Director, Supplier Development Engineering - Electrical Sector Americas
EatonAbout the role: This is a highly visible enterprise leadership role that sits at the intersection of supply chain strategy, operations, engineering, and business growth. As Director of Supplier Development Engineering , you will shape the capability and resilience of Eaton's global supply base, directly influencing the company's ability to launch new suppliers and products, scale capacity, and deliver for customers. This is a newly created leadership position within the Electrical segment to support Data Center growth. As a leader, you will serve as a strategic architect of supplier capability, driving initiatives that support revenue growth, manufacturing expansion, localization strategies, risk mitigation, and long-term supply continuity. The role offers the opportunity to make a measurable impact on Eaton's growth agenda by ensuring key suppliers are positioned to support evolving business and customer needs. You will have 5 direct reports and lead a team of 45 Supplier Quality professionals. For leaders who enjoy driving transformation, building strategic partnerships, and solving complex business challenges at scale, this role offers a unique opportunity to influence both company performance and customer success. The successful candidate will leave a lasting mark on Eaton's global supply chain competitiveness, resilience, and ability to support significant growth for Eaton. What you will need: Supplier Development Strategy & Organizational Leadership Lead the Supplier Development organization by developing and executing the regional supplier development strategy aligned with Global Procurement objectives, business growth, risk management, and capacity expansion goals, while coaching and developing Supplier Development Managers and Engineers, setting organizational priorities, optimizing resource deployment, building capabilities, and driving succession planning and performance management. Capacity & Supplier Readiness Leadership: Lead supplier readiness initiatives to ensure suppliers can successfully scale and support future business demand by driving APQP, PPAP, launch readiness, production-rate validation, industrialization efforts, capacity expansions, new product introductions, regionalization strategies, supplier transitions, and other major growth programs. Supplier Capability Development Drive supplier capability improvement initiatives focused on manufacturing excellence, process maturity, operational effectiveness, scalability, capacity management, and production readiness. Supplier Risk Identification & Mitigation Provide executive oversight for supplier capability assessments, manufacturing risk reviews, operational maturity evaluations, and supplier recovery initiatives. Ensure high-risk suppliers have robust development and mitigation plans. Manufacturing Excellence & Operational Improvement Champion the deployment of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, material flow optimization, process capability improvement, structured problem solving, and operational excellence methodologies throughout the supply base. Qualifications: Education & Experience Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, or related technical discipline. Minimum 12 years of experience in Supplier Development, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or Procurement. Minimum 7 years of progressive leadership experience managing technical teams, managers, and cross-functional organizations. Demonstrated experience leading large-scale supplier capability improvement and transformation initiatives. Experience supporting new product introductions, capacity expansions, supplier transfers, operational turnarounds, and manufacturing growth programs. Technical knowledge: Expert knowledge of supplier development methodologies and manufacturing systems. Strong understanding of fabrication, machining, assembly, electronics, plastics, electrical Advanced knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Contr…