New Product Development Engineer

Justrite Safety Group•Brooksville, FL

16h•$105,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

AccuformNMC is investing in a new generation of workplace-safety products and building a small, highly focused product-development team. We are looking for a Product Development Engineer who likes to figure things out, build prototypes, integrate technologies and turn ideas into working products. This is not a narrow engineering role. You will be the technical builder and integrator inside a small team, working with external engineering specialists, prototype shops, component suppliers, contract manufacturers and our own Operations organization to move new products quickly from concept toward commercial reality. We are not looking for someone who believes every component must be designed from scratch. We want someone who can determine what should be built, what should be bought, what should be outsourced, what needs to be tested and how quickly we can find out whether the idea works. You will also help build the internal prototype and test capability needed to support future product development.

Requirements

5+ years of highly relevant hands-on experience in product development, electrical engineering, controls, automation, mechatronics, systems integration or a closely related field.
A Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, Engineering Technology or a related technical discipline is preferred.
Experience with sensors, controls, automation, connected devices, low-voltage electronics, wireless technologies, embedded systems or industrial equipment is valuable.
You have personally built, integrated or debugged physical products or systems.
You have experience moving products from prototype toward something that can be manufactured and supported commercially.
You are comfortable working across electrical and mechanical boundaries and learning unfamiliar technologies quickly.
You have worked with external engineering resources, suppliers, prototype shops or contract manufacturers.
You have demonstrated the ability to identify, qualify and select outside technical partners when the required capability does not exist internally.
You are commercially aware and understand the effects of technical decisions on cost, speed, reliability and revenue.

Nice To Haves

You naturally ask: "Can we build a quick version and learn something?"
You enjoy taking apart technical problems and figuring out how they work.
You are comfortable making a first prototype less-than-perfect if it helps the team learn quickly.
You know when to use an off-the-shelf component and when custom engineering is justified.
You can work with a specialist without surrendering technical ownership.

Responsibilities

Translate product requirements into practical technical approaches.
Evaluate commercially available technologies, components and platforms and determine the most effective path to a working solution.
Build, modify, integrate and test prototypes.
Identify technical risks early and design practical tests to answer the questions that matter.
Rapidly iterate based on testing, customer feedback and manufacturing input.
Own the technical integration of products even when individual components or subsystems are developed externally.
Work across electrical, controls, sensing, connectivity, mechanical integration and other relevant technologies.
Review outside engineering work, technical specifications, prototypes and design decisions.
Challenge solutions that are unnecessarily complex, expensive, unreliable or slow to develop.
Coordinate technical interfaces between external engineering firms, suppliers, contract manufacturers, Operations and IT.
Coordinate software and data architecture decisions with IT and appropriate technical partners.
Identify, evaluate and select the engineering, prototyping, fabrication, testing and manufacturing partners required to move products forward.
Develop relationships with trusted technical resources and build a broader network that can be activated quickly as new needs emerge.
Understand the difference between a rapid prototype resource, a low-volume/pilot manufacturer and a scalable contract manufacturer.
Select partners based on capability, speed, cost, quality, IP/confidentiality, scalability and fit for the project.
When the right capability does not already exist within our network, identify and qualify new partners quickly.
Work closely with the Plant Manager and Operations organization throughout development.
Consider both external contract manufacturing and potential future in-house production when evaluating designs.
Support component selection, BOM development, manufacturing processes, test requirements and production documentation.
Bring Design for Manufacturing, Assembly and Test thinking into development early.
Support pilot builds, production troubleshooting and launch readiness.
Spend time with actual hardware.
Use appropriate bench equipment and diagnostic tools to diagnose problems.
Design and execute practical technical tests.
Document findings, determine root causes and recommend corrective actions.
Coordinate external certification and specialized testing resources when needed.
Help define what is needed to move quickly - from tools and test equipment to prototype materials, components and workspace - and help build a practical, lean development environment.