Development Engineer

Flexcon•Spencer, MA

13d•$89,110 - $148,517

About The Position

AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COATED AND LAMINATED FILMS AND ADHESIVES, FLEXCON IS LOOKING FOR A DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER TO JOIN THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TEAM AT ITS’ HEADQUARTERS IN SPENCER, MASSACHUSETTS. THIS ROLE WILL REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING SR. MANAGER. WORKING CROSS FUNCTIONALLY AND ACROSS ALL STAGES OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (I.E., CONCEPT THROUGH COMMERCIALIZATION), THIS ROLE’S PRIMARY FOCUS WILL BE TO SUPPORT THE IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT OF COATING PROCESSES ALIGNED TO NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. A KEY ASPECT OF THIS ROLE WILL BE SUPPORTING LONGER RANGE PROCESS RESEARCH TO DEMONSTRATE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF IDENTIFIED NOVEL MANUFACTURING AND COATING TECHNOLOGIES TO ASSESS COMMERCIAL VIABILITY OF PRODUCTS AND/OR PROCESSES. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCESS AND PRODUCT IMPROVEMENTS WITH A FOCUS ON COATING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT EXISTING FLEXCON BUSINESSES AS WELL AS INNOVATION INITIATIVES. THIS ROLE SUPPORTS THE TRANSITION OF LONG-RANGE NEW PROCESS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS INTO COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS BY EMPLOYING A FLEXIBLE AND CREATIVE APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING UTILIZING STRONG TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.

Requirements

4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering or 4-year bachelor's degree in STEM's major.
1-7 years’ experience with adhesives, polymer films, lamination, Roll-to Roll (R2R) coating application technology, drying, product/process development, and stage gate methodology.
Ability to develop, scale up, and transfer processing technology across all stages of the innovation process. Experience solving complex processing problems utilizing structured problem-solving methodologies.

Nice To Haves

Experience in lab and manufacturing environments is a plus.
Project management skills in planning, design, estimation, implementation, and commissioning of any new and/or upgraded equipment and processes is a plus.

Responsibilities

In a collaborative team environment, support Flexcon Supply Chain for Raw Material cost downs, Business Continuity, and Risk Mitigation initiatives; as well as develop technical data analytics databases for mapping raw material suppliers to products, volumes, revenues, and gross margin.
Support Flexcon business teams, Project Management Office, and Technology groups as requested, providing scientific engineering guidance, technical research, timeline estimates, as well as support for assessing the risks and costs of identified development opportunities or competitive technologies.
Utilize sound scientific methods and problem-solving techniques for the discovery, validation, and commercialization of new products from lab to manufacturing.
Assess roll to roll process developments, such as new coating and/or curing methods, identify key process performance differentiation, and incorporate into potential new technology platforms.
Work with Manufacturing to identify and quantify the quality and economic performance relationships in new and existing equipment of processing designs.
A resource for continuous improvement of internal processes including the development process, quality processes, and manufacturing processes.
Work with lab personnel to ensure accurate observations, data collection, hypothesis development and validation to meet project timelines.
Develop working machine or process prototypes (pilot lines) with equipment suppliers to test efficacy/performance against target specifications.
Ensure an understanding of critical engineering principles in the development of new products, processes.
Assist teams evaluating opportunity economics by recommending alternative process paths, providing data for cost estimates, creating equipment specifications, project plans, and understanding customer impacts.
Publish and present technical reports, internally to Business Stakeholders, and Leadership team and externally to appropriate conferences, customers, and end-users, that summarize key findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on data and applied material science.
Organize and support initial scale-up trials to confirm pilot trial results.
Provide technical support in manufacturing for initial equipment startup, operator training, process quality and process standards as needed.
Develop and support the technical aspects of patent evaluations and filings where applicable.