Principal R&D/Product Development Engineer (Remote)

For more than 80 years, our client’s engineers and product specialists have partnered with customers to produce highly engineered connectivity and sensing solutions that make a connected world possible. Their focus on reliability, durability, and sustainability exemplifies their commitment to progress. The unmatched range of their product portfolio enables companies, large and small, to turn ideas into technology that can transform how the world works and lives tomorrow.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of sockets, high-speed connectors, and cable assemblies from market definition to production release.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (sales, applications, field engineers, project managers) to translate Voice of Customer (VOC) into technical concepts and specifications.
• Conduct feasibility studies and generate design concepts.
• Perform mechanical and thermal simulations.
• Present design evaluations and proposals to customers.
• Create detailed 2D/3D designs, DFMEA, and tolerance analyses.
• Build and validate prototype samples.
• Finalize product qualification and specifications.
• Provide ongoing technical support to Operations, Quality, and Production teams.
• Manage Engineering Change Notifications (ECN) and Product Change Notifications (PCN).
• Maintain system-level understanding of customer applications and integrate solutions into the design process.
• Drive projects through the LEANPD stage-gate process to ensure timely delivery of high-quality, cost-effective solutions.
• Coordinate with manufacturing, procurement, and external suppliers to align with technical, quality, and cost targets.
• Generate and manage all necessary technical documentation including design drawings, engineering changes, and design history files.
• Support post-launch activities and continuous improvement initiatives.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent work experience.
• 10+ years of relevant mechanical engineering experience involving:
• Electrical components and devices.
• Mechanical structure design.
• Manufacturing tooling development (stamping, molding, assembly, plating).
• Manufacturing process development.

Strong knowledge in:

• Socket, connector, and cable assembly design.
• Material selection.
• Tolerance analysis.
• DFMEA.
• Product qualification.

Expertise in 3D CAD applications (preferably Creo), including:

• 3D solid modeling (sheet metal).
• 2D drawings.
• PDM Link Data Manager.
• General understanding of SpaceClaim, SolidWorks, or other conceptual design tools.

Advanced proficiency in:

• Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Limit and fit analysis including statistical tolerance analysis.
• Finite element analysis tools (e.g., Ansys, Workbench) for elastic and plastic behavior of metals.

Proven ability to:

• Develop and write design objectives and technical product specifications.
• Lead product development from concept to production.
• Provide technical leadership across the full product lifecycle.

In-depth knowledge of manufacturing processes:

• Machining, molding, stamping, plating, assembly.
• Best practices in Design for Manufacturing (DFM).
• Solid understanding of competitive product landscape and intellectual property considerations.
• Fluent in English (verbal and written) to support global communication.
• Comfortable working in a global, cross-functional team and across time zones.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; able to make data-driven decisions with minimal supervision.
• Proficient in MS Office tools: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, etc.