Director of Engineering

MKS Instruments · Richmond · CA$160,000–CA$255,000 (stated in the posting)

A Day in Your Life at MKS

As the Director of Engineering at MKS, you will lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization responsible for the development, commercialization, and sustainment of advanced sensing and characterization solutions used in next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.

Reporting directly to the General Manager, you will provide strategic leadership across engineering, technology development, product innovation, and organizational capability building. You will oversee the successful execution of the engineering portfolio while shaping the long-term technology roadmap, advancing engineering best practices, and ensuring alignment between engineering priorities and business objectives.

As a key member of the leadership team, you will play an instrumental role in driving growth, fostering innovation, and developing the engineering organization required to support the company's long-term success.

You Will Make an Impact By

Providing strong leadership to the engineering organization, establishing clear priorities, goals, performance expectations, and accountability measures.
Building, developing, and leading a high-performing engineering organization through effective talent acquisition, coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and employee development.
Serving as a member of the leadership team and acting as a change agent to improve organizational effectiveness, operational excellence, and scalability.
Defining and executing the long-term engineering strategy, technology roadmap, and capability development plans aligned with company objectives and market opportunities.
Leading the engineering organization through the complete product lifecycle, including concept development, design, prototyping, validation, regulatory compliance, manufacturing transfer, product launch, and sustaining engineering.
Ensuring new products and technology initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and to specification while meeting quality, reliability, manufacturability, and cost objectives.
Partnering with Product Management and executive leadership to prioritize development activities, technology investments, and resource allocation across the product portfolio.
Developing and managing engineering resource plans, budgets, capital investments, and organizational capabilities to support strategic growth initiatives.
Establishing and monitoring key engineering performance indicators, including product development execution, quality, innovation, organizational effectiveness, and operational performance.
Providing technical oversight for system architecture, platform strategy, design reviews, and engineering governance to ensure robust and scalable product development.
Overseeing technical risk management activities, including design reviews, FMEA, verification and validation planning, and product reliability assessments.
Establishing engineering best practices that drive design excellence, data-driven decision making, continuous improvement, and successful product commercialization.
Partnering closely with Product Management, Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Sales, and Marketing to define product requirements and execution strategies.
Engaging with strategic customers, partners, and industry stakeholders to understand emerging market requirements and translate customer needs into product and technology strategies.
Driving innovation and intellectual property development through new technology initiatives, patent generation, and strategic technology investments.
Ensuring products are designed for manufacturability, quality, reliability, scalability, serviceability, and long-term competitiveness.
Championing a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning across the engineering organization.

Skills You Bring

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a related discipline. Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) is considered an asset.
12+ years of progressive engineering experience in product development, technology development, advanced manufacturing, or related technical environments.
7+ years of leadership experience managing engineering teams, programs, or organizations, including responsibility for talent development and organizational planning.
Proven track record of successfully delivering complex multidisciplinary product development programs from concept through production release.
Experience leading engineering organizations in a fast-paced technology environment.
Strong people leadership, coaching, mentoring, and organizational development capabilities.
Demonstrated ability to influence, inspire, and align teams around a shared vision and strategic objectives.
Exceptional collaboration, communication, stakeholder management, and change leadership skills.
Strong business acumen with the ability to balance technical excellence, operational performance, and commercial objectives.
Experience developing and executing technology roadmaps aligned with business strategy.
Experience managing engineering budgets, capital investments, and resource planning activities.
Strong understanding of program management principles, stage-gate development processes, and risk-based decision making.
Deep understanding of engineering design, analysis, prototyping, verification, validation, reliability, and product development methodologies.
Strong working knowledge of Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), FMEA, root cause analysis, and engineering change management processes.
Experience leading complex multidisciplinary system development involving mechanical, electrical, optical, firmware, software, and systems engineering disciplines.
Expertise in at least one core engineering discipline, including mechanical, electrical, optical, sensor, software, or systems engineering.
Knowledge of quality systems, regulatory requirements, and applicable industry standards, including ISO, UL, and CE requirements.

Preferred Skills

Experience developing optical systems, sensors, instrumentation, metrology equipment, or advanced measurement technologies.
Experience within the semiconductor equipment, semiconductor metrology, semiconductor process control, or related high-technology industries.
Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation or eligibility for registration in British Columbia.
Experience leading technology development and innovation programs within a global organization.
Experience managing globally distributed engineering teams and collaborating across multiple geographic regions.
Understanding of semiconductor manufacturing processes and customer requirements within advanced manufacturing environments.
Experience integrating advanced simulation tools, digital engineering methodologies, AI-enabled engineering tools, or model-based development approaches into product development workflows.
Experience developing and managing intellectual property portfolios, including patents and strategic technology investments.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
Ability to sit, stand, walk, and use a computer for extended periods of time.
Commitment to maintaining a safe work environment and adhering to all safety procedures.
Exposure to laboratory and manufacturing environments that may include heat, cold, fumes, strong magnets, confined spaces, lasers, microwaves, and vacuum or pressure systems.
Ability to travel occasionally to customer sites, suppliers, industry events, and MKS locations, both domestically and internationally.

Benefits

Bonus Incentive Plan
RRSP Matching Program
Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, AD&D, and Medical Travel Insurance
Global Employee Assistance Program
Employee Referral Program
Recognition and Service Awards
Additional Flex Day Off with Spending Allowance
Transit Zone 1 Reimbursement
Active Social Committee Programs

Compensation

Salary Range: $160,000 - $255,000 CAD annually. The compensation range reflects the anticipated base salary for this position and may vary depending on factors including qualifications, experience, education, skills, training, and business requirements. Placement within the range will be determined based on the successful candidate's background and alignment with the scope of the role. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for participation in applicable bonus and benefit programs.

Globally, our policy is to recruit individuals from wide and diverse backgrounds. However, certain positions require access to controlled goods and technologies subject to various export control regulations. Applicants for these positions may be limited (by, for example, their countries of citizenship, country of origin, or immigration status) where required by law or governmental contact, and/or employment made contingent upon the issuance of appropriate governmental licensing.

MKS Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“MKS”) is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer: diverse candidates are encouraged to apply. We win as a team and are committed to recruiting and hiring qualified applicants regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), religion, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability or handicap, marital status, membership in the uniformed services, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law. Hiring decisions are based on merit, qualifications and business needs. We conduct background checks and drug screens, in accordance with applicable law and company policies. MKS is generally only hiring candidates who reside in states where we are registered to do business.

MKS is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process due to a disability, please contact us at: accommodationsatMKS@mksinst.com .

If applying for a specific job, please include the requisition number (ex: RXXXX), the title and location of the role

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