Engineering and Program Director

Engineering and Program Director Hardware & Firmware | New Product Development | Turku, Finland Lead the team. Own the portfolio. Turn advanced sensor technology into reliable products used by utilities worldwide. Are you an experienced engineering leader who enjoys combining people leadership, product development, and program execution? Safegrid is entering its next phase of growth as part of G&W Electric. We are looking for an Engineering and Program Director to lead our hardware and firmware organization and drive an expanding portfolio of new-product, sustaining, and integration programs from concept through production. This is a dual-mandate role: you will develop a growing multidisciplinary engineering team while managing complex, interdependent product programs. You will work closely with Safegrid’s Chief Technologist, who provides technical strategy and architecture leadership, and with global stakeholders across G&W Electric. The role reports to the Managing Director, Safegrid, and is part of the Safegrid Management Team. Role at a glance Team leadership: Growing in-house HW/FW team plus external partners Portfolio: New platforms, sustaining engineering and cross-product integrations Ways of working: Stage-Gate, lean design, agile development and strong design controls What you will do - Lead and grow the team. Take full people-management responsibility for Safegrid’s hardware and firmware engineers. Coach, recruit, develop skills, allocate resources, and build a high-performance, innovative culture. - Own the engineering portfolio. Drive multiple concurrent programs spanning production support, component obsolescence and second sourcing, new sensor and hardware platforms, and integration with other G&W Electric product lines. - Deliver products end to end. Guide hardware and firmware from concept through validation and production, balancing performance, quality, cost, reliability, and time-to-market objectives. - Run disciplined programs. Lead projects through the Stage-Gate process; establish schedules and baselines, manage critical paths, scope, budgets, BOM cost, resources, quality, and risk. - Coordinate globally. Connect Safegrid Sensor R&D with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Aftermarket Service, Finance, Product Management, Marketing, and Sales across G&W Electric. - Strengthen engineering execution. Own development test planning, ensure alignment with specifications and industry standards, facilitate root-cause analysis, and continuously improve engineering and program-management practices. - Manage external partners. Lead Sensor R&D subcontractors, suppliers, and third-party development partners while working with purchasing on component selection, approval, quality, and cost. What you bring - Engineering foundation. A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline. - Substantial product-development experience. At least 8 years of progressive engineering design and development experience, including leadership of technically demanding and innovative projects. - Proven leadership. Demonstrated experience leading technical teams, mentoring engineers, managing performance, and aligning resources with business priorities. - Strong program-management capability. Experience managing multiple concurrent projects through a Stage-Gate or comparable product-development lifecycle, with disciplined scope, schedule, budget, and risk management. - Relevant technical breadth. A practical understanding of electronics, mechanics, embedded software, connectivity, and IoT product development. - Clear communication and sound judgment. The ability to communicate technical and commercial trade-offs, create high-quality documentation, influence stakeholders, and drive decisions across organizational boundaries. Experience that would help you succeed - Knowledge of medium- and high-voltage power systems, current or voltage sensing, system protection, grid analysis, or fault response. - Experience with sensor technologies such as Rogowski coils, E-field sensing, magnetic sensing, or firmware-driven sensor platforms. - PMP certification or comparable formal project-management training. - Experience managing R&D subcontractors and distributed or global engineering teams. - Familiarity with lean product development and production-quality processes. - Experience with MS Project or equivalent planning tools. Why this role matters Safegrid develops intelligent grid-monitoring technology for medium- and high-voltage networks. In this role, you will shape the engineering organization behind the next generation of sensor platforms while ensuring that products already in production continue to perform reliably in the field. Your work will directly support Safegrid’s growth and the integration of its technology into G&W Electric’s global product portfolio. Location and working model This is a hybrid role based in Turku, Finland. Partial remote work is possible, but regular on-site presence is essential because the position involves hands-on visibility into hardware development, laboratory testing, prototypes, and production test systems. The expected on-site presence is, on average, at least two days per week. About Safegrid Safegrid Oy, a G&W Electric Company, is a leading provider of intelligent grid solutions that help utilities and grid operators locate, predict, and prevent grid faults. With its Intelligent Grid System, Safegrid enhances grid performance and reliability using non-intrusive wireless sensors and advanced analytics, ensuring a safer and more resilient power system. Safegrid is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and operates as part of the G&W Electric global family of companies. For more information, visit www.safegrid.io. About G&W Electric Co.G&W Electric is a leading provider of innovative power grid solutions that help utilities and grid operators protect, automate, and strengthen the electric grid. Our portfolio spans load and fault interrupting switches; reclosers; sensors; system protection equipment; power grid automation; cable accessories; and solutions for intelligent fault location, prediction, prevention and analytics. G&W Electric is headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, with production facilities in the United States, Canada, Italy, Finland, China, and Mexico — delivering on our purpose to keep the lights on and the data flowing since 1905.  Ready to build the team and products behind a smarter, more resilient grid? Apply and tell us how your engineering leadership and program experience can help Safegrid scale. For more information about the position please contact Tapio Mäntysalo at [email protected] and/or +358405004765