Laser Product Engineer

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:  

• Support of NPI projects as they move through the development cycle.  The goal is to ensure a smooth transition from R&D to production.  Once the product is released, the product engineer is the primary engineering support for the product.  Part of the involvement with the NPI process is to come to the level of understanding to provide this later level of support.
• Provide guidance to customers on product function and performance.  The product engineer also should be able to provide design guidelines to support customer system development.
• Be an expert on the optical, mechanical, electrical, thermal and software interfaces that define our laser systems.
• Collaborate with a larger team of optical, electronic, software, reliability, applications, marketing and research professionals to tackle cross-functional challenges.
• Provide the first level of engineering response to production issues, in collaboration with the manufacturing engineering staff.  Provide problem solving support based on knowledge of the various subsystems and the design approach of the system.  The product line meeting will be a primary source of these issues and how they will be addressed.
• Support product line team as engineering member.  Coordinate all product-based engineering activities focused on the given product line. Process-based engineering activities may be performed in collaboration with manufacturing engineering. Must have strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated success working in a team environment.
• Identify opportunities and coordinate projects to improve product quality, reduce product cost, and to drive towards a reliable and lean manufacturing flow.
• Manage product changes utilizing PDM system (Agile). 
• Assess impact and coordinate response to material quality issues and material source of supply issues.

Education and Experience

Desired Qualifications

• M.S. degree and > 3 years of design and/or development engineering experience 
• CO2 laser experience. LabView Programming, and/or Basic CAD experience would all be a plus.

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. degree and > 5 years of design and/or development engineering experience 

Skills

• A well-rounded individual with hands-on experience in at least two of the four noted laser systems-related engineering disciplines – optical/laser systems, mechanical, electrical/electronic, controls & software.   The successful candidate will also demonstrate willingness and self-motivation to pursue and quickly expand knowledge within those fields where experience is lacking.
• Experience with automated instrumentation, laser measurement and alignment 
• Mind-set to constantly pursue the basic understanding or root cause of problems and to continually improve products and processes. 
• Proven problem-solving abilities, utilizing both creativity and fundamental analytical skills.
• Self-motivation and the ability to maintain effectiveness in working several complex tasks in parallel while bringing each to a thorough conclusion, in a timely manner. 
• Personal time management, project management, and organizational skills.  And the ability to create and clearly articulate work plans, schedules, and resource requirements. 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with perspective and comfort in dealing with the big picture and business view of both project and the relationship with others. 
• Ability to work on and complete multiple complex independent tasks in to mutually agreed upon schedules.             
• Ability to specify and check changes in a way that helps ensure mistakes are not carried over into the manufacturing environment. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of lean manufacturing and 6-Sigma principles desired
• Learns quickly and demonstrates aptitude for growth and development
• Responsive and reliable - Can be counted on by others.
• Identifies creative solutions/approaches to problems/projects.

Working Conditions

• Office environment and work in a laboratory are expected