Senior Design Engineer - Plastic Pipe & Conduit

Atkore•Dallas, TX

About The Position

Atkore is seeking a Senior Design Engineer for its Electrical Business Unit / Plastic Pipe & Conduit (PPC) Strategic Business Unit. Reporting to the Senior R&D Engineering Manager, the role serves as the technical lead for the design, development, validation, and commercialization of electrical conduit, pipe, fittings, fabricated fittings, and related infrastructure products. The engineer works across Product Engineering, Product Management, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Sales to deliver innovative, manufacturable, and cost-effective products that support business growth. The role provides technical leadership and drives continuous improvement, manufacturing capability advancement, and product innovation across the PPC portfolio. The position leads product development and improvement projects from concept through commercialization, translating customer requirements, market opportunities, and business objectives into product solutions. It includes engineering design and analysis, CAD documentation, prototyping and testing, product qualification, manufacturing and supplier collaboration, tooling and production readiness support, and lifecycle management. The engineer also contributes to engineering standards, strategic product roadmaps, manufacturing technology investments, and cross-functional problem-solving. During the first three months, the employee is expected to complete the Atkore immersion program and learn how the role supports company strategy, as well as become familiar with colleagues, the facility, and the team. Within six months, the employee is expected to collaborate with a cross-functional product development team, design cost-efficient and manufacturable products that comply with electrical industry standards, and design or implement test methods or equipment. Within 12 months, the employee is expected to support customers and suppliers, facilitate concept ideation, lead R&D development and scale-up through the stage-gate process, plan design of experiments and analyze data, and understand applicable product-development standards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related engineering discipline.
At least 5 years of experience in product design, development, and commercialization.
Proven track record leading complex new product development initiatives.
Advanced proficiency with Autodesk products, SolidWorks, or equivalent 3D CAD software.
Experience with DFMEA, PPAP, tolerance analysis, root-cause analysis, and Design for Manufacturing (DFM).
Strong understanding of extrusion, injection molding, fabrication, machining, assembly, and automation processes.
Experience supporting tooling design, process validation, and production launch activities.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
Strong communication, presentation, and project leadership skills.
Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.

Nice To Haves

Experience with infrastructure products such as conduit, pipe, fabricated fittings, elbows, couplings, or related products.
Knowledge of UL, ASTM, NEMA, NSF, CSA, NEC, and other related standards.
Prior involvement with industry organizations, standards committees, or technical customer engagements.
Experience with FEA, product testing, validation, and rapid prototyping.
Experience leading manufacturing automation or capital improvement projects.
Lean Six Sigma certification.
Experience utilizing ERP and PLM systems.

Responsibilities

Design and develop new products for infrastructure markets, translating customer requirements, market opportunities, and business objectives into product solutions.
Lead new product development projects from concept through commercialization and manage multiple development and improvement projects simultaneously.
Lead design reviews, risk assessments, technical decisions, product validation, qualification testing, and commercialization activities.
Ensure products meet performance, quality, manufacturability, regulatory, and cost objectives.
Drive value engineering, product standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Develop and maintain CAD models, engineering drawings, specifications, and bills of material.
Apply Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), DFMEA, and Lean principles throughout product development.
Lead prototype design, testing, and validation; conduct engineering analysis to optimize performance, reliability, and cost.
Evaluate materials, manufacturing processes, automation opportunities, and emerging technologies.
Support Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), including Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and Engineering Change Requests (ECRs).
Research competitive products and market trends to identify innovation opportunities.
Collaborate with manufacturing facilities on production readiness and product launches; support tooling development, process validation, pilot production, and first article inspections.
Work with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and suppliers to resolve technical and manufacturing challenges and improve products and processes.
Support troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective action implementation.
Coordinate with external tool makers and internal departments to meet cost, deliverable, and timeline expectations.
Provide design and tooling guidance and expertise to team members.
Develop engineering standards, design guidelines, and best practices.
Lead root-cause investigations and corrective action activities, and support improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and cost.
Promote Lean manufacturing and operational excellence principles.
Present project updates, business cases, and technical recommendations to leadership.
Support product roadmap development, long-term growth initiatives, product portfolio expansion, capital projects, and manufacturing technology investments.
Provide technical support and solutions to customers and suppliers; facilitate concept brainstorming and ideation.
Lead R&D development and scale-up through the stage-gate process, plan design of experiments, and analyze concept-testing data.
Complete other tasks as assigned.