Director of Product Development - Aerospace Materials

Location: Bay Point, CA
Employment Type: Permanent, Direct Hire
Industry: Specialty Chemicals / Advanced Materials / Aerospace
Salary: $175,000 $250,000 annually + performance bonus

About the Opportunity:

A global leader in specialty chemicals, adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings is seeking an experienced R&D Product Development Leader to lead its Bay Point product development organization supporting the aerospace market.

The company develops advanced material technologies used across aerospace, automotive, electronics, industrial manufacturing, and other highly engineered applications. This position will play a key leadership role in developing innovative products, advancing the aerospace technology roadmap, supporting major customers, and building a high-performing technical team.

This is an excellent opportunity for an accomplished R&D leader who combines a strong chemistry or chemical engineering background with aerospace industry experience, product development leadership, and customer-facing technical expertise.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the Bay Point Product Development team in delivering innovative, high-quality products aligned with strategic and financial objectives.

• Help develop and execute the technical roadmap for aerospace technologies, including identifying emerging trends and evaluating new technology opportunities.

• Assess the technical readiness of new concepts and provide input to support innovation portfolio prioritization.

• Lead product development initiatives utilizing a structured Stage-Gate development process.

• Support intellectual property strategy through patents, trade secrets, and other methods of protecting proprietary technologies.

• Partner directly with aerospace customers to present technical solutions, address product challenges, and resolve complex technical issues.

• Lead and support root cause investigations related to products, processes, and customer applications.

• Collaborate with site quality teams to prioritize and execute Management of Change (MOC) initiatives supporting existing products and customers.

• Develop, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of scientists, engineers, and technical professionals.

• Identify and execute laboratory CAPEX and OPEX investments to improve technical capabilities, efficiency, execution, and safety.

• Maintain a strong culture of laboratory safety, operational excellence, and 5S.

• Collaborate across Product Development, Application Engineering, Project Management, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, and other global technical teams.

What We're Looking For:

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a closely related technical discipline.

• Significant experience working within a chemical, specialty materials, adhesives, coatings, or related R&D environment.

• Strong experience supporting the aerospace industry, particularly highly engineered materials or chemical products.

• Demonstrated experience leading new product development through a Stage-Gate process.

• Experience building, mentoring, and developing high-performing technical teams.

• Direct experience presenting technical solutions to aerospace OEMs and/or Tier 1 suppliers.

• Strong understanding of product commercialization, technical readiness, root cause investigation, and change management.

• Experience supporting intellectual property development, including patents and/or trade secrets.

• Strong leadership, communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to effectively bridge technical R&D, customer requirements, manufacturing, quality, and commercial organizations.

Compensation & Benefits:

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $175,000 $250,000 annually, with final compensation based on experience, qualifications, and other relevant factors.

The company offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, dental, vision, and wellbeing benefits beginning on day one.

• 401(k) matching and employee share programs.

• Annual performance bonus.

• Paid vacation, sick time, holidays, and volunteer time.

• Parental leave and family-building benefits.

• Tuition and student loan reimbursement programs.

• Professional development and career advancement opportunities.

• Access to national and international career opportunities within a global organization.

This is a permanent, direct-hire opportunity for an experienced technical leader interested in shaping the next generation of advanced materials and technologies for the aerospace industry.