Senior Development Scientist

Role Purpose

Leads the mechanical design and analysis of forming equipment, tooling, fixtures, and prototype systems used in fiber draw and precision forming applications, within the Forming Equipment Technology team in Materials Forming Technology. Provides technical leadership for glass-related equipment projects, owning solutions from requirements and concept selection through detailed design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning, in partnership with research, development, engineering, and manufacturing.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical design of forming equipment, tooling, fixtures, and prototype systems using SolidWorks or comparable 3D CAD software
• Independently own complete equipment and subsystem designs, including requirements definition, concept development, technical trade-offs, detailed design, and validation
• Perform and review tolerance stack-ups, machine design calculations, and stress and deflection calculations; develop and interpret FEA models to verify results and guide design optimization
• Create and review production-quality part drawings, assembly drawings, bills of material, and documentation for fabrication, procurement, assembly, and installation
• Lead mechanical design reviews to ensure designs meet functional, safety, reliability, manufacturability, maintainability, and cost requirements
• Work with process, controls, fabrication, and operations teams and fabrication vendors to define system requirements and integrate designs into complete equipment solutions
• Provide engineering support through equipment build, installation, startup, debug, commissioning, and validation, resolving complex design-related issues
• Document and communicate design decisions, calculations, test plans, validation results, and technical learnings

Experiences/Education - Required

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline with 5+ years of relevant experience, or MS with 3+ years of relevant experience
• Advanced mechanical design capability using SolidWorks or comparable 3D CAD software
• Demonstrated experience developing and reviewing production-quality part drawings, assembly drawings, bills of material, and design documentation suitable for fabrication, procurement, assembly, and installation
• Demonstrated ability to perform and review tolerance stack-ups, machine design calculations, and stress and deflection calculations, with experience developing and interpreting FEA models
• Strong understanding of mechanical design fundamentals, including materials, fits, fasteners, mechanisms, structural components, and common fabrication methods
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop and own complete equipment or mechanical subsystem designs from requirements through validation
• Experience leading design reviews, evaluating technical trade-offs, and resolving complex design or equipment problems using engineering fundamentals, modeling, and data analysis
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional decisions in a matrixed environment
• Ability to travel up to 25% to local vendors and domestic or international manufacturing plants

Experiences/Education - Desired

• Prior forming, fiber, precision equipment, or other industrial machine design experience, including industrial automation or custom machine building, aerospace, automotive, or semiconductor
• Experience designing complete mechanical systems that incorporate mechanisms and machine components such as bearings, shafts, actuators, guides, fasteners, and structural frames
• Strong working knowledge of GD&T, design for manufacturability, and design for assembly, applied to production drawings
• Experience taking equipment, tooling, fixtures, or prototype systems for lab, pilot, or manufacturing environments through concept selection, drawing release, fabrication support, installation, and validation
• Experience mentoring other engineers or providing technical guidance on mechanical design practices
• Self-motivated, with the ability to clarify ambiguous requirements and manage multiple design efforts at once