Global Director, Engineering- Distributed IT

Eaton's Distributed IT organization within the Electrical Sector is seeking a dynamic Global Director of Engineering. Preferred location is in Woodridge, Illinois. Willing to consider remote work with required travel.

What you'll do:

Job summary

Eaton's Distributed IT (D IT) division is seeking a Global Engineering Leader to drive innovation, product development, and systems engineering across our portfolio of data center and distributed infrastructure solutions.

This executive will lead a global, multi-disciplinary engineering organization and play a critical role in shaping the future of power, cooling, connectivity, and digital infrastructure solutions for hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise customers.

Job responsibilities

Lead Strategy & Innovation

* Define and execute the global engineering and technology strategy aligned to business growth priorities

* Drive innovation across integrated solutions spanning hardware, software, and services

* Partner with senior leadership to deliver business and functional objectives

Own Product & Solutions Development

* Lead end-to-end product development, including new product introductions (NPI) and lifecycle management

* Establish reference designs, system architectures, and validated configurations to accelerate deployment

* Translate customer requirements into scalable product and system roadmaps

Deliver Customer-Centric Solutions

* Lead customer co-design and development partnerships with hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise clients

* Implement structured voice-of-customer (VOC) processes to convert insights into engineering requirements

* Ensure solutions meet evolving needs in data centers, edge computing, and energy-efficient infrastructure

Drive Engineering Excellence

* Establish robust system validation, testing, and qualification frameworks

* Ensure high performance in reliability, scalability, and compliance

* Drive improvements in speed-to-market, cost, and quality

Lead a Global Organization

* Build and lead a high-performing, global engineering team across disciplines

* Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement

* Develop leadership capability and technical depth across the organization

Enable Cross-Functional Execution

* Partner with Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, and Quality to deliver end-to-end solutions

* Ensure alignment across the full product lifecycle-from concept through deployment and sustainment

Qualifications:

Education level required

* Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (preferred: Master's in Engineering or MBA)

Years and area of experience required

* Minimum of 15 years professional engineering roles (power engineering background desirable)

* Minimum of 7 years of people management experience.

Technical knowledge

* Possess significant experience in electrical components/systems design, new product development, and program management. Advanced degree may be substituted for some experience.

Skills:

Soft skills

* Knowledge of current engineering techniques, practices and engineering standards.

* Demonstrated success leading and influencing geographically dispersed teams through a collaborative leadership style, while ensuring compliance and accountability.

* Proven ability to build, develop, and lead high-performing teams.

* Ability to influence and partner across a global matrix.

* Collaborative orientation. The ability to succeed in a highly team-oriented environment.

* Globally astute. Understands how to adapt communication style to fit different cultures.

* Demonstrated strategic thinking, drive for results, and managerial courage.

* Must have experience developing strategic plans and creating presentations to communicate the plans.

* Proficiency in data center infrastructure, including cooling, power conversion, distribution, intelligent software monitoring systems and redundancy.

Additional Information:

Organizational chart

Supervisor:
President of Global D-IT

Functional Manager (if applicable): VP of Global Data Center Engineering

Incumbent (if applicable): n/a

Direct Reports (if applicable):
Engineering directors and senior managers

Dimensions

Scope of Responsibilities:
Global leader with reports across multiple…