Director of Product Development

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Reports to:
President, Oxford Instruments AFM

Our purpose is to accelerate the breakthroughs that create a brighter future for our world. Our technology and scientific expertise enable our customers to discover and bring to market exciting new advances that drive human progress. We aim to be the scientific instrumentation partner in every significant lab and production facility across the world.

Oxford Instruments Asylum Research is manufacturer of nanotechnology instrumentation for industry and research. Specifically, we design, build and sell Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) which are used to analyze material topography, elasticity, conductivity and other properties.

We are part of the wider Oxford Instruments Group that also includes Andor Technology, Nano Science, Plasma Technology and X-Ray Technology. With a sixty-year history, and fourteen Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, our world-class products and technologies are helping our customers to address the greatest challenges of the 21st century.

We want to empower our employees so that they innovate, support our growth and improve our productivity. We support them to make the right decisions and reach their full potential as they develop their careers at Oxford Instruments. Our ways of working are lived every day and are as follows:

• We start with the customer
• We succeed by being focused
• We make and keep our promises
• We work together as one team
• We help and trust each other to succeed

The Director of Product Development will lead, manage, and provide the strategic direction for the product development function within the AFM business. He/she will own and deliver the timely completion of new product introductions to enable continued growth of our AFM business.

• Use a hands‑on approach and considerable systems‑engineering experience to lead the product development team in the development, design and implementation of AFM technology
• Play an integral role in the AFM business leadership team, helping to improve and deliver the long‑term strategy that will grow our AFM business
• Deliver the new product roadmap for the AFM business, with ownership of the early‑stage development phases
• Provide strategic and technical leadership, mentor talent, drive team development and succession planning to maintain the levels of expertise needed in the business
• Manage and sustain engineering projects, providing support for existing products and new products, as needed
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, utilize best practices, select new tools and techniques that will continue to improve product quality and the development process
• Utilize best documentation practices
• Oversee and optimise third‑party engineering services/outsourcing
• Plan, estimate, prioritise and manage agreed project deadlines
• Ensure compliance with safety, design, quality and corporate processes
• Manage budgets, timelines and resource allocation for all projects
• Other duties as assigned

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in engineering or a related field
• 10+ years’ experience leading cross‑functional product development teams
• 5+ years’ experience as a systems engineer
• Proven experience leading high‑performing product development teams
• Experience in working within a project‑management matrix structure
• Proven experience in the design and development of hardware, firmware, and software solutions
• Experience with modern project‑management and reporting tools such as Microsoft TFS or other bug or issue tracking system
• Experience in reporting on the status of projects, people, and processes
• Experience in developing microscopy or similar product type applications
• Excellent organisational and planning skills with the ability to handle numerous details
• Strong problem‑solving, decision‑making, and creative‑thinking abilities
• Demonstrable confidence, excellent interpersonal and communication skills to lead technical teams
• Proven ability to work well within a board‑level team to deliver the goals of the overall business
• Ability to…