VP Research&Development Engineering EMEA, Morges

Eaton’s Electrical Sector in EMEA is seeking a VP Research&Development Engineering EMEA, as the single point of accountability for R&D strategy, portfolio prioritisation, and capability building.

Position Overview The Vice President ES Research&Development Engineering EMEA leads the region’s R&D in Eaton’s Electrical Sector. They shape products, platforms, architectures, and engineering capability across multiple businesses, oversee an organization of 700+ engineers, and invest in sustainable R&D. Eaton spent $794m on research&development activities in 2024, with a goal to invest $3bn in sustainable R&D by 2030.

The Role Is Accountable For

Defining and executing a clear, trusted R&D strategy and portfolio logic

Building enduring R&D capability, with technology and platform coherence across divisions, and high confidence on R&D execution

Governing portfolio choices and driving trade‑off discipline in R&D investments

Developing a strong and visible depth of leadership bench

Representing Eaton credibly with executive, customer, and ecosystem stakeholders

Core Accountabilities Strategic Leadership&Innovation Excellence

Own future product creation, including New Product Introduction (NPI), Technology platforms and system architectures, and digital, AI‑enabled, and sustainability‑driven solutions

Translate customer, regulatory, market, and technology signals into clear priorities

Drive cross‑divisional innovation alignment, ensuring scale and reuse where value is created

Ensure clear product ownership via disciplined interfaces with Enterprise CoEs and ERL

Customer Focus&Business Acumen

Anchor RDE priorities to business outcomes, portfolio economics, and customer value

Act as a trusted partner to Divisional Presidents and Engineering Leaders

Lead portfolio‑level trade‑offs balancing speed, risk, investment, and technical ambition

Continuous Improvement&Execution Excellence

Own RDE execution health across EMEA: quality, delivery predictability, cost discipline, and scalability

Ensure strong engineering governance, reviews, and escalation mechanisms

Drive adoption of Lean, DFSS, and agile practices to improve speed and outcomes

Partner with Engineering Functional Excellence to continuously strengthen execution systems

Operational Leadership&Global Execution

Lead a geographically distributed RDE organization across EMEA, with direct and indirect reports, including:

Business‑aligned RDE teams (PMCC, Life Safety, Energy Solutions&Services / Energy Transition, MVPD, Software)

Central EMEA capabilities (Innovation, Technology&Platforms; Embedded Systems Engineering; Shared Services Engineering)

ES RDE‑owned scope within EEIC (Prague)

Own the engineering footprint, sourcing strategy, and scalability, including collaboration with EIIC (India)

Maintain clear governance with Enterprise CoEs, ERL, and Industrial Sector engineering organizations

Talent, Culture&Organizational Strength

Own talent, succession, and capability strategy across EMEA

Ensure critical and pathway roles are intentionally filled and rigorously developed

Actively sponsor senior technical leaders and future engineering executives

Apply Eaton frameworks (Engineering Leader Success Profile, Development Matrix, Intentional Career Pathing) to build durable leadership pipelines

Lead multi‑cultural, multi‑generational, matrixed teams with empathy and clarity

Promote psychological safety, inclusion, and ethical leadership in line with Eaton values and Ethics framework

Build trust and influence across direct, indirect, and enterprise reporting relationships

External Stakeholder Engagement Selective external leadership on behalf of Eaton Engineering, representing the Electrical Sector with key customers, partners, and industry or enterprise forums where senior technical influence is required to support strategy, portfolio direction, or regulatory alignment.

Qualifications

Master’s degree in Engineering or related engineering field (desired)

Minimum of 15 years related engineering experience (Advanced degree may be substituted for some experience)

Minimum of 7 years direct management experience

Senior engineering executive with true R&D / technology ownership and a track record of leading large, multidisciplinary product or platform organisations

Deep core engineering domain expertise (electrical, mechanical, software, or systems)

Proven experience leading and landing large‑scale, multidisciplinary product programs (concept to launch)

Demonstrated portfolio‑level leadership across multiple product lines or businesses; comfortable making investment and prioritisation decisions to drive outcomes and urgency

Exposure to digital, software‑intensive, or AI‑enabled engineering

Experience operating in functions beyond engineering (e.g., manufacturing, supply chain, commercial, strategy)

Background in regulated or safety‑critical industries

Proven effectiveness in matrixed, enterprise‑governed environments

Track record of building and scaling agile, high‑performing, globally distributed R&D organisations

All positions may require participation in video and in‑person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job‑related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for job applicants and employees. Our recruitment processes use balanced selection criteria and avoid unlawful discrimination against applicants on the basis of their age, colour, disability, marital status, national origin, gender, gender identity, genetic information, race or racial origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other status protected or required by law.

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