‑reliability products for the telecommunications or medical‑device industries .
• Knowledge of fiber‑optic components, optical communications, and subsea telecommunications systems.
• Experience developing terminal equipment, repeaters, branching units, ROADMs, or comparable high‑reliability telecommunications hardware.
• Experience working with external engineering partners, eCAD specialists, contract manufacturers, and component suppliers.
• Experience supporting complex hardware throughout the complete product lifecycle, from concept and architecture through manufacturing, deployment, and field operation .

The company is open to an experienced Director or Engineering Manager, as well as a strong Principal or Lead Electrical Engineer who has already led engineering teams and is ready to grow into a Director‑level leadership role .