We are looking for an experienced, hands-on Head of R&D to join Frictape and play a key role in the company’s next phase of growth.

Frictape is an international technology company building mission critical safety solutions for demanding environments – offshore helidecks and land-based critical infrastructure. Business and operations are truly global with majority of customers outside Europe. The company is part of the Lagercrantz Group (Nasdaq Stockholm) and combines the agility of an entrepreneurial technology company with the stability and long-term ownership of a listed industrial group. Alongside its established business, Frictape is developing SpiderNet, a passive anti-drone protection technology that opens entirely new opportunities in defense sector.

The role

As Head of R&D, you will lead and develop a small, multidisciplinary and partly outsourced R&D organization, while remaining personally engaged in product development and technical problem-solving.

The technology environment is broad and includes advanced synthetic materials, mechanical engineering, electronics, LED lighting, plastics and products designed for hazardous Ex-rated environments. One glimpse of what we are working on is here: https://youtu.be/_FZ-0_FSG-U?si=Qh0lAvWaXpgvYgCm

Your will be responsible for:

• leading and developing a compact, high-performing, multinational R&D organization
• taking new products from concept to commercialization
• managing full product lifecycles from engineering perspective
• developing both existing product families and entirely new technologies
• creating structure and priorities across multiple development projects
• working closely with Sales, Operations, Production and customers, in a truly global setting
• supporting customer-specific product customization and technical problem-solving
• translating customer needs into technical and commercially successful solutions
• defining Frictape’s technology strategy and contributing to its future growth.

Your background

This is not an average R&D leadership role. We are particularly interested in candidates who combine strong people leadership with broad technical competences, credibility and commercial awareness.

Relevant experience may come from several areas, including:

• mechanical or electrical engineering
• electronics or embedded systems
• material engineering and advanced materials
• safety-critical products
• products designed for demanding or harsh operating environments.

We particularly value a proven track record in successfully launching new products, leading complete product lifecycles in engineering, working with manufacturing to resolve practical challenges and to improve manufacturability and turning customer needs into commercially successful products.

Leadership matters

This role requires more than R&D management.

We are looking for a leader who inspires people, develops high-performing teams, gives regular feedback and coaching, communicates transparently and creates accountability without unnecessary bureaucracy. Frictape’s international environment also makes strong communication skills important.

You should enjoy staying close to technology and be willing to roll up your sleeves and get personally involved when a difficult problem needs solving.

Why Frictape?

The position offers an opportunity to:

• lead technology development in an international, financially very stable, niche-market oriented company
• influence company strategy
• develop products used on global scale in demanding, mission critical environments
• build and mentor a multidisciplinary and multicultural R&D team
• drive innovation in both established global market and an emerging defense sector
• participate in Frictape’s profit-sharing programme, where a share of our profit is distributed annually to employees.

Does this sound like the kind of R&D challenge you’ve been looking for?

If you have a strong track record of leading people and bringing industrial products successfully from concept to market, we would like to hear from you. You don’t need offshore or anti-drone industry experience. What matters is your ability to lead multidisciplinary development, understand complex technologies, learn new and turn customer needs into successful products.

For more information on the position, please contact Eilakaisla’s Service Manager Jaana Kesäläinen-Ruohola. You can reach her by phone at + 358 50 5260 700, or by e-mail firstname.lastname@eilakaisla.fi.