Director of Materials Engineering

Our mission at Oura is to empower every person to own their inner potential. Our award-winning products help our global community gain a deeper knowledge of their readiness, activity, and sleep quality by using their Oura Ring and its connected app. We've helped 2.5 million people understand and improve their health by providing daily insights and practical steps to inspire healthy lifestyles.

Empowering the world starts with living our values and empowering our team. As a quickly growing company focused on helping people live healthier and happier lives, we ensure that our team members have what they need to do their best work — both in and out of the office. 

We are seeking a visionary and technically strong Director of Materials Engineering to lead the development and advancement of material technologies that are core to the Oura product experience. This role will focus on driving innovation and execution across polymers, metals, brittles, adhesives, coatings, and novel materials—ensuring performance, reliability, and premium user experience across current and future hardware platforms.

As a key member of the Hardware Engineering leadership team, you will lead a team of materials engineers pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in wearable technology.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the strategy and roadmap for materials engineering across adhesives, plastics, metals, coatings, and emerging technologies.
• Drive R&D and materials selection efforts for current and next-generation products, balancing form factor, performance, biocompatibility, manufacturability, and sustainability.
• Establish and optimize material and bonding processes (e.g., adhesion, overmolding, plating, surface treatments) for high-volume manufacturing.
• Partner with PD, ID, and Ops teams to understand needs and integrate materials solutions early in the product development lifecycle.
• Build and manage a high-performing team of materials engineers. 
• Define materials lab operations and setting up standardized materials testing and coupons to characterize new and existing materials.
• Work with external vendors and strategic partners to evaluate new materials and coatings, qualify processes, and ensure scalability and reliability.
• Define and oversee materials validation, characterization, and reliability testing methodologies.
• Collaborate closely with Reliability and Regulatory teams to ensure material compliance and performance in real-world use conditions.
• Identify and mitigate material risks across the product lifecycle, from prototype to production and field usage.

This is a Hybrid role with offices in San Francisco and San Diego.

We would love to have you on our team if you have:

• 10+ years of experience in materials engineering, with deep expertise in adhesives, polymers, metals, brittles, and coatings.
• Proven experience developing materials and processes for consumer electronics, medical devices, or wearables.
• Proven experience setting up automated dispensing equipment for high throughput production lines
• Demonstrated leadership in managing teams and cross-functional projects through the full product development cycle, from concept to mass production
• Strong background in material characterization, surface chemistry, and process development.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers and materials suppliers across Asia and globally.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.
• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
  
  

Nice to Have:

• Experience with biocompatibility and regulatory requirements for skin-contact products.
• Background in sustainability-focused material development.

At Oura, we care about you and your well-being. Everyone here at Oura has a ring of their own and we are continually looking to improve employee health.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and equity packages
• Health, dental, vision insurance, and mental health resources
• An Oura Ring of your own plus employee discounts for friends & family
• 20 days of paid time off plus 13 paid holidays plus 8 days of flexible wellness time off
• Paid sick leave and parental leave

Oura takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. US locations are categorized into tiers based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. While most offers will be closer to the starting range, successful candidates' pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, internal peer equity, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

• San Francisco Compensation Range: $206,000 - $257,000
• San Diego Compensation Range: $190,000 - $237,000

We are not considering candidates residing in the following states: Alaska (AK), Arkansas (AR), Delaware (DE), Iowa (IA), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE), Oklahoma (OK), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Vermont (VT), West Virginia (WV), and Wisconsin (WI)

Oura is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Individuals seeking employment at Oura are considered without regard to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

We will work to ensure individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

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