Job Summary:
Provide direct support to applications engineering to facilitate business growth by timely completion of deliverables. The mechanical design engineer would create designs to fit within a customer’s packaging space. The mechanical design engineer would coordinate the timely release of a product to the production floor while communicating tooling, programs, PPAP requirements, and any other necessary information to ensure frontline supervisors have the engineering support they need to carry out the build. The employee has a primary role in the process for engineering changes, prototype builds, and collaborates with process and applications engineers to develop products while industrializing them into serial production.
Duties and Responsibilities:
· Create and maintain item codes, master BOM’s and production order (formulas) instructions within ERP (e.g., BIS) system.
· Fluent in Blachford’s nomenclature and use it to make item descriptions, communicate customer requirements for materials through BIS to the organization.
· Establish and maintain master engineering files and manufacturing layouts. Create and maintain all-digital file cabinet including customer specifications and drawings.
· Evaluate solid model files in Solidworks or other CAD software to determine design feasibility for 3D and flat parts.
· Provide a back-up to process engineers to support tooling activities while out of the office.
· Upon sourcing, responsible for carrying out the process for tooling requests (TRF) or program requests (PRF). When the applications engineer is not directly involved, work with process engineer to kick-off tooling or write programs. Communicate with program manager to ensure delivery meets project milestones and customer request dates.
· Perform programming activities for water jet and CNC knife cutting machines as required; maintain program libraries as needed. Communicate to Secondary department to troubleshoot or perform corrective actions.
· Collaborate with process engineer the design and order steel ruled dies as required. Verify design feasibility with regards to shop floor equipment and guidelines written within internal engineering procedures. Create purchase order requests for new tools and track using the code.xls file.
· Follow all internal engineering procedures and recommend changes based upon newly discovered information from product development, quality complaints, or process advancements through maturation and continuous improvement.
· Responsible to carry out order fulfillment process of sample requests that are not assigned to an applications engineer. Works with engineering technician and process engineers to coordinate the prototype builds. Backs up applications engineer to provide input to sales for anticipated costs of prototypes. Enters labor and materials into BIS for each job if assigned.
· Participate in kaizen and six-sigma teams as necessary to increase production efficiency and reduce cost as needed upon request.
· Provide a support or resource for activities related to process design, industrialization, and continuous improvement on products borne from R&D or another Blachford facility.
· Provide direct support to applications engineer for product design for fit, form, and function on products borne from cost estimation without having an employee assigned previously to new production introduction (NPI) or product briefs (PB).
· Provide direct support to applications engineer for product design for fit and form on products borne from new production introduction or product briefs working alongside R&D staff to ensure a smooth transfer of knowledge from conceptual to industrialization phases.
· Coordinate engineering documents required for PPAP/ISIR Approval process associated with flat and molded products.
· Use customer CAD geometry to define the product’s fit and form. Use internal design guidelines and materials common to Blachford when possible, to design for manufacturability. Mechanical design engineer will complete modeling and blueprint layouts upon receipt of math data from customers or applications engineer.
· Provide direct support to applications engineer to assist the development of technical presentations to collaborate with customer’s design engineers. Technical presentations are not limited to product offerings, but include analysis and defense of our product offering to meet customer’s statement of work.
· Develop and maintain a respectful and intimate relationships with sales and program managers with the joint goal and alignment to grow future revenue at all facilities within Blachford Acoustics Group.
· Active and standing participant in product launch meetings. Responsible for modeling, drafting and release activities and can manage a schedule aligned to customer’s development plan.
· Incorporates functional design details into product design that were discovered in new product development during R&D process when described during knowledge transfer.
· Confirms that materials selected to meet acoustic and thermal requirements are defined within the BIS quality module for the purchased item. Works with applications, materials engineer or R&D designee to setup the proper material specification to meet design and manufacturing requirements.
· Responsible to review customer’s drawing, specifications, and any other relevant documents so Blachford builds products that meet customer print.
· Active and standing participant of PPCN meetings. Completes design related activities within engineer’s scope of work and adds PPCN to Microsoft Teams for department approvals.
· Develop “plan for every part” or packaging specifications within product development timeline. Work with applications engineer or secondary supervisor to ensure its availability before start of production.
· Create models for tooling and models to support process engineers during launch activities upon request and as assigned.
· Develop order of review for export compliance purposes when creating item codes for new product introduction.
· Any other design function which may arise during the course of business development which falls within the competency of the position to support the applications engineer.
· Promptly respond to operations requests (supervisors and planner) for substitute materials or calls to develop alternate programs for quantity changes or general troubleshooting.
· Provide support and coordinate work with other North American Blachford sites on an as needed basis.
Qualifications/Skills/Experience Required:
· Ability to work on own initiative.
· Good interpersonal and communication skills with proven leadership abilities.
· Bachelors of Science Degree in Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering Technology or related degree.
· 2 - 5 years’ experience in manufacturing setting.
· 2D & 3D software proficiency required, Preferences: 2D – AutoCad, 3D - Solidworks
· Working proficiency in GD&T.
· ERP business information systems experience is preferred.
· Working knowledge of FMEA and QCP tools.
· Export compliance (Bureau of Information Security / Dept. of Commerce) would be a plus
· Ability to travel up to 15% on a variable basis
· Thirst for knowledge and genuine curiosity to seek it to improve understanding
· Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a strong attention to detail.
· Must be flexible and able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.