Product Systems Design Engineer

Job Summary:

This entry level/early career professional, product focused postion applies knowledge of engineering principles and design practices to create optimized design concepts and mechanical design specifications considering application, cost, weight, performance, reliability, durability, manufacturing, assembly, and serviceability. This role effectively communicates the capability of a design concept to meet cross-functional requirements including assessment of alternative and competitive design concepts, and works effectively across cross-functional disciplines to develop corporate and customer requirements including those required to resolve product issues.

Key Responsibilities:

Investigates Value Package Introduction (VPI) program team or field-based issues, understands causal mechanisms, recommends appropriate action, owns problem resolution from a design perspective, while documenting results with guidance from more experienced team members. Applies and supports the execution of processes such as Critical Design Decisions, System Design and Validation Consideration Checklist, Design Review, and tools such as iDFMEA, DVA, GD&T, CREO, ANSYS Workbench required to enable high quality component and subsystem-level design decision making and design refinement. Obtains input and negotiates with cross-functional and cross-discipline technical experts and senior-level designers to communicate the component and subsystem design intent through a thorough Design Review package to the Product Preceding Technology, (PPT), Value Package Introduction (VPI), or Value Package Change Request (VPCR) team requiring a such holistic assessment of various design concepts. Supports design decision making in the areas of concept selection, concept optimization, and design specifications that impact customers targeted to be served by a given Product Preceding Technology, (PPT), Value Package Introduction (VPI), or Value Package Change Request (VPCR) initiative. Owns problem resolution for moderately complex components, products, systems, subsystems or services with technical complexity and ambiguity increasing as experience is gained in the role. Provides independent execution of established work processes and systems, while still developing technology or product knowledge; engages with the improvement of systems and processes. Involves minimal direct management of people, but could involve the coordination and direction of work amongst technicians and/or temporary student employees. Contributes effectively toward team goals, exhibits influence within a work group and continues to develop proficiency in the competency areas critical to success in the role.

Skills & Experience

Required Skills

• 2–5 years of experience in mechanical design engineering.
• Proficiency in Creo for:
  • 3D Part Modeling
  • Surface Modeling
  • Sheet Metal Design
  • 2D Drawing Creation
• Experience designing forged, cast, and sheet metal components.
• Strong understanding of GD&T and engineering drawing standards.
• Knowledge of tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Exposure to DFMEA and product failure mode avoidance methodologies.
• Basic engineering calculation skills.
• Understanding of engineering change management (ECR/ECN).
• Experience using Windchill PLM or similar Product Lifecycle Management systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred Skills

• Knowledge of VPI, PPT, and VPCR product development processes.
• Exposure to VAVE (Value Analysis/Value Engineering) initiatives.
• Understanding of product configuration and lifecycle management.
• Familiarity with Design Verification and Validation activities.
• Exposure to tolerance analysis and simulation tools.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes for castings, forgings, and sheet metal components.
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and customer interactions.

Competencies:
Cross-Functional Design Integration - Translates the value package requirements that include the voices of many stakeholders into virtual designs, and communicates the capability of the design through an approved cross-functional design review.

Mechanical Design Modeling and Analysis - Creates Computer Aided Design models in accordance with Cummins' standards to represent architectural or product level system design concepts, and to enable completion of various system-level computer analyses such as Dimensional Variation Analysis and Finite Element Analysis.

Mechanical Design of Mechanical Systems - Acquires and applies an in-depth understanding of mechanical systems through working knowledge that guides a designer’s ability to create innovative and sound design concepts to meet Cummins and customer expectations; designs for requirements of all lifecycle stages by considering the customer requirements in different operating environments to ensure a robust system.

Mechanical Design Specification - Creates complete specifications in the form of solid models, configured engineering bill of materials and detailed drawings that cross-functionally communicate the information required to manufacture and inspect a product per its design intent; considers national, international, industry, and Cummins’ standards that accurately and concisely define the part specification.

Product Function Modeling, Simulation and Analysis - Impacts product design decisions through the utilization and/or interpretation of computational tools and methods that predict the capability of a product's function relative to its system, sub-system and/or component level requirements.

Product Platform Planning and Architecting - Creates and develops a holistic product platform including key architectural feature and function variants needed to align with market level product plans of future target markets; generates alternative architectures traceable to the requirements and performs trade-off analysis in collaboration with life-cycle stakeholders to ensure a balanced and optimum platform; communicates and maintains traceable information and plans executed by product development teams.

Product Problem Solving - Solves product problems using a process that protects the customer; determines the assignable cause; implements robust, data-based solutions; and identifies the systemic root causes and recommended actions to prevent problem reoccurrence.

System Requirements Engineering  - Uses appropriate methods and tools to translate stakeholder needs into verifiable requirements to which designs are developed; establishes acceptance criteria for the system of interest through analysis, allocation and negotiation; tracks the status of requirements throughout the system lifecycle; assesses the impact of changes to system requirements on project scope, schedule, and resources; creates and maintains information linkages to related artifacts.

Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.

Communicates effectively - Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.

Decision quality - Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.

Drives results - Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.

Self-development - Actively seeking new ways to grow and be challenged using both formal and informal development channels.

Values differences - Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.

Product Failure Mode Avoidance - Mitigates potential product failure modes, by identifying interfaces, functions, functional requirements, interactions, control factors, noise factors, and prioritized potential failure modes and potential failure causes for the system of interest to effectively and efficiently improve the reliability of Cummins’ products.

Product Configuration and Change Management - Establishes a baseline of identified product artifacts to be placed under configuration management; releases, tracks, controls and communicates changes from concept to obsolescence often through work requests; establishes and maintains the integrity of the product artifact baselines.

Systems Thinking - Defines the system of interest by drawing the boundaries, identifying its context within its environment, its interfaces, and that it has a lifecycle to aid in planning the problem statement, scope and deliverables ; analyzes linkages and interactions between elements that comprise the system of interest by using appropriate methods, models and integration of outcomes to understand the system, predict its behavior and devise modifications to it in order to produce the desired effects.

Technical Documentation - Documents information based on knowledge gained as part of technical function activities; communicates to stakeholders with the goal of enabling improved technical productivity and effective knowledge transfer to others who were not originally part of the initial learning.

Product Development Execution, Monitoring and Control - Plans, schedules, coordinates and executes the activities involved in developing a product to a respectively aligned hierarchy of requirements and technical profiles; monitors and communicates across functional boundaries to meet project resource and quality expectations; ensures product capability meets or exceeds expectations and takes mitigating actions when project risks are higher than expected; understands the full product life cycle process and stakeholders.

Education, Licenses, Certifications:
Bachelor's degree in an appropriate STEM field, or equivalent experience, is required.

This position may require licensing for compliance with export controls or sanctions regulations.

Experience:
Entry level/Early career professional. Preferred candidates would have relevant experience working in either a temporary student employment environment (intern, co-op, or other extracurricular team activities) or as an early career professional in a relevant technical discipline area. Knowledge of MS Office and CREO tools is also preferred