Job Description

Senior Product Engineer
Location (2 options): Battle Creek, Michigan or Old Fort, North Carolina

Position Overview
A leading manufacturing organization specializing in engineered fiber and thermal/acoustic components is seeking a Senior Product Engineer. This role serves as a trusted technical partner to key customers, translating application needs into robust engineering solutions from initial concept and prototyping through validation and launch. The ideal candidate brings strong customer-facing experience, a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing, and a solid foundation in manufacturing launch processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary engineering contact for the business unit, building long-term technical relationships with customer teams.
• Translate voice-of-customer input into clear engineering requirements, design targets, and specifications.
• Build and refine prototype parts and develop prototype tooling to support rapid design iterations and customer evaluations.
• Apply Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles to all prototype and production designs.
• Develop and execute Design Verification Plan and Report (DVP&R) test plans, analyzing results and driving corrective design actions.
• Participate in Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) activities and support Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) submissions.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Program Management, and Launch Engineering to transition validated programs smoothly into manufacturing.
• Support post-launch customer needs, including engineering change requests, continuous improvement initiatives, and field concerns.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Materials, Chemical, Textile, or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of engineering experience in product development.
• Direct customer-facing engineering responsibility with a track record of building and managing client relationships.
• Demonstrated experience developing products from concept through prototype and validation, including supporting production launch.
• Hands-on experience building prototypes and developing prototype tooling.
• Proven experience designing and executing DVP&R test plans and evaluating data against industry and customer standards.
• Working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, GD&T, and quality management systems.
• Ability to work on-site in Battle Creek, MI or Old Fort, NC, with the ability and willingness to travel 25%–30%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with fiber-based, nonwoven, acoustic/NVH, or thermal insulation products.

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