Engineering Lab Manager

Job Title: Engineering Lab Manager

Location: Mebane, NC

Base Salary Rate: $134,300-$158,000

Job type: Full-time

Where Fire Safety Innovation Meets Opportunity:

As part of Kidde Global Solutions Residential Fire Business Unit, you’ll be part of a legacy of leadership in home fire safety, working with cutting-edge technologies that protect lives and property worldwide. As a leading home fire safety brand, our mission is to provide solutions that protect people and property from the effects of fire and related hazards. We’re committed to expanding our impact and providing dynamic opportunities for growth within our team. You’ll be part of a company that prioritizes quality, integrity, collaboration, and customer care, with the resources, training, and incentives to ensure your success every step of the way. If you’re ready to take the next step in your career and be part of an innovative, mission-driven team, apply now.

About this role:

We have a high visibility opportunity for an Engineering Lab Manager for our Kidde Business Unit in Mebane, NC. The successful candidate must possess a strong engineering background, product development and technical leadership competencies to successfully support the Residential Fire Suppression and Signaling life safety product lines. This position is based in Mebane, NC, and will report to the Senior Engineering Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage, mentor and provide technical leadership in the verification and validation area with operational excellence and continuous improvement mindset.
• Lead the standardization of test methods while generating technical knowledge of parameters that impact testing capability performance.
• Responsible for people management, recruiting, development, performance management, compensation, and organizational strategy.
• Promote a culture of safety, compliance, innovation, inclusion and technology.
• Lead the team to maintain business continuity, deliver new products, and to execute value engineering and cost-out programs on time with the highest quality and safety standards.
• Demonstrate the highest standards of ethical conduct in leading the organization, ensuring the protection of the environment, development of human resources, and application of sound business practices.
• Lead Technical Design reviews, ensuring quality, engagement and alignment with the business.
• Work with Product Management to define product roadmaps and establish/manage project plans, schedules, and resources to meet milestones and objectives.
• Test Plan creation and alignment with Engineering, making sure that the test execution is completed in the desired/aligned timeline.
• Drive experimentation (DOE, COV, MSE) and sampling strategy to support robust product development.
• Test Requirements decomposition and test methods creation.
• Drive test request and reporting standardization and linkage to product requirements.
• Drive training plan for the team and communication with external labs to drive specialized test procedure execution.
• Create and lead the improvement of Lab KPIs and dashboard.
• Manage the full project testing lifecycle from requirements review, planning, material ordering, test execution and project approval.
• Lead testing roadmap, budget, calibration schedule and EHS test alignment.
• Failure root cause analysis support to Engineering.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors’ degree in Engineering.
• 5+ years of product development experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, materials or similar.
• Black Belt certification.
• This role requires a great level of interpersonal skills.
• Product development experience in life safety products.
• Knowledgeable working with regulatory agencies and standards including UL and NFPA.
• Excellent communication, negotiating, and influencing skills to communicate technical issues across functions.
• Experience leading a lab environment is a plus.
• A demonstrated leadership style that is collaborative and decisive, with a bias toward speed.
• Experience in Quality tools.
• Demonstrated experience applying Design for Safety principles to product design.
• Proficient in Microsoft O365, including Excel, PowerPoint, & OneNote.
• Systems Engineering knowledge desirable.
• Spanish is a plus.

What You Will Gain:

• Health Coverage: Choose from three medical plans, dental, and vision options.
• Financial Protection: Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Life, AD&D, and Disability Insurance.
• Paid Time Off: Vacation, sick days, company holidays, and various leave options (parental, FMLA, etc.)
• Employee Support: EAP, adoption/surrogacy assistance, additional voluntary health benefits.
• Retirement: 401(k) plan with employer match.

Compensation and Benefits:

The base salary range for this role is $134,300- $158,000. Individuals may also be eligible for an annual performance bonus based on both individual and company’s performance. The final compensation for this position will be set based on the individual’s knowledge, skills, and experience as it relates to the job requirements. Kidde Global Solutions is committed to providing a competitive benefits package to our employees including medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement plan, paid time off (vacation, sick, holidays), and more.

Kidde Global Solutions Overview:

Kidde Global Solutions is a world leader in fire & life safety solutions tailored for complex commercial facilities to homes. Through iconic, industry-defining brands including Kidde, Kidde Commercial, Edwards, GST, Badger, Gloria and Aritech, we provide residential and commercial customers with advanced solutions and services to protect people and property in a wide range of applications, all around the globe.