This is a 100% on-site Validation Engineer role for an established Consumer Goods company in Austin, TX. Salary range is $80,000-108,000 plus 15% bonus. Candidates must be fully authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.

The Product Validation Engineer plays a key role in the development of new products by owning the qualification of the designs to the required technical specifications of the product. This individual participates in the design process, partnering with Design Engineers to create Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), developing Design Validation Plans and Reports (DVP&R), Test Plans, and working with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Test Technicians, and Product Management to ensure that new products and sustaining programs are fully validated and ready for production.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the testing and validation of multiple projects at a time across many product categories.
• Creatively generate well-designed tests for unique products not defined by industry standards.
• Trial and benchmark new test ideas to determine potential effectiveness and consistency of results.
• Serves as a product validation expert on project core teams.
• Leverage advanced knowledge of mechanical design principles and troubleshooting techniques using a variety of lab instruments and/or shop equipment.
• Ability to convert customer use case to test protocol and requirements.
• Participate in the training and development of lab technicians and engineers on equipment and procedures as they’re developed and implemented.
• Oversee and be responsible for output of lab technician’s technical reporting.
• Design and construct custom electromechanical test equipment as required to run custom in-house developed or standardized testing.
• Interact with and audit 3rd party test labs and correlate supplier test results with our internal test lab results. (Will require domestic and international travel <5%)

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Material Science, Chemistry, or similar area of study.
• At least 4 years of design qualification experience, which includes establishing, testing, and evaluating product qualifications against specifications.
• Advanced knowledge of industry standards applicable to the design and test of products
• Strong technical background - heat transfer, impact, vibration, abrasion, environmental, life/cycle testing, material validation, and process validation.
• Root Cause Analysis experience in mixed material product assemblies.
• Background in Reliability Engineering and statistical analysis.
• Proven record of accomplishment in the design and build of test equipment to support thermal, mechanical, repetitive motion and/or other testing needs.
• Proficient with electronic and mechanical test equipment.
• Excellent social, interpersonal, and presentation/communication skills - ability to convey knowledge, skills, and results to NPD customers, lab engineers, technicians, and other applicable personnel.
• Technical writing skills a must.
• Proficient in reading and/or producing schematics and drawings, identifying components, and component values via CAD design tools (SolidWorks preferred).
• Electromechanical background in test fixture design and programming automation.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and similar products (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, etc.)

Desired experience

• Product Design experience
• FEA experience
• Experience with statical analysis software (JMP, Minitab)
• Injection molding, metal forming, and/or textiles experience
• Consumer product background a plus
• Regulatory compliance experience
• Color science experience a plus