Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Hardware R&D Director to lead and develop our hardware R&D organization. This is a senior leadership role for a hands-on, business minded R&D professional who combines strong technical credibility with clear vision and decisive leadership.

At Teleste, we deliver what we promise. Our work is highly project-driven and customer-specific, requiring pragmatism and the ability to balance innovation, quality, and cost efficiency.

Your role

As Hardware R&D Director, you will be responsible for the overall direction, performance and development of hardware R&D function. You will lead a team of 20 R&D professionals located in Forssa and Tampere and work closely with customers as well as internal stakeholders.

This role is not purely hardware focused. You understand systems as a whole — how hardware, software and lifecycle requirements come together to create great solutions that perform reliably over decades.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop the hardware R&D organization, strategy, structures and ways of working

• Set a clear technical and strategic direction for hardware development

• Ensure customer promises are realistic — and delivered

• Balance long-term reliability with innovation in product and project solutions

• Engage directly with customers, negotiating technical solutions in project ‑based contexts

• Lead, inspire, and develop R&D professionals while driving change

• Ensure effective collaboration across multiple stakeholders

We are looking for a person with

• Proven experience leading R&D or engineering organizations in a similar industry

• Strong background in electronics and mechanics, with system level understanding

• Solid business acumen

• Experience working with customer specifications in project ‑based delivery

• Strong credibility and leadership presence to lead experts and drive change

• Strong communication and negotiation skills

• Fluent English; understanding Finnish is required (native level not necessary)
  
  

Personal qualities we value

• Strategic mindset combined with the ability to execute

• Decisiveness and resilience in leadership roles

• Confidence to challenge existing practices constructively

Why join Teleste

Public Safety and Mobility is a business unit within Teleste where technology has a direct impact on everyday life. We develop solutions for public transport and public spaces, where long lifecycles, high availability, and uncompromising reliability are essential.

Within this business, hardware R&D plays a central role in enabling system-level performance across complex, customer-specific solutions. This role offers full responsibility for a mature, business-critical hardware R&D function in a customer-driven, international, project-based environment. You will have a clear mandate to set direction, make priorities explicit, and ensure that technical decisions support long-term system performance and commercial outcomes.

This is a role for an experienced R&D leader who is passionate about innovation, technology, and leadership, and who is motivated to shape meaningful, real-world solutions with lasting impact.

Got interested?
Please send your application soonest but no later than 31st of May. We review candidates throughout the process and will be in touch as soon as possible.

More info about the role please contact Anu Elo @teleste.com