Head of Mechanical Design, R&D Manager

About the Position

At Ascom, we are committed to building technology that makes a real difference. Our products support critical decision-making in healthcare, industry, and other demanding environments by helping ensure that important information reaches the right people at the right time.

We are now looking for a Head of Mechanical Design, R&D Manager to join our R&D organization in Göteborg. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a highly skilled engineering team and shape the development of reliable, innovative, and high-quality technology for Ascom’s products and solutions.

Responsibilities

As Head of Mechanical Design, you will:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of mechanical design engineers and technical specialists.
• Provide hands-on technical support and guidance in selected development activities when appropriate.
• Create an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing team environment.
• Set clear priorities and objectives aligned with R&D strategy, product roadmaps, development projects, and business needs.
• Manage individual and team performance through regular follow-up, constructive feedback, coaching, and development planning.
• Ensure that the team has the appropriate capacity, competencies, tools, and ways of working to fulfill its responsibilities.
• Plan and manage resources, competencies, and the team budget. Monitor progress, deliverables, relevant KPIs, technical risks, and dependencies.
• Provide technical direction and support sound engineering decisions throughout the product lifecycle.
• Oversee mechanical design activities, including architecture, design reviews, verification, troubleshooting, and design documentation.
• Promote robust, maintainable, testable, and cost-effective design solutions.
• Ensure that development activities follow applicable quality requirements, regulatory expectations, internal processes, and engineering standards.
• Support product development from early concepts and feasibility studies through development, verification, industrialization, maintenance, and end-of-life activities.
• Strengthen design practices, technical governance, documentation, and knowledge sharing within the mechanical design discipline.
• Identify technical, operational, resource, and competency risks and ensure that appropriate mitigation actions are established.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, tools, methods, and ways of working.
• Support recruitment and onboarding and ensure that team members remain current with relevant technologies, industry developments, and Ascom’s products and solutions.
• Collaborate closely across functions, disciplines, teams, and geographies to ensure effective communication and alignment.
• Contribute to innovation while maintaining focus on business priorities, product quality, customer value, and delivery commitments.
• Act as an active member of the R&D management team and lead or participate in broader R&D initiatives.

Requirements

Experience and Background

• A BSc or MSc in Mechanical Engineering, or another relevant technical discipline.
• Solid professional experience in mechanical product development.
• Experience leading engineers or technical specialists, either as a line manager, team leader, technical leader, or engineering manager.
• Strong understanding of mechanical product development across the product lifecycle.
• Experience working in a cross-functional R&D environment.
• Experience collaborating across functions, teams, and geographical locations in an international organization.
• Experience from a regulated or quality-driven product development environment.
• Experience within medical devices, healthcare technology, telecommunications, embedded products, or another relevant technology sector is advantageous.
• Fluent in written and spoken Swedish & English.

Technical Knowledge

You bring solid knowledge in several of the following areas:

• Mechanical system architecture and product design.
• Injection moulding and plastic part design.
• Die-casting, sheet metal, and machined components.
• Material selection and material properties.
• Tolerance analysis and GD&T.
• CAD tools (e.g., Creo, SolidWorks, or similar).
• Design reviews and technical decision-making.
• Design for Manufacturability (DfM)
• Design for Assembly (DfA)
• Reliability engineering
• Environmental testing (vibration, shock, temperature, humidity)
• Supplier and tooling management

Key Competencies

You combine technical credibility with strong leadership capability. In particular, you demonstrate:

• Technical excellence: You can understand complex technical challenges, ask the right questions, and guide the team towards robust solutions.
• People leadership: You create clarity, trust, accountability, and opportunities for others to grow.
• Decision-making: You evaluate alternatives and make well-informed decisions while balancing quality, risk, time, cost, and business needs.
• Analytical thinking: You can identify root causes, structure complex problems, and develop practical solutions.
• Communication and influence: You communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders and can build alignment across functions.
• Collaboration: You develop constructive working relationships across disciplines, departments, and geographical boundaries.
• Delegation: You empower team members while maintaining appropriate accountability and follow-up.
• Customer focus: You consider how technical choices influence product quality, usability, reliability, and customer value.
• Resilience: You remain composed, constructive, and solution-oriented when navigating ambiguity, changing priorities, and complex technical challenges.
• Continuous improvement: You actively improve engineering practices, processes, tools, and team capabilities.

We Offer

At Ascom, you will:

• Lead a skilled engineering team whose work contributes directly to meaningful technology.
• Influence the technical direction and future capability of an important R&D discipline.
• Work with complex products and solutions in an international, cross-functional environment.
• Contribute to innovation, product quality, and continuous improvement across global R&D.
• Have the opportunity to develop both people and technology.
• Be part of a collaborative organization where technical expertise and effective leadership are equally important.

About the Company

Ascom is a global solutions provider focused on healthcare ICT and mobile workflow solutions. The vision of Ascom is to close digital information gaps allowing for the best possible decisions-anytime and anywhere. Ascom’s mission is to provide mission-critical, near real-time solutions for highly mobile, ad hoc, and time-sensitive environments.

Apply Now

If you are an experienced mechanical engineering leader who enjoys developing people, solving complex technical challenges, and delivering high-quality products in a collaborative environment, we would be pleased to hear from you!