Product Engineer - Kimball International, Jasper, IN

About the position

Responsible for engineering of both new and existing products to meet the requirements of our customers. This role will work directly with Industrial Designers, Packaging Engineers, Process Engineers and shop floor to design and engineer products to meet all required specifications.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for design and engineering of products including material/manufacturing/tooling process selection, translation of market requirements to product specifications, CAD documentation, BOM structure, technical reviews, product testing and implementation.
• Works with team members to 'clearly' define product concept design and identify product design and manufacturing process alternative.
• Responsible for packaging design for new and existing products.
• Validate engineering by identifying and testing to appropriate Kimball and external standards.
• Lead prototyping activities to deliver viable samples.
• Determine nature of technical problems and possible solutions, such as product redesign, substitution of material or parts, or rearrangements of parts of subassemblies.
• Create product designs that optimize manufacturability.
• Develop design solutions utilizing existing platforms.
• Create quality and material standards based off platformed products.
• Provide product and tooling options and costs.
• Responsible for EC analysis and implementation.
• Ensure as manufactured product meets all design and performance intent (ex quality, fit form and function).
• Ownership of assignment from conception to commercialization.
• Perform complex design investigation, engineering analyses, and feasibility studies for new components or products using customer-supplied data, past experience and engineering principles.
• Optimize product design vs. cost by challenging manufacturing, make us. Buy, and product costing strategies.
• Create new or optimized product platforms across multiple mfg units and products series to reduce complexity.
• Create new quality and material standards.
• Revise and creates engineering standards.
• Support our Vision and Guiding Principles.
• Adhere to company safety guideline.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering curriculum or relevant work experience.
• Understanding of sound engineering practices.
• Understanding of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Value Engineering/Value Analysis (VE/VA) and Design for Manufacturing/Assembly (DFM/DFA).
• Understanding of Sustainability and relation to design.
• Understanding of manufacturing and tooling processes.
• Ability to perform root causes failure analysis.
• Understanding for various prototyping techniques.
• Understanding of BIFMA and UL standards.
• Understanding of mechanical drawings.
• Understanding of Solid modeling and 3D experience.
• Knowledgeable of Furniture industry.
• PC literate and fluent with Microsoft office programs.
• Ability to operate CAD related office products; scanner, printer, plotter, etc.
• Understanding of Quality Fundamentals.
• Understanding of Financial Fundamentals.
• Understanding of PDP, NPI and EC Processes.
• Knowledge of various materials including steel, aluminum, plastic, composites, wood, etc and their common use applications.
• Ability to perform tolerance stack analysis.
• Understanding of Geometric, Dimensioning and ANSIY-14M.
• Understanding of mechanics of solids, strengths of materials, machine elements, material science, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics.
• Understanding of voice of the customer.
• Ability to identify product Critical to Quality Characteristics (CQT).
• Interpret and mitigate results of Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
• Conduct structural failure analysis.
• Verify process capability.
• Establish tolerance for fit, form and function based on specific process capabilities to establish acceptable for, fit and function.
• Ability to create detailed project plans.

Nice-to-haves

• Interpersonal skills: Honest and ethical, Team Oriented, Positive attitude, Tactful, Assertive, Flexible, Patient, Creative thinking, Trustworthy, Good people skills, Willingness to learn new things, Ability to keep humor in the workplace, Ability to build and sustain relationships, Ability to work in a fast-paced environment that is goal driven (completion dates).
• Communication skills: Good listening skills, Good written and verbal communication skills, Ability to communicate technical issues, Ability to communicate at all levels, Conduct design reviews with customers.
• Leadership skills: Good organizational skills, Good team building skills, Respect of others point of view, Must have initiative.
• Business skills: Good time management skills, Can handle multiple tasks, Understanding of role in the company, Can prioritize multiple tasks appropriate to meet business needs.