Jobs › Nidec

Director, Engineering

Nidec · North America/USA/Illinois/Hoffman Estates, IL · Full time

Posted Sep 24, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

Apply at Nidec

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about the engineering organization you lead now. How is it structured, and what would you change?

What they are checking: How they think about building teams and whether they reflect honestly on their own organization.

Tell me about a time a product launch slipped. What did you do and what did you learn?

What they are checking: Ownership of schedule problems and the ability to fix the cause rather than blame the team.

Tell me about an engineer you developed into a leader. What did you do specifically?

What they are checking: Commitment to growing people, which determines whether the organization gets stronger over time.

What would you do

Nidec makes motors for water treatment, mining, oil and gas, HVAC and pool and spa. How would you balance custom customer requests against a standard product line?

What they are checking: Judgment about engineering capacity and product strategy across many demanding industrial markets.

A field failure is hurting a key customer, and your team is already overloaded with new development. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Prioritization under pressure and protecting customer relationships without abandoning roadmap commitments.

Engineering wants more time and sales wants the product now. How do you settle it?

What they are checking: Ability to make and defend tradeoffs with commercial leaders using data rather than authority.

About the work

How do you decide where efficiency gains in a motor design are worth the added cost?

What they are checking: Understanding of high-efficiency motor design tradeoffs and how they connect to customer and regulatory needs.

How do you build a design review process that catches problems without slowing every project down?

What they are checking: Practical engineering governance that balances risk with speed.

How do you work with manufacturing so designs are easy to build at volume?

What they are checking: Design-for-manufacturing thinking and partnership with operations rather than throwing designs over the wall.

What metrics do you use to know whether your engineering team is performing well?

What they are checking: Whether they manage with meaningful measures instead of activity counts or gut feel.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Nidec from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by Nidec.

We begin with dreams. Dreams drive our motivation. Dreams are our future. The world's dreams, people's dreams, our dreams. Our passion creates ideas that make dreams come alive. Technology and products that were only dreams become reality. All for dreams. Dreams challenge and the Nidec-Group will continue to meet the challenge. For the world's and people's tomorrows; the world's first, the world's best technologies and products; we will continue our part in creating a better society. Job Summary Nidec is the world's No.1 comprehensive motor and drive manufacturer handling "everything that spins and moves", miniature to gigantic. Nidec is a global enterprise comprised of over 300 subsidiaries/affiliates. We are a leading manufacturer of commercial motors, industrial motors, appliance motors, and controls. Nidec motors can be found in products that range from cell phones, computers and home appliances to industrial and mining equipment – and everything in between. Our product line features a full line of high efficiency motors for industrial applications in water treatment, mining, oil and gas, and power generation, and for commercial applications such as pool and spa, condensers, cooling towers and large refrigeration units. From keeping us comfortable in our homes to pumping clean water to making our cars more safe, electric motors are an indispensable part of our daily lives. At Nidec, our employees are on the forefront of developing new motor technologies. As we move deeper into the age of robotics, the impact of motors will only increase. With over 140,000 employees stationed worldwide, Nidec continues to be a unique organization, and each location maintains its individual personality. Job Description The Director, Engineering is a senior management role responsible for defining and executing engineering strategy to support business objectives, operational excellence, and innovation. This role oversees engineering teams and programs to ensure delivery of safe, reliable, high‑quality, and cost‑effective products, systems, or services. Responsibilities • Define and execute engineering strategy aligned with business goals, product roadmaps, and operational needs • Establish engineering priorities, roadmaps, and investment plans • Ensure alignment between engineering execution and enterprise standards, safety, and quality expectations • Oversee delivery of engineering projects, programs, and initiatives • Establish and enforce engineering standards, design practices, and review processes • Ensure engineering outputs meet performance, reliability, regulatory, and customer requirements • Support development and optimization of products, processes, or systems across the lifecycle • Partner with Product, Manufacturing, or Operations on new introductions, scale‑ups, and continuous improvement • Evaluate and adopt new technologies, tools, or methodologies to enhance engineering effectiveness • Lead, mentor, and develop engineering managers, engineers, and technical specialists • Establish performance expectations, capability models, and succession plans • Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and innovation • Collaborate with Product Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, and IT • Support enterprise initiatives such as growth, transformation, digitalization, and M&A integration • Ensure engineering activities comply with safety, regulatory, and quality requirements • Identify and mitigate technical, operational, and execution risks • Support investigations and corrective actions for significant technical or quality issues • Establish KPIs to measure engineering performance, quality, delivery, and efficiency • Use data and analytics to drive decisions and continuous improvement • Standardize processes and improve engineering productivity and scalability • Own engineering budgets, forecasts, and resource planning • Balance cost, schedule, and performance priorities across programs • Ensure effective utilization of engineering talent and external partners Knowledge, Skills & Abilities • Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field • Requires 3+ years of managerial experience. • Typically 10–15+ years of progressive engineering experience • Significant experience leading engineering teams, managers, and complex technical programs • Broad knowledge of engineering principles, systems, and development methodologies • Proven people‑leadership and organizational‑development capability • Strong strategic thinking, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills • Ability to influence executive leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders • Experience managing complex projects, trade‑offs, and technical risk • Executive‑level communication and presentation skills • High integrity, accountability, and results orientation Travel • Both Domestic and International Travel up to 10% Additional Job Details Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action at Nidec Nidec is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, genetic information, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information regarding your (EEO) rights as an applicant, please visit the following website: http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf Work Shift Schedule No Soliciting Nidec will not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to Nidec job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. Pre-approval from the Nidec Talent Acquisition team is required before any external candidate can be submitted and such candidate must be submitted to the Nidec Talent Acquisition team.

Apply at Nidec