Senior Advanced Textiles Engineer

Protective Industrial Products•Freeport, IL

About The Position

The Senior Advanced Textiles Engineer is a technical leader responsible for researching, developing, validating, and commercializing advanced textile and material technologies used in electrical safety products. The role drives innovation across arc flash protective apparel, rubber insulating products, composite materials, and next-generation electrical personal protective equipment (PPE), with the goal of delivering strong protection, durability, comfort, and compliance. The position serves as the organization's subject matter expert in protective textiles, fabric systems, material science, garment engineering, and manufacturing processes. It partners with Product Management, R&D, Operations, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and commercial teams to develop solutions that protect utility, industrial, and electrical workers from arc flash, thermal, and electrical hazards.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Textile Engineering, Materials Science, Polymer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
4–8 years of experience.
Advanced materials engineering knowledge.
Textile science knowledge.
Polymer technology knowledge.
Knowledge of electrical safety products and arc flash protection.
Product design and development capability.
Regulatory compliance, testing, and validation knowledge.
Manufacturing engineering and risk assessment capability.
Strategic thinking, innovation leadership, technical influence, and project management skills.
Cross-functional collaboration, customer focus, problem-solving, and continuous improvement skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.

Responsibilities

Lead development of advanced textile, fabric, and material technologies for electrical safety products.
Drive innovation in arc flash protective clothing, flame-resistant garments, electrical PPE, and integrated protective systems.
Identify emerging material technologies, fibers, coatings, laminates, composites, and manufacturing methods that improve product performance.
Translate customer and market needs into technical specifications and product requirements.
Support technology roadmaps aligned with growth strategies and industry trends.
Serve as technical authority for arc-rated fabrics and apparel systems, flame-resistant textiles, high-performance fibers and yarns, elastomeric and rubber insulating materials, composite electrical insulation materials, and protective laminates and coated fabrics.
Evaluate material performance characteristics, including arc flash protection, thermal resistance, electrical insulation, mechanical strength, durability and aging, chemical resistance, comfort, and wearability.
Conduct material selection and engineering trade-off analyses.
Develop and oversee product validation programs.
Partner with external laboratories and certification bodies.
Analyze test results and provide technical recommendations.
Support testing of arc thermal performance values (ATPV), arc ratings, dielectric performance, electrical insulating properties, mechanical integrity, environmental aging, laundering durability, and wear-life performance.
Ensure products meet applicable safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
Maintain expertise in relevant industry standards and regulations, including ASTM F1506, ASTM F2675, ASTM D120, ASTM D1051, ASTM F1891, ASTM F496, NFPA 70E, IEC 61482, OSHA requirements, CSA standards, and EN standards related to electrical protective equipment.
Support product certifications and compliance activities.
Represent the company in industry associations, standards committees, and technical forums.
Collaborate with manufacturing teams to optimize textile and garment production processes.
Support development of scalable manufacturing methods for new products.
Evaluate fabrication technologies, including cut-and-sew operations, knitting and weaving, coating, lamination, elastomer and composite fabrication, seam construction, and garment assembly.
Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of technical manufacturing issues.
Provide mentoring and technical guidance to engineers, technicians, and product development teams.
Lead cross-functional project teams.
Present technical findings and recommendations to executive leadership.
Support customer-facing technical discussions and major account opportunities.
Serve as technical expert during product investigations and field performance evaluations.