Product Development Engineer - Refrigeration

About the Role

The Product Development Engineer is responsible for the design, development, validation, and continuous improvement of refrigeration equipment and associated products for residential and light commercial applications. This role leads all facets of product development, including refrigeration system architecture, component selection, performance optimization, design for regulatory compliance, prototype development, and product validation activities from concept through production launch.

Responsibilities

• Functions as a valued team player, collaborating with managers and cross-functional teams to document engineering requirements.
• Assists or leads the conversion of product and business requirements into design concepts, determining appropriate materials, components, systems, and process methods.
• Selects and specifies refrigeration components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expansion devices, fans, motors, controls, sensors, wiring, and refrigeration piping.
• Creates and validates thermodynamic and heat transfer models to analyze system performance, efficiency, capacity, and operating characteristics.
• Performs refrigeration cycle analysis and system optimization to achieve performance, energy efficiency, reliability, and cost objectives.
• Ensures products comply with regulatory and certification requirements (UL, NSF, DOE, Energy Star, CSA, ETL).
• Conducts design reviews, DFMEA activities, tolerance analyses, and risk assessments.
• Creates test plans and product test requests for internal or external laboratories.
• Performs data analysis of test results and provides technical support to laboratory technicians.
• Creates and maintains engineering specifications to define company best practices.
• Prepares or coordinates 3D models and engineering drawings in SolidWorks.
• Assists in developing and communicating conceptual ideas to internal teams and suppliers.
• Leads product teardowns, analysis, and reporting on competitive designs.
• Supports engineering analysis using multi-physics modeling, digital prototyping (FEA, CFD), and rapid prototyping methods.
• Develops performance standards and tests to identify and correct product weaknesses.
• Defines and develops prototypes to validate engineering predictions or demonstrate new features.
• Performs root cause analysis using systematic problem-solving techniques (DMAIC, PDCA, A3, 8D).
• Participates in or leads project team meetings and design reviews.
• Keeps leadership informed of work progress and issues.
• Travels to suppliers, partners, and manufacturing plants as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Refrigeration Engineering, HVAC Engineering, or related field.
• Two+ years of product development experience in fractional horsepower vapor compression refrigeration equipment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Resiliency and passion for problem-solving.
• U.S. work authorization.
• Experience with sheet metal fabrication, castings, machining, metal joining, plastics, and factory assembly methods.
• Experience with electro-mechanical components and sub-systems.
• Proficiency in CAD, PDM, and ERP systems.
• Knowledge of third-party certification processes (UL, NSF).

Physical Demands

Daily work may include sitting, bending, standing, crouching, reaching, and lifting up to 25 lbs. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.