Product Engineer III

Job Description

As a Product Engineer III at AeroVironment, one sustains engineering support for UAV systems for military and commercial applications. Includes design modifications of structural components, electro-mechanical assemblies, payloads, ground equipment, launching systems, flight control actuators, prototype hardware development, performing design verification testing, and configuration management of products.

• Developing & maintaining manufacturing drawings and bills of materials for components and assemblies using industry drafting standards
• Supporting design reviews
• Aiding project managers with the planning and scheduling of engineering work
• Supporting manufacturing & suppliers with the production of mechanical components & assemblies
• Capturing and managing product line configuration and change orders in Agile PLM system
• Understanding product design and features, being familiar with the manufacturing process
• Understanding customer performance and configuration requirements for product
• Acting as a technical point of contact for ongoing support and change initiation, including managing manufacturing and customer issues escalated to engineering
• Assisting in proposal & report writing, review of contracts for production orders
• Helping coordinate the transition for new products and product variants into production
• Coordinating the release and update of engineering design documentation, operator manuals, bill of materials, manufacturing procedures, product acceptance test procedures, and production tooling and test equipment
• Coordinating development, testing and release of product improvements and variants in cooperation with product line manager, design engineers and project managers
• Providing component obsolescence management for the product line
• Supporting customer support for failure analysis, field bulletin technical content, general product information
• Working with suppliers, purchasing and planning to ensure resolution of technical issues that impact production
• Other duties as assigned

Position Responsibilities

• Sustains engineering support related to a product line
• Manages product line configuration and change orders in Agile PLM system
• Understands product design and features, be familiar with the manufacturing process
• Understands customer performance and configuration requirements for product
• Acts as a technical point of contact for ongoing support and change initiation, including managing manufacturing and customer issues escalated to engineering
• Supports proposal & report writing, review of contracts for production orders
• Assists in coordinating the transition for new products and product variants into production
• Coordinates the release and update of engineering design documentation, operator manuals, bill of materials, manufacturing procedures, product acceptance test procedures, and production tooling and test equipment
• Coordinating development, testing and release of product improvements and variants in cooperation with product line manager, design engineers and project managers
• Provides component obsolescence management for the product line
• Supports customer support for failure analysis, field bulletin technical content, general product information
• Works with suppliers, purchasing and planning to ensure resolution of technical issues that impact production
• Other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field of study is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• Leverage Lean Six Sigma experience or Green Belt certification
• Have 5 - 8 years of related experience in a similar role, including experience in an engineering design environment, including support of products in production
• Experience with unmanned air vehicles a plus; RF, digital, and communications electronics design
• Electronics manufacturing troubleshooting PCB layout, schematics and assembly's Design/drafting/CAD (Altium), including ASME Y14 drawing standards
• Strong understanding of configuration management principles
• Strong understanding of general Engineering fundamentals, mathematics, physics, material properties, electronics, systems, software
• Demonstrated understanding of requirements for building of production assemblies, including documentation for use on production floor
• Demonstrated ability to integrate across technical disciplines and organizations, including program management, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, suppliers and customers
• Experienced and proficient with office software and computer based productivity tools

Desirable Experience or Attributes

• Agile PLM data management system product configuration management standards (MIL-HDBK-61A, EIA-649-B)
• Demonstrates competency in solving basic structural dynamics problems
• Works on problems of diverse scope where analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors
• Solves a wide range of issues in creative ways
• Selects methods and techniques for obtaining solutions while utilizing good judgment
• Contributes to meeting project cost and schedule
• Completes tasks within schedule and budget
• Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives
• Committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company
• Consistently demonstrates teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests