Design Engineer

Milwaukee Tool • Brookfield, MT

1d

About The Position

The Design Engineer I - Plastics supports the design, development, validation, and launch of injection-molded plastic components and assemblies. This early-career development role builds foundational expertise in plastic part design, DFM/DFA, material selection, tooling considerations, molding processes, testing, and simulation-informed decision-making. The engineer works on cross-functional product development teams to design and improve plastic components from early concept through production launch, with hands-on exposure to materials, tooling, processing, manufacturing, testing, and injection molding simulation workflows.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 0–3 years of engineering experience, including internships, co-ops, or relevant project experience.
• Basic understanding of plastic materials and injection molding processes.
• Experience using 3D CAD software such as NX, Creo, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar platforms.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
• Interest in hands-on product development, testing, manufacturing, and root cause analysis.
• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional engineering teams.

Nice To Haves

• Coursework, internship, co-op, or project experience involving plastics, injection molding, tooling, or manufacturing processes.
• Exposure to Moldflow, Moldex3D, Sigmasoft, SolidWorks Plastics, Autodesk Moldflow Adviser, or similar injection molding simulation tools.
• Understanding of DFM principles for injection-molded plastic components.
• Familiarity with GD&T, tolerance analysis, and engineering drawing practices.
• Exposure to FEA, mechanical testing, material testing, or data analysis.
• Experience with rapid prototyping technologies such as 3D printing.
• Knowledge of plastic material performance tradeoffs, including strength, impact, fatigue, creep, chemical resistance, cosmetics, cost, and manufacturability.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop plastic components and subassemblies for new product development and continuous improvement projects.
• Create, maintain, and release 3D CAD models, engineering drawings, specifications, and technical documentation.
• Apply DFM and DFA principles to improve product performance, manufacturability, quality, assembly efficiency, and cost.
• Support design reviews, tolerance reviews, prototype builds, engineering builds, and production launch activities.
• Collaborate with industrial design, product engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, quality, suppliers, and test teams throughout product development.
• Support material selection for thermoplastics, elastomers, and related polymer systems based on mechanical, cosmetic, environmental, regulatory, and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop working knowledge of injection molding behavior, including gate location, flow length, shrinkage, warpage, weld lines, sink, knit lines, cooling, ejection, and parting line considerations.
• Review and interpret injection molding simulation results, including Moldflow outputs, to support part design optimization, gating recommendations, filling performance, cooling strategy, and warpage reduction.
• Partner with tooling engineers, molders, suppliers, and manufacturing teams to resolve molding-related design, tooling, and process concerns during prototype and production phases.
• Assist with evaluation of new plastic materials, manufacturing methods, and design approaches for future product applications.
• Support engineering validation and verification testing for plastic components and assemblies.
• Analyze test results, identify design risks, and implement design improvements based on data and engineering judgment.
• Assist in troubleshooting plastic component failures, quality issues, and manufacturing concerns using structured root cause analysis methods.
• Work with materials, quality, tooling, manufacturing, and supplier teams to identify corrective actions and prevent recurrence.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on product reliability, manufacturability, weight, cost, quality, and performance.
• Support multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced product development environment.
• Document engineering assumptions, test results, design decisions, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations clearly and accurately.
• Communicate project status, technical risks, open issues, and design changes to project stakeholders in a timely and professional manner.
• Participate in supplier discussions, design reviews, engineering builds, and cross-functional project meetings as required.
• Build technical capability through mentorship, hands-on projects, training, supplier engagement, and collaboration with experienced plastics, tooling, materials, and simulation resources.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level