Application Design Engineer

About the role

The Application Design Engineer serves as the technical liaison between customers, sales, quality, and manufacturing. This role gathers customer application requirements, translates them into detailed parts and tooling designs, and develops and tests prototypes to ensure designs are manufacturable and satisfy customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Review customer application requirements (specs, drawings, use-case data) and translate them into buildable prototype designs
• Build, assemble, or configure prototypes based on customer and internal engineering specifications
• Design and execute test plans to validate prototype performance against customer requirements and industry standards
• Document test results, failure modes, and design iterations; recommend design or process changes based on findings
• Partner with manufacturing/production teams to assess feasibility, tolerances, and scalability of prototype designs before handoff
• Act as the technical liaison with customers during the prototype phase, clarifying requirements, presenting results, and managing revisions
• Maintain BOMs, technical drawings, and prototype documentation for handoff to production
• Stay current on new product developments and application usages for rapid adaptation to company products
• Support technical failure analysis and debugging on key customer issues
• Support project management by keeping project plans and other related documents updated
• Provide written recommendations and presentations for end-users
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, industrial engineering, or related discipline plus a minimum of 5 years of work experience in a similar role required; Master’s degree preferred
• Proficiency using SolidWorks or similar 3D solid modeling software
• Ability to read and understand technical drawings, manuals, and industry or customer specifications
• Previous experience in product design, development, and implementation
• Working knowledge of CNC machining processes
• Experience with ANSYS or similar simulation software
• Knowledge of DFM (Design for Manufacturability) principles
• Comfortable working in ambiguity when customer requirements aren't always fully specified
• Strong communicator who can explain technical trade-offs to both engineers and customers
• Must be able to travel up to 20% as required
• Detail-oriented, especially around documentation and test traceability
• Able to manage multiple projects at varying stages simultaneously
• Strong problem-solving abilities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team environment

Preferred Skills

• Previous experience in plastics, product design, development, and implementation
• Familiarity with compression molding and high-performance polymer and compounds
• Experience with SolidWorks or similar 3D solid modeling
• Advanced presentation skills
• Familiarity with Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing
• Familiarity with physical, thermal, and mechanical tests (dimensional inspection, specific gravity, tensile strength, TGA, and DSC, for example)
• Familiarity with ASTM standards

Physical Activities

• Continually required to stand or walk; use hands, speak, hear, and use basic office equipment
• Regularly required to reach with hands and arms
• Often required to sit
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision

Environmental Conditions

• Typically working in an office environment
• Occasionally in a manufacturing environment, traveling, or at a customer location subjected to fumes or airborne particles
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate