Product Engineer

Position Summary 

We are seeking an experienced and technically curious R&D / Product Development Engineer to develop next-generation powertrain products and technologies. 

In this role, you will be responsible for the design, development, validation, and continuous improvement of Powertrain Products, including cylinder head gaskets, dynamic shaft seals, hot and cold gaskets, pistons, piston rings, bearings and bushings, valves, valve seats, and valve guides. 

You will work across the full product-development cycle, from concept development and technical feasibility through design validation, customer application, production launch, and field support. 

This is a hands-on engineering position requiring a strong foundation in mechanical engineering fundamentals, materials, tribology, testing, and failure analysis. You will collaborate with customers, suppliers, manufacturing facilities, test laboratories, and global engineering teams to develop innovative, robust, and manufacturable solutions for demanding powertrain applications. 

What You'll Do 

Develop Innovative Powertrain Products 

• Design and develop new and improved powertrain products from concept through production. 

• Translate customer, engine, and application requirements into product requirements and engineering specifications. 

• Develop innovative solutions that improve performance, durability, reliability, efficiency, manufacturability, and cost. 

• Apply engineering fundamentals including mechanics, materials science, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, fatigue, tribology, and sealing principles. 

• Perform engineering calculations and analyses to evaluate product performance, design feasibility, and design margins. 

• Define critical product characteristics, tolerances, materials, coatings, surface finishes, and performance requirements. 

• Support engineering drawing development, GD&T, design release, and engineering change processes. 
  
  

Lead the New Technology Introduction (NTI) Development Proces

• Facilitate cross-functional project reviews and communicate project status, timing, cost, technical risks, and readiness to engineering and business leadership. 

• Ensure key project risks, open issues, decisions, deliverables, and ownership are clearly documented and actively managed throughout the NTI process. 

• Plan, track, and monitor project development costs against approved budgets, highlighting deviations, risks, and required corrective actions. 

• Define expected capital expenditure (CapEx) requirements for tooling, equipment, testing, and manufacturing processes, working with the appropriate functions to develop robust investment estimates and timing. 

• Lead product and manufacturing feasibility assessments, identifying technical, capacity, process, quality, cost, supply-chain, and timing risks early in the development cycle. 

• Drive development and review of process flows and manufacturing concepts in collaboration with manufacturing, quality, purchasing, suppliers, and other functional teams. 

• Lead the cross-functional team through applicable Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) activities to ensure product and process readiness. 

• Develop, maintain, and drive integrated new-product-development timing plans, including key technical, validation, manufacturing, sourcing, and launch milestones. 

• Lead the New Technology Introduction (NTI) development process, coordinating cross-functional activities from initial product concept through manufacturing readiness and production launch. 
  
  

Design for Performance and Durability 

• Develop products capable of operating in challenging environments involving temperature, pressure, mechanical loading, vibration, friction, wear, lubrication, corrosion, and thermal cycling. 

• Evaluate component interactions and their impact on product performance and durability. 

• Apply knowledge of materials, coatings, surface treatments, and manufacturing processes to optimize product performance. 

• Evaluate static and dynamic sealing behavior, including joint mechanics, contact pressure, component motion, thermal expansion, surface finish, dimensional variation, friction, wear, and material relaxation. 

• Understand critical powertrain interfaces including head/gasket/block, dynamic seal/shaft, gasket/flange, piston/cylinder, piston ring/cylinder and ring groove, bearing/journal, valve/seat, and valve/guide. 
  
  

Test and Validate Designs 

• Develop and execute Design Verification Plans and Reports (DVP&R) based on product requirements, customer needs, and identified design risks. 

• Create component and system-level testing that represents actual application conditions and relevant failure mechanisms. 

• Develop accelerated durability tests to evaluate long-term product performance. 

• Analyze test data to understand product behavior, evaluate design alternatives, and quantify design margins. 

• Correlate laboratory testing with engine, vehicle, and field performance. 

• Develop specialized test methods, fixtures, and measurement techniques when required. 

• Use testing to develop a fundamental understanding of why a product works and how it can fail, not simply to demonstrate that it meets a specification. 
  
  

Solve Challenging Engineering Problems 

• Lead root-cause investigations of development, validation, manufacturing, customer, and field issues. 

• Apply structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, 5-Why, fault-tree analysis, and Design of Experiments (DOE). 

• Use physical evidence, dimensional measurements, material characterization, test results, and operating data to identify failure mechanisms. 

• Investigate failures related to fatigue, wear, fretting, scuffing, corrosion, leakage, thermal degradation, material relaxation, lubrication, and other mechanical or tribological mechanisms. 

• Develop and validate corrective actions and translate lessons learned into improved products, design practices, and validation methods. 
  
  

Design for Robustness and Manufacturin

• Develop and maintain Design Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (DFMEA). 

• Identify potential failure modes and develop appropriate design controls and validation strategies. 

• Evaluate sensitivity to dimensional, material, manufacturing, assembly, and operating-condition variation. 

• Work closely with manufacturing teams and suppliers to ensure products are robust, manufacturable, and cost-effective. 

• Apply Design for Manufacturing and Assembly principles throughout the development process. 

• Support manufacturing processes relevant to powertrain products, including stamping, forming, machining, grinding, honing, casting, sintering, welding, coating, plating, heat treatment, molding, and assembly. 

• Participate in tolerance reviews, manufacturing-feasibility studies, prototype builds, process development, and production launches. 
  
  

Work Directly with Customers and Global Team

• Partner with customers to understand engine architecture, operating conditions, application requirements, and technical challenges. 

• Support customer engine development, validation, and product application activities. 

• Translate system operating conditions into meaningful product design and validation requirements. 

• Participate in customer technical reviews and communicate product capabilities, risks, and recommendations. 

• Work collaboratively with R&D, application engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, testing, suppliers, and global engineering teams. 

• Provide technical support for customer and field investigations when required. 

• Travel to customer locations, suppliers, manufacturing plants, and test facilities as needed. 
  
  
  

What You'll Bring 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related engineering discipline. 

• 5+ years of relevant engineering experience, preferably within automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, industrial engine, or related powertrain applications. 

• Experience developing mechanical products from concept through validation and production. 

• Strong mechanical-engineering fundamentals and analytical problem-solving skills. 

• Working knowledge in several of the following areas: materials; fatigue and durability; tribology; friction and wear; lubrication; static and dynamic sealing; heat transfer and thermal expansion; structural mechanics; fluid mechanics; and corrosion. 

• Experience with DFMEA and DVP&R. 

• Demonstrated root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving capability. 

• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, and technical data. 

• Understanding of how material and manufacturing-process variation can influence product performance. 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 

• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional and global engineering teams.
   

Preferred Qualifications 

Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly valued: 

• Cylinder head gaskets; dynamic shaft seals; hot or cold gaskets. 

• Pistons; piston rings; bearings and bushings; valves, valve seats, or valve guides. 

• Internal combustion engine design and operation. 

• Static and dynamic sealing systems. 

• Materials, coatings, and surface engineering. 

• Tribology, lubrication, friction, and wear. 

• Fatigue, durability, and failure analysis. 

• FEA or other engineering simulation methods. 

• Component, engine, or vehicle testing and accelerated durability test development. 

• Statistical engineering methods and Design of Experiments. 
  
  

Experience across every product category is not required. We value engineers who combine deep technical expertise in one or more relevant areas with strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to apply those fundamentals to new products and technologies.