Front End Product Engineer

CHERVON NORTH AMERICA INC•Naperville, IL

3d•$80,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Front End Product Engineer focuses on translating customer insights, emerging technologies, and early product ideas into working prototypes that help evaluate future opportunities in power tools and outdoor power equipment. This role is intended for an experienced, hands-on engineer who can independently move from concept to prototype, apply sound technical judgment, and influence early-stage product direction while collaborating across Product, Research, Design, and Engineering teams.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Product Design Engineering, or a related technical field.
5–7 years of relevant engineering experience in product development, rapid prototyping, mechanical/electromechanical design, innovation engineering, or a related hands-on technical environment.
Demonstrated ability to design, build, and test physical prototypes.
Experience with 3D CAD software.
Strong mechanical aptitude and hands-on problem-solving abilities.
Ability to independently drive projects from concept through prototype validation, balancing speed, technical rigor, stakeholder input, and practical execution.
Comfortable working in ambiguous environments where requirements evolve through experimentation.
Demonstrated curiosity, creativity, technical judgment, and ability to mentor or guide less-experienced team members on prototype development and problem-solving approaches.

Nice To Haves

Experience with 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC machining, or maker-space fabrication equipment.
Experience building robotics, automation projects, drones, electric vehicles, competition projects, or personal engineering projects.
Hands-on experience with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, microcontrollers, embedded systems, sensors, motors, controls, or basic programming used to support prototype functionality.
Experience developing electromechanical systems.
Proficiency with Siemens NX, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar CAD tools, including development of models and documentation that support prototype fabrication and evaluation.
Experience with rapid prototyping, product innovation, proof-of-concept development, or hands-on validation of early-stage product ideas.
Exposure to battery-powered products, power tools, outdoor power equipment, consumer products, or related technologies.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with Product Managers, User Researchers, Industrial Designers, Engineering teams, and other cross-functional partners to identify unmet customer needs and future product opportunities.
Explore emerging technologies, components, materials, and concepts that may create competitive advantages within power tools and outdoor power equipment.
Participate in ideation workshops, innovation sessions, and concept generation activities.
Evaluate the technical feasibility of new product concepts through rapid experimentation, prototype development, and hands-on testing.
Design, build, assemble, and test physical prototypes ranging from appearance models to functional proof-of-concept systems.
Quickly translate sketches, concepts, problem statements, and customer insights into tangible solutions.
Apply 3D printing, laser cutting, rapid fabrication methods, electronics prototyping, and other hands-on development techniques to efficiently create, refine, and validate prototype solutions.
Develop mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical prototype solutions as needed to validate concepts.
Build demonstration models, test rigs, fixtures, and experimental systems used to evaluate product opportunities.
Plan and conduct prototype testing, analyze results, identify technical tradeoffs, and communicate findings, recommendations, and next steps to cross-functional stakeholders.
Develop CAD models to support prototype construction and concept evaluation.
Integrate sensors, motors, control systems, batteries, embedded electronics, and other technologies when appropriate.
Research and evaluate commercially available technologies, components, and platforms for potential application within new products.
Conduct competitor teardowns, benchmarking activities, and technical investigations.
Work closely with Product Managers, User Researchers, Industrial Designers, and Engineering teams to align technical exploration with customer needs.
Present concepts, prototypes, and findings to leadership teams and stakeholders.
Collaborate with engineering teams in North America and internationally to advance innovation initiatives.
Support intellectual property generation through invention disclosures and innovation documentation.
Contribute to innovation processes, prototype lab capabilities, engineering tools, and rapid development methodologies.
Continuously expand technical knowledge across mechanical, electrical, software, automation, and fabrication disciplines.
Maintain prototype documentation and test records sufficient to support learning, future iteration, and knowledge transfer.