BD VP​/Senior Director, ESI

The Vice President / Sr. Director of ESI will found, build, and lead Hi-P's Early Supplier Involvement organization based in Silicon Valley. This is a senior leadership hire with global scope: the candidate will own the ESI strategy, hire and develop a team of ESI engineers and technical account managers in California and the US Northeast.

Success in this role means embedding Hi-P engineers in customer design reviews 12–24 months before mass production, shaping product architectures around Hi-P's vertical capabilities, and converting early influence into sustainable, high-margin program wins. The candidate will be measured on design-win pipeline, NPI-to-MP conversion, customer satisfaction at the engineering level, and revenue from accounts where ESI was engaged pre-tape-out.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and execute Hi-P's ESI go-to-market strategy across consumer electronics, wearables, IoT, medical devices, and emerging AI hardware segments.
• Build the ESI organization from the ground up: hire 3–4 Silicon Valley-based and 1–2 Northeast-based ESI technical account managers.
• Establish operating cadence, KPIs, customer engagement playbooks, and design-win governance with the CMO, Head of Sales, and BU general managers.
• Personally own executive and chief-engineer relationships at top-tier US OEMs and adjacent AI hardware leaders.
• Lead pre-RFQ engagements: joint design reviews, DFM/DFA workshops, tooling strategy sessions, materials selection, and prototype build planning.
• Translate customer technical roadmaps into Hi-P capability investments and capacity plans, working with global engineering and operations leadership.

Commercial & program ownership

• Own the ESI design-win pipeline; drive conversion from concept engagement to NPI award to mass-production revenue.
• Partner with sales and BU leaders on quoting strategy, value-engineering proposals, and commercial structures that monetize early-stage involvement.
• Represent ESI in executive QBRs with customers and at internal Hi-P leadership reviews.

Cross-functional leadership

• Build a tight operating bridge with Suzhou, and Chengdu engineering centers so customer commitments made in Silicon Valley are executed flawlessly.
• Champion the voice of the customer inside Hi-P; influence capability roadmap, equipment investment, and process technology development.
• Develop direct reports as next-generation engineering and commercial leaders for Hi-P's US presence.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Science, or related discipline. MBA or advanced engineering degree preferred.
• Experience: 15+ years total, including at least 5 years in a customer-facing engineering or commercial leadership role at a Tier-1 EMS / ODM / contract manufacturer OR equivalent supplier-facing leadership experience inside a Tier-1 OEM.
• Domain depth: Demonstrable fluency in precision injection molding, precision metal stamping, tooling design, surface finishing, mechatronic assembly, and DFM/DFA principles. Must be able to credibly engage with senior product designers and mechanical leads at top OEMs.
• Track record: Documented history of winning multi-hundred-million-dollar programs through pre-RFQ engineering engagement; strong personal network among R&D, NPI, and supply-chain decision-makers at one or more of:
  Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Nvidia, or comparable hardware-led companies.
• Leadership: Proven success building and leading geographically distributed teams; experience operating across US–Asia time zones and cultures.
• Communication: Outstanding written and spoken English; ability to present credibly to customer C-suite and chief engineers.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.
• Prior experience as an ESI / NPI / Customer Engineering leader at a competitor EMS/ODM.
• Experience launching new product programs in medical devices (ISO 13485) or automotive (IATF 16949) in addition to consumer electronics.
• Hands-on experience with vertically integrated manufacturing models (combining plastics, metals, and electronics in a single program).
• Existing US work authorization; no sponsorship required.