Job Description:
Position Summary
As a key member of the Advanced Technology Engineering Team, the Applications / Product Engineer plays a critical role in driving company growth through the development of new products, applications, and market opportunities. This position serves as a primary technical liaison between customers and internal teams, ensuring successful product development, launch, and commercialization.
The role supports business growth by providing technical expertise to the Commercial Sales Team, leading engineering activities for new product introductions, and facilitating the successful transition of products from concept through manufacturing. The ideal candidate combines strong engineering and design capabilities with customer-facing experience and a passion for solving complex manufacturing challenges.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop detailed engineering quotations for new products, including raw material requirements, manufacturing processes, cycle times, tooling, fixtures, gauging, outside processing costs, and capital equipment requirements.
- Evaluate customer component designs and recommend modifications to optimize manufacturability using Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technology.
- Create and revise engineering documentation, including marked prints, design recommendations, and CAD model modifications.
- Lead the planning, manufacturing, and delivery of engineering prototypes and sample parts to support customer development programs.
- Serve as the primary technical contact for customers, leading engineering discussions and communicating technical requirements, challenges, and solutions.
- Represent customer needs and technical objectives within cross-functional teams including engineering, manufacturing, quality, and sales.
- Lead Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) activities through Gate 1 and actively participate through Gate 5 to ensure successful product launches.
- Support new product introduction efforts by coordinating technical activities from concept through production approval and launch.
- Collaborate with manufacturing teams to identify opportunities for process improvements, cost reduction, and quality enhancement.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline preferred; equivalent industry experience will be considered.
- Experience in Metal Injection Molding (MIM), Powder Metallurgy, precision metal components, or related manufacturing technologies.
- Strong understanding of component design for manufacturability and production processes.
- Experience interacting directly with customers in a technical or applications engineering capacity.
- Proficiency with CAD software and engineering drawing interpretation.
- Excellent project management, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Preferred
- Experience with APQP, PPAP, and new product introduction processes.
- Background in quoting, cost estimating, and manufacturing process development.
- Knowledge of tooling, fixtures, gauging, and production process optimization.