Vice President Of Product Development

Job Title: Vice President – Product Development

Division: Product Development

Location: UAE

Job Purpose:

Lead the Product Development function to engineer technically sound, certified, and market-ready cable products from concept to production readiness while ensuring alignment with customer requirements, international standards, manufacturing feasibility, and the organization's quality standards.

The role owns product design governance, new product development, specifications, bills of materials (BOMs), type testing, certifications, approvals, and product and process change management. It supports the Sales function through technical proposals and feasibility assessments, while Sales retains ownership of commercial pricing, negotiations, and order conversion.

The role also serves as a technical and cultural leader by promoting engineering excellence, innovation, collaboration, sustainability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

Product Strategy and Governance

• Lead the organization's product development roadmap, technical priorities, budgeting, and long-term product planning.
• Define product design standards, development governance, documentation controls, and technical decision-making frameworks.
• Advise executive leadership on product feasibility, innovation opportunities, certification requirements, technical risks, and market trends.

Technical Proposal Support

• Confirm product availability and validate customer technical requirements before quotation.
• Provide product design, BOM, specifications, material selection, and manufacturability inputs to support accurate cost estimation.
• Support Sales with technical proposals, customer clarifications, presentations, technical seminars, and product documentation without ownership of pricing, negotiations, or order conversion.

Product Design and Development

• Lead concept feasibility studies, cable design, product specifications, engineering drawings, and BOM development.
• Govern product validation, design revisions, engineering changes, rework validation, and product and process change management.
• Ensure technical readiness before design release, while production execution, quality verification, and manufacturing release remain with the relevant operational functions.

Testing, Certification and Product Approvals

• Define type testing, certification, and approval requirements for new products, product enhancements, and customer-specific applications.
• Manage product certifications with internationally recognized certification bodies and regulatory authorities.
• Coordinate third-party inspections and technical documentation in collaboration with Quality, Manufacturing, Sales, and other internal stakeholders.

Materials, Innovation and Sustainability

• Lead raw material specifications, material development, compounding trials, and technical approval of suppliers.
• Evaluate supplier capability, material availability, lead times, costs, and sourcing implications in collaboration with Supply Chain.
• Drive sustainable material selection, product innovation, and process improvements that enhance product quality, performance, and manufacturability.

Digital Transformation, Stakeholder Management and Leadership

• Utilize engineering software, product design tools, ERP systems, analytics, and AI-enabled technologies to improve product development efficiency and design accuracy.
• Collaborate with Sales, Business Development, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, Planning, and Supply Chain to align technical solutions with commercial objectives.
• Lead Product Design and Innovation & Materials teams while fostering accountability, technical excellence, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• 4. Job Qualifications and Requirements
• Qualifications
• Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Polymer Engineering, or a related discipline.

Desirable

• Master's degree or professional certification in Product Development, Cable Engineering, Materials Engineering, Quality Management, or Project Management.

Relevant Experience

Essential

• 12+ years of experience in product development, cable design, product engineering, materials engineering, or technical development.
• 5+ years in a senior leadership position managing engineering teams, product development, certification, or technical programs.
• Demonstrated experience in cable design, technical specifications, BOM development, type testing, product certification, and technical customer support.

Desirable

• Experience within cable manufacturing, specialized cable products, industrial manufacturing, electrical products, or international markets.
• Experience leading engineering organizations across multiple manufacturing locations or international operations.
• Experience using cable design software, sustainable materials, polymer compounding, AI-enabled engineering tools, or advanced product innovation methodologies.

Languages

Essential

• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Desirable

• Fluency in Arabic or another relevant regional language.

Competencies

Technical Competencies

Essential

• Cable design
• Product development
• Bills of Materials (BOMs)
• Product specifications
• Type testing
• Product certification
• Raw materials
• Polymer compounding
• Engineering design software
• Manufacturability

Desirable

• AI-enabled engineering
• Sustainable materials
• Advanced compounding technologies
• Process optimization
• International product approvals and regulatory compliance