Your Job

Lead a global R&D team within Global Materials Engineering, comprised of Metals, Tribology, and Plating subject-matter experts (SMEs), to define, develop, and deploy enterprise-wide technology roadmaps for connector contact systems. Provide technical leadership and governance across the enterprise, supporting all Business Units (BUs) and partnering with Engineering, Manufacturing/Operations, Procurement, and Quality to deliver reliable, scalable, differentiated, and cost-effective contact surface technologies. Develop and strengthen technical talent and supervisors by coaching, mentoring, and building functional and leadership capabilities across the global team. In addition to mid to long-range technology development, the team provides timely, request-driven technical support to address near-term program needs, manufacturing issues, supplier challenges, and customer inquiries.

Our Team

Molex is a global leader in electronic components and solutions, with a strong focus on innovation, quality, and customer service. The company has been in operation for over 80 years and has a strong presence in various industries, including automotive, telecommunications, consumer electronics, aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial automation.

Candidates can expect to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment that values creativity, collaboration, and excellence. Molex is committed to investing in its employees and providing opportunities for growth and development.

What You Will Do

Lead a global specialist team

- Manage, coach, and develop a global team of SMEs in Metals, Tribology, and Plating/Surface Finishes; balance 3-5 year roadmap execution with near-term, request-driven support, while setting priorities across multiple BUs and time zones.
- Establish team operating mechanisms including technical reviews, project tracking/reporting, stakeholder engagement, decision rights, standards ownership, and knowledge management; ensure lab/operations safety, compliance, and disciplined documentation.

Serve as the enterprise technical authority for contact surfaces

- Own and maintain a global materials database, specifications, and guidelines for contact base alloys, finish stacks, barrier layers, and tribological strategies (e.g., fretting mitigation, lubrication, cleanliness).
- Partner across the enterprise - Engineering (requirements, design guidelines, qualification plans, simulation/digital twins), Manufacturing/Operations (scalability, process capability), Procurement (supplier strategy, cost, risk), Quality/Supplier Quality, and the supply base (supplier development roadmaps) - to translate BU and customer needs into standardized solutions and enterprise technology development strategies.
- Develop and maintain a 3-5 year global technology roadmap for contact materials and surface engineering (performance-cost optimization, high performance metals, precious-metal strategy, new finishes, reliability improvements, and enhanced test methods).
- Identify, prioritize, and lead roadmap projects and external collaborations (suppliers, labs, universities/consortia) as needed.
- Support supplier technical engagement - including qualification requirements, technical reviews, change control, and new technology development - in collaboration with Procurement and Supplier Quality.

Enable BU programs and resolve high-impact issues

- Provide consultative and hands-on support to BU product teams for new product development, innovation platforms, and customer qualifications, including material/finish selection and validation strategy.
- Lead root-cause investigations, containment, and corrective actions for contact-related failures across plants and suppliers and verify effectiveness through testing and data.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

- Masters/Ph.D. or equivalent industrial experience in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
- Practical Engineering experience with metallurgy and plating & finish systems, including surface-driven failure mechanisms (wear, fretting corrosion, film growth, diffusion, porosity, contamination) and impacts to manufacturability and contact resistance stability.
- Demonstrated experience in electrical contacts/connector contact systems (materials selection, plating/finish stacks, tribology/fretting, and/or contact reliability), with cross-functional collaboration in a manufacturing and supplier ecosystems.
- Five (5) years or more people management experience in leading a team
- Experience with project/program management of multi-project portfolios (scope, schedule, resourcing, risk, executive reporting) across global stakeholders.
- Experience building and executing 3-5 year technology roadmaps, including business cases and transition-to-BU adoption.

What Will Put You Ahead

- Enterprise/global experience supporting multiple BUs, plants, and supplier networks - driving consistent standards, governance, and technical decision-making.
- Deep connector contact industry experience (high-reliability/harsh environment; automotive, data center, industrial power, consumer/commercial) and familiarity with common qualification frameworks.
- Experience in qualifying new alloys/finishes, reducing precious-metal cost, and standardizing test methods across product families.
- Experience leading supplier technology development, including supplier qualification, joint development programs, and supplier technology roadmaps.
- Demonstrated use of innovation frameworks and best practices (e.g., stage-gate, portfolio management, VOC-to-CTQ, design thinking, structured experimentation/DOE) to move concepts from ideation through validation and adoption.
- Track record of building corporate intellectual property (patents, publications, and/or documented trade secrets).
- First-hand experience using tools/techniques to predict product-level performance from material and process inputs, including tooling/process strategies, modeling, and simulation (and/or digital twin approaches).

For this role, we anticipate paying $140,000 - $190,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a Koch company, Molex is a leading supplier of connectors and interconnect components, driving innovation in electronics and supporting industries from automotive to health care and consumer to data communications. The thousands of innovators who work for Molex have made us a global electronics leader. Our experienced people, groundbreaking products and leading-edge technologies help us deliver a wider array of solutions to more markets than ever before.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).

LI-JN2