Chief Engineer - Innovation

at  Leggett Platt

We, at Leggett & Platt Inc., are searching for a Chief Engineer - Innovation within our Automotive business. Did you know we are the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of seating support and comfort systems for OEMs, as well as Tier1 and Tier2 within the automotive industry globally? That’s right! Our automotive products fall into five primary groups: Seating and Lumbar support, Electronics & Software, Motors and Actuators, and Mechanical Cables. If you join our team, your work will ensure people across the world have a little more comfort in their lives.
As Chief Engineer - Innovation, you will have the opportunity to lead highly diversified team that will focus on innovation and product development. In this exciting, highly impactful senior leadership role, you and your team will lead evolution of our automotive business’ current product suite in accordance with and understanding of automotive technology trends. You will work with a highly motivated team of cross functional experts to achieve collective success in positioning the company for long term growth.

SO, WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING AS A CHIEF ENGINEER - INNOVATION?

• Incorporate the company strategic direction into development teams globally for the product group.
• Integrate engineering efforts with sales and marketing to identify, evaluate, and establish product directions in support of the company strategic business growth and product strategies.
• Focus on innovation through the development “next evolution” of current product mix
• Develop strategic mid and long-term plans by interacting with customers to ideate and develop new products for the future.
• Utilize experience in automotive industry to understand and predict market trends.
• Create career development paths for engineering teams with focus on succession planning.
• Ensure alignment across a global product leadership team.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE, YOU’LL NEED:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering
• Masters degree is a plus
• 8-10 years direct leadership and product development, hands on experience in the automotive business.
• At least 5 years of experience leading technical teams and strategic management.
• Experience in collaborating across multiple functional areas of a business (Operations, Finance, Sales, Program Management)
• Ability to develop innovation strategy & roadmap and their implementation
• Competency & experience on creative methodology for generating new product ideas
• Strong ability to understand and evaluate technical information received such as specifications, test methods, processes, etc
• Ability to work directly with customers
• Understanding of global markets and experience leading a global team of engineering experts; specifically in China, Germany, and Canada
• Knowledge in connectivity, autonomous driving, electrification