Research Development Manager Jobs in Birmingham, AL

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Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Moultrie (www.moultrie.com ) is the leader in game feeders and cellular camera innovation, building products used by hunters, property owners, and others for real-time remote monitoring. We take pride in developing deep user understanding, obsessing about the details, and going the extra mile to show our users we love them. Moultrie is customer-driven – hardware, software, marketing, and customer success teams collaborate to deliver a quality user experience.

We are guided by the following principles: Customer Obsession.; Excellence is the Standard.; Bias for Action.; Act Boldly.; Deliver Results.; Hire and Develop the Best.; Be Curious and Learn.; Win as a Team

We’re looking for a Director of R&D to lead the integration of Mechanical, Electrical, andFirmware development into a shippable product. This role builds and runs the process that keeps all three disciplines moving in sync, from concept through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production. You’ll be responsible for delivering documentation and phase-gate exit presentations, with the help of program management.

You’ll work closely with the Director of Validation to make sure test plans deliver real coverage on functionality, performance, and stability, and you’ll plan resourcing and deliverables so programs get built efficiently.

You’ll define the standards, checkpoints, and review cadences that Mechanical, Electrical, and Firmware all work within, and you’ll be the one who spots where theprocess is breaking down between disciplines before it turns into a missed milestone or a production problem. You’ll also own the process side of our JDM/ODM manufacturing relationships: how design intent gets handed off, tracked, and verified through every development phase.

• Define and maintain the review process for hardware programs (concept,prototyping, EVT/DVT/PVT, production ramp), working with the program manager on milestones.
• Set documentation standards and keep PLM records and engineering change processes current and consistent across Mechanical, Electrical, and Firmware.
• Build in checkpoints (design reviews, tolerance analysis, risk assessments, validation planning) so issues surface early, not at production.
• Maintain full traceability from design intent to shipped product.

• Spot where Mechanical, Electrical, and Firmware processes are out of sync and fix the process, not just the individual issue.
• Facilitate the tradeoff conversations between disciplines (hardware vs. firmware, cost vs. performance) so decisions get made and documented, without inserting yourself as the sole technical authority.
• Establish shared engineering standards and design guidelines that all threeteams work from.

• Partner with the Director of Validation to ensure test plans cover functionality, performance, and stability on every program.
• Feed validation findings back into the review process and make sure they get documented.

• Own the process for how design intent, tooling strategy, and production readiness get communicated to and verified with our JDM/ODM manufacturing partners.
• Build in the audit steps that check offshore partners’ firmware and electrical designs are ready for high-volume production.

• Support factory builds by making sure the right process and documentation travel with the program.

• Plan resourcing and deliverables across concurrent programs so products get developed and produced efficiently.
• Run the process for tracking milestones, risk mitigation, and escalation paths.
• Own root cause analysis and corrective action process when issues surface in validation or production.
• Report program health and process gaps to leadership.

10+ years in hardware product development for complex, connected electronics, with real depth in engineering process and documentation/PLM systems.

• Experience building or running engineering processes that span Mechanical, Electrical, and Firmware disciplines.
• Working knowledge of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and scaling from prototype to high-volume production.
• Experience with JDM/ODM manufacturing partners, specifically the handoff andverification process, not just the relationship.
• Enough technical fluency across Mechanical Design, Electrical/PCBA layout, and embedded firmware architecture to understand where cross-discipline tradeoffs happen and design a process that catches them early.
• Experience with PLM systems and engineering change processes.
• Strong background in engineering documentation and drawing standards.
• Experience developing outdoor consumer or industrial electronic products.
• Willingness to travel to offshore manufacturing sites (Asia) for tool trials, line audits, and production ramp-up support.
• Formal project management experience or certification.
• Experience supporting international manufacturing builds.
• Knowledge of environmental and reliability testing standards for outdoor products.
• Familiarity with FMEA, GD&T, and tolerance stack analysis.

We are an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, sex, pregnancy status, age, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, promotion, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment.

We comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local law.

Nearest Major Market: Birmingham
Job Segment: R&D Engineer, Testing, Firmware, Embedded, PLM, Engineering, Technology, Management