Development Engineer

Role Purpose

Equipment Development and Design Engineer responsible for working within multi-disciplinary teams to design new process equipment/machines and associated controls for improved manufacturing capability for new or existing products or reduced cost of optical fiber.  Scope May include the following:

• Receiving process or equipment requirements from R&D and developing new equipment capability from concept to prototype to manufacturing demonstration.
• Adapting existing manufacturing equipment to; improve manufacturing capability, enable use for new or alternate products, and/or scale-up for increased manufacturing capacity or lower cost.
• Expectation is to utilize fundamental engineering principles to define and execute testing protocols or experiments to validate equipment capability.  Expectation to further engage subject matter expertise and engineering resources as needed for modeling and equipment testing to guide and validate designs, Product and Quality Engineering for process and machine qualification, and Manufacturing groups to ensure requirements of safety, operations, and maintenance are met.
• Team work to accomplish objectives can be either via functional or matrix leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Use established processes to identify concepts for manufacturing equipment; and design, build and test selected concepts as an individual and within teams, evaluate and enhance prototype designs to continuously operate in a Production environment with minimal maintenance requirements, support transfer to Deployment and Production receivers.
• Designing and executing equipment validation test in a manufacturing plant; analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations
• Use the Scientific Method to drive for fundamental understanding.
• Participating on cross functional teams, from concept, design, prototype, to Manufacturing.
• Effectively document, and communicate results within team and to upper management.
• Evaluate Cost vs Benefits behind equipment designs and manufacturing impact. 

Travel Requirements/Work Hours

• <5% domestic and international possible
• 40+ hours per week, primarily 8AM to 5PM schedule with flexibility based upon personal preference and project need.  The position is overtime exempt.  Overtime is not uncommon and is indeed expected at times, however the amount and duration will vary as a function of the job position, particular project, and point in the project life cycle.
• Wilmington, NC

• <5% domestic and international possible
• 40+ hours per week, primarily 8AM to 5PM schedule with flexibility based upon personal preference and project need.  The position is overtime exempt.  Overtime is not uncommon and is indeed expected at times, however the amount and duration will vary as a function of the job position, particular project, and point in the project life cycle.
• Wilmington, NC

Experiences/Education - Required

• B.S. degree in technical/engineering (mechanical, physics) field;  0-3 yrs. work experience preferred
• Working knowledge of physical phenomena (static and dynamic physics, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, etc.) with a strong background in machine design 
• The ability to work with other engineering disciplines (Chemical, Electrical, Materials) to create prototype and industrial process equipment design solutions
• Knowledge/experience in materials processing equipment
• Demonstrated problem solving skills
• Ability to design and carry out experiments
• Proficient in the use of MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Sound understanding of material properties and capabilities for use in machine design
• Possess strong work ethic and attention to detail with excellent organizational skill

Desired Skills

• Knowledge of fiber optics and materials based glassmaking.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Proficient in AutoDesk Inventor 3-D CAD
• Machine controls knowledge/experience (PLC programming, motion control

Soft Skills

• Ability to work within a team environment
• Ability to work interactively on cross functional teams with ties to Research and Early Stage Development and Manufacturing.
• Able to identify long term needs/goals and determine short term objectives to achieve them
• Ability to work independently
• Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written)