Head of Research & Development - Water Technologies

Strategy & Business Impact

• Define and execute the global R&D and innovation strategy aligned with business growth objectives, market needs, and competitive differentiation.
• Deliver a robust innovation pipeline driving measurable business outcomes, including revenue growth from new products, improved margins, and expanded market applications.
• Establish clear performance metrics for innovation, including time-to-market, commercialization success rates, and return on R&D investment.
• Persistently partner with commercial leadership to integrate customer insights into product development and ensure successful market adoption.

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Build, lead, and scale a high-performing global R&D organization, including laboratory, pilot, and technical application teams.
• Develop a strong talent pipeline through recruitment, capability building, succession planning, and leadership development.
• Foster a high-performance, collaborative, and inclusive culture that promotes innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead cross-regional teams effectively, ensuring alignment, communication, and execution across diverse global operations.

Innovation & Technology Development

• Drive innovation programs focused on product performance, application expansion, operational reliability, manufacturability, and cost competitiveness.
• Oversee laboratory development, pilot testing, scale-up, and validation activities to ensure successful commercialization of new technologies.
• Implement and continuously improve stage-gate processes, technical standards, and product validation protocols to enhance R&D efficiency and effectiveness.

Intellectual Property & Competitive Positioning

• Define and execute a comprehensive global IP strategy, including patent development, trade secret protection, and competitive technology positioning.
• Partner with external patent counsel and internal stakeholders to identify, protect, and expand strategic IP assets.
• Maintain a strong and differentiated market position by monitoring competitive technologies and industry trends.

Financial & Operational Management

• Lead the global R&D budget and capital investment strategy, ensuring effective allocation of resources and strong ROI on innovation initiatives.
• Prioritize and balance multiple R&D programs, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and resource availability.
• Drive operational excellence in R&D processes, infrastructure, and tools.

External Partnerships & Ecosystem Development

• Establish and manage strategic partnerships with universities, research institutions, industry organizations, and technology providers.
• Leverage external innovation networks to accelerate technology development and access emerging capabilities.
• Support technical due diligence for strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or M&A activities.

Customer & Market Engagement

• Provide executive-level technical leadership in key customer engagements and strategic projects.
• Collaborate with customers to develop tailored solutions and strengthen the company’s position as a technology partner.
• Represent the company in industry forums, conferences, and technical associations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Water Technology, Environmental Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Significant experience in industrial water treatment technologies, or industrial process technologies.
• Proven experience leading R&D, product development, or technical innovation teams within industrial manufacturing, or water technology environments.
• Demonstrated success building technical organizations, laboratory capabilities, innovation processes, and commercialization pipelines.
• Experience developing and managing intellectual property strategies including patents, trade secrets, technical documentation, and technology protection initiatives.
• Familiarity with global environmental, industrial, and regulatory standards related to water treatment and industrial process technologies.

Skills and Abilities

• Strategic leadership with the ability to align innovation with business growth objectives.
• Deep technical expertise in industrial water treatment and/or industrial process technologies.
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to translate market needs into differentiated solutions.
• Expertise in applied research, product development, pilot testing, scale-up, and commercialization.
• Advanced understanding of IP strategy, innovation governance, and competitive positioning.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate across executive leadership, commercial, operations, and regulatory teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities applied to complex technical and business challenges.
• Experience managing global teams, multiple programs, and complex resource allocation decisions.
• Effective communicator with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels, including executive leadership and customers.
• Strong change leadership and organizational transformation capabilities.