Director, Global Hearing Protection and Protective Communication R&D

Job Description:

Director, Global Hearing Protection and Protective Communication R&D

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military environments to a 3M career.

The Impact You’ll Make in this Role

The Director of Global Laboratories for HP&PC is a senior technical leader responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing execution of all R&D product development and laboratory activities. This role leads multidisciplinary teams across two main COE global lab locations in Indianapolis, IN and Varnamo Sweden as well as across multiple product categories.

The Director is also responsible for maintaining third party accredited Hearing Protection and certification labs in both Indianapolis and Varnamo used for product development, initial certification and maintenance of existing products.

The Director will be accountable for portfolio outcomes across both mature and emerging product categories, including passive and electronic (active) hearing protection and communication products. The role has broad influence across global programs and requires extensive collaboration with portfolio management, applications engineering, quality, regulatory, legal and global manufacturing sites.

Primary Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic Leadership:

  • Set and execute the technical vision and strategy that is aligned with global business objectives and growth initiatives.

  • Translate business priorities into actionable, resourced, and measurable R&D plans, balancing innovation with compliance, product maintenance and cost optimization.

• People and Organizational Development:

  • Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of product development and test engineers across multiple skillsets in project management, acoustics, mechanical design, electronics hardware, embedded firmware, product engineering, advanced development and the associated functional laboratories required.

  • Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Program Oversight and Execution:

  • Direct portfolio execution of NPI programs, global regulatory certification projects, product engineering, and cost/productivity initiatives.

  • Ensure technical rigor, risk management, and quality outcomes throughout the development lifecycle.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration:

  • Partner with Marketing, Regulatory, Manufacturing, Global Labs, and Business Leadership to drive customer-centric innovation and ensure readiness for global commercialization.

  • Maintain alignment and compliance with global regulatory and standards bodies for personal protective equipment.

• Operational and Financial Management:

  • Own laboratory budgets, resource planning, capital investment, and R&D vendor management.

  • Support the annual strategic planning process in partnership with the Lab Operating Committee (LOC), ensuring portfolio priorities and commercialization plans align with division strategy.

  • Continuously improve accredited test lab efficiency, capability, and throughput using Lean and digital tools (e.g., PowerApps, digital test requests, lab scheduling systems, AI).

  • Continuously improve special builds capability reacting to Customer requests and requirements.

• Technology and Intellectual Property:

  • Maintain fluency in core and adjacent technologies. Guide development of proprietary solutions and patent filings in partnership with 3M Legal.

  • Serve as a technical mentor and thought leader across businesses, anticipating industry trends and identifying key innovation opportunities.

• Serve as a key member of the Lab Operating Committee (LOC), contributing to strategic, operational, and portfolio decisions for the division.

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Science or Engineering (completed and verified prior to start)

• Three (3) years of product development leadership experience in a private, public, government or military environment

• Three (3) years of supervisory/management experience

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Background in Acoustics and Acoustical Measurement Techniques

• Background in Hearing Conservation methods and metrics

• Understanding of global hearing protection regulatory standards and requirements

• Understanding of Mechanical Design methodologies including injection molding and tool design

• Background in Materials Science including Dynamic properties of materials

• Background in electronic product design and development

• Background in electronic product embedded firmware development and qualification

• Significant Commercialization leadership of government regulated products

• Global product development and laboratory management experience

• Experience in Scrum/Agile implementation and practices

• Significant Front End (Insights) Innovation experience

• Significant International 3M experience and understanding of the 3M matrix

• Process improvement experience such as six sigma, Kaizen, scrum processes

• Ability to analyze data and arrive at decisions based on the analysis

Work location:

• This role follows an on-site working model, requiring the employee to work at least four days a week in Indianapolis, IN or Maplewood, MN

Travel: May include up to 20% domestic/international

Relocation: Is authorized

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Responsibilities of this position may include direct and/or indirect physical or logical access to information, systems, technologies subjected to the regulations/compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.

U.S. Export Control laws and U.S. Government Department of Defense contracts and sub-contracts impose certain restrictions on companies and their ability to share export-controlled and other technology and services with certain "non-U.S. persons" (persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., refugees, "Temporary Residents" (granted Amnesty or Special Agricultural Worker provisions), or persons granted asylum.

To comply with these laws, 3M must help assess candidates' U.S. person status.

The questions asked in this application are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this particular position.

Supporting Your Well-being

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.

Chat with Max

For assistance with searching through our current job openings or for more information about all things 3M, visit Max, our virtual recruiting assistant on 3M.com/careers.

Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.

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