Director, Technology & Innovation

Position Summary

The Director of Innovation leads TPI's technology development function, driving the creation and maturation of new and emerging technologies for composite wind blade design, materials, and manufacturing.

This role owns the full technology pipeline — from early-stage concept and low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) research through TRL 8/9 qualification and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 6 production implementation — while also scouting, evaluating, and deploying existing external technologies and solutions with applicability to TPI's production process.

The Director builds and leads a team of engineers and technologists, sets the technology roadmap, and partners closely with engineering, operations, quality, and program management to convert innovation into measurable production impact.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities


* Lead, build, and develop a team responsible for the development of new and low-TRL technologies across materials, processes, tooling, and automation for composite wind blade manufacturing.


* Own technology maturation from concept through TRL 8/9 and MRL 6, establishing and managing stage-gate processes, milestones, and go/no-go criteria for each development program.


* Identify, evaluate, and vet existing technologies and solutions (internal or external to TPI) for applicability and transferability to current production processes; lead build-vs-buy-vs-partner assessments.


* Establish and maintain a technology roadmap aligned with business strategy, customer requirements, and manufacturing capability needs.


* Champion the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to accelerate technology development, modeling, process optimization, and decision-making.


* Direct experimental design, testing, characterization, and numerical/physical modeling required to validate new technologies prior to production release.


* Partner with Advanced Manufacting, engineering, operations, quality, and program management to plan and execute technology transitions into serial production with minimal risk.


* Manage technology development budgets, timelines, resourcing, and external partnerships (universities, suppliers, national labs, technology vendors).


* Build and protect TPI's intellectual property portfolio through disciplined invention disclosure, patent strategy, and technical documentation.


* Develop business cases, cost-benefit analyses, and ROI models to prioritize and justify technology investments to senior leadership.


* Mentor and develop engineering and technical staff, growing organizational capability in technology development, AI application, and composites manufacturing.


* Represent TPI's technology function with customers, suppliers, industry groups, and at technical conferences.


* Perform other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications (Education, Skills, and Experience)


* Bac...