Job title: Forge – Technical Director

Company: FORGE Accelerator

Job description: Technical Director

Role & Responsibilities, Key Result Areas:
Strategic Technology Management & Partnerships:

– Define the vision for technology infra and capabilities in alignment with the strategic thrust areas identified for catalyzing industrial digital transformation through technological advancements and breakthrough product innovations;

– Build deep partnerships with top technology companies to setup Innovation CoEs and Advanced Technology Labs, offering enabling tech infrastructure for startups in alignment with the vision and roadmap;

– Seed and scale long-term partnerships with suppliers & vendors for scaling up the availability of capabilities and resources across the full spectrum of industrial grade product development in all the strategic thrust areas;

– Continuously scan the technology trends, and maintain a 3-year roadmap for technology capabilities, taking into account inputs from startups, technology partners, corporate/government clients/partners etc.

Managing Innovation CoEs & Technology Labs:

– Executive level responsibility for end-to-end management of all the Innovation CoEs and Technology Labs in all the centers operated by Forge;

– Estimate the budgets for Innovation CoEs and Technology Labs covering the widest array of critical equipment, tools and resources required for implementing a comprehensive suite of programs in technology skills & innovation competencies development, technology/product development by startups and industry sponsored innovation projects;

– Manage the entire process of tender procurement handling techno commercial evaluation, vendor selection, commercial negotiations, drafting and finalization of supplier agreements etc. taking necessary administrative support from the finance & operations department;

– Maximize the overall commercial value of the assets procured against the budget utilized for final payment to vendors by negotiating higher contribution from the vendors in the form of discounts, free AMC, extended warranty, additional value added services and resources;

– Responsible for achieving 100% utilization of the overall capacity of the CoEs/Labs equipment across various programs/verticals catering to skills and competencies development, managed innovation services, startup incubation etc.

– Responsible for achieving lowest operating costs through cost savings in consumables, credit purchase terms with suppliers, avoiding damages, wastages etc. while not compromising or limiting the freedom and flexibility offered to the innovators and users of the labs and COEs;

– Responsible for the recruitment, training, deployment and achieving consistent high performance of the entire team of Technical Managers, Technical Leads and Technical Associates employed under the Forge.Academy and Forge.Labs verticals in Forge;

– Responsible for the overall administration, operations, and other aspects related to the efficient coordination of Forge.Labs (Innovation CoEs & Technology Labs) with the various programs/verticals within Forge across all centres operated by Forge;

Product Management & Development Advisory:

– Lead the effective implementation of the Managed Innovation Process with strong alignment with the principles and practices of product management, ensuring the innovation projects managed directly by Forge.Labs under the managed innovation services offered to startups and industry partners and innovation projects undertaken by the startups offered financial support through innovation grants under Forge.Fund;

– Mentor startups in accelerating their transition from ideas/prototypes to industrial-grade MVPs that are ready for advanced trials and commercialization;

– Offer end-to-end technical support at the level of ‘Subject Matter Expert’ to innovators/startups in achieving accelerated implementation of product design, development and verification activities;

– Mentor and guide the innovator teams, consisting of student/graduate trainees on all aspects of product design, prototype development, selection and usage of the right tools and implementation of the right techniques for testing and verification etc.

– Review and finalize the end-to-end technical documentation for all innovation projects undertaken by student/graduate innovators for startups incubated by Forge or for Industry partners (Corporates/MSMEs) supported under the managed innovation services offered by Forge.Labs;

– Build, manage and lead a team of Technical Managers-Leads-Associates to ensure all innovation projects actively managed under Forge.labs across various Forge centres to achieve on-time delivery, within the estimated budget, and in full compliance to the stated product design/requirements;

– Offer deep coaching and guidance to the student/graduate innovators to strengthen their basics and understanding of all critical technical concepts relating to various tools, equipment, and systems;

Managing Technical Skills Training & Competencies Development:

– Support the Product/Program Managers of Forge.Academy in the end-to-end process of developing Training Products in the core technology domains aimed at enhancing innovation competencies in students and professionals;

– Manage the design and delivery of technical training sessions including classroom lectures, practical lab sessions, technical project assignments, and skills assessment for students and professionals towards developing future-ready talent for realizing the goals of industrial digital transformation;

– Responsible for the development and implementation of structured assessment methods and tools to evaluate the skills and competencies to be at par with the industry standard;

– Manage the selection and admission process for all forms or formats of training programs relevant to the specific technical expertise areas;

– Play the role of a technical mentor to the trainees for both students and professionals;

– Responsible for ensuring the curriculum, courses, assessment and other facets of the training program to be aligned with the larger approach of implementing innovation-centric skills and competencies development to create futuristic talent for industry;

– Manage and coordinate all operational aspects related to the conduct of training programs in physical/digital/hybrid formats, working seamlessly with the centre operations team;

Eligibility:

– Minimum bachelor’s qualification (B.E) in Mechanical or Mechatronics or Electrical/Electronics or Instrumentation or Industrial or Production or Software Engineering.

– Experience in Product development with a focus on hardware

– Experience in building rapid prototypes

– Experience in bringing products to market in a fast-paced environment.

– Hands-on experience with electromechanical, IoT, robotic systems preferred

– Understanding of engineering concepts such as system architecture, implementation, testing, and maintenance is highly preferred

– Excellent verbal and written communication skills

– Ability to lead, mentor, and delegate to other engineers and technicians

– Passionate in training and mentoring young minds towards a career in innovation and entrepreneurship;

Expected salary:

Location: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Job date: Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:57:28 GMT

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