Lead Product Line Support Engineer - Research & Development Engineering

What you’ll do:

Job Summary    
The Lead Product Line Support Engineer is responsible for providing sustaining engineering, Design and Release, and Product Line Support (PLS) for Industrial Control products, including Push Buttons, Selector Switches, Contactors, Starters, Overloads, Variable Frequency Drives, and Reduced Voltage Soft Starters. The position supports the full product lifecycle through new product introduction (NPI), line extensions, engineering changes, VAVE/Cost Out, product enhancements, component and material changes, obsolescence management, and product stewardship activities.

The role provides technical ownership and engineering support for assigned product lines, including technical problem solving, root-cause investigations, design changes, product configuration and documentation, verification and validation, manufacturing support, supplier and component changes, certification support, and product qualification to maintain product performance, reliability, manufacturability, regulatory compliance, and cost competitiveness.

The Product Line Support Engineer collaborates closely with ICD Design Centers, Plant Operations, Quality, Product Line Marketing, VAVE Engineering, Supply Chain, Test Engineering, laboratories, suppliers, and other cross-functional teams to resolve product, manufacturing, supplier, and customer issues and to develop, validate, and release technically sound product improvements throughout the product lifecycle.

Job Responsibilities:    

1. Provide engineering lead support for new and existing products throughout the product lifecycle, ensuring product designs meet application, performance, manufacturing, quality, cost, reliability, and customer requirements for Industrial Control products, including Push Buttons, Selector Switches, Contactors, Starters, Overloads, Variable Frequency Drives, and Reduced Voltage Soft Starters.
2. Evaluate, develop, and implement product and design changes to improve manufacturability, reduce cost, enable material or component substitutions, improve quality and reliability, and address customer or product line needs.
3. Provide Product Line Lead Support (PLS) for assigned products throughout their lifecycle, including troubleshooting product issues, implementing design improvements, supporting manufacturing, and maintaining product technical integrity.
4. Create, maintain, and release product technical documentation, including drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), specifications, engineering changes, product configurations, and other design records using applicable engineering and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
5. Perform or coordinate engineering analysis, calculations, simulations, design reviews, and technical assessments, as applicable, to validate design changes, reduce technical risk, and ensure product performance and robustness.
6. Lead or support engineering investigations and root-cause analysis of product, manufacturing, supplier, quality, and customer issues, and develop and implement validated corrective design solutions.
7. Develop and execute Design Verification Plans and Reports (DVP&R) and coordinate reliability, performance, environmental, and product integrity testing with internal and external laboratories to validate product changes and new product introductions.
8. Support Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VAVE) and Cost Out initiatives by identifying, evaluating, and validating design, material, component, supplier, and manufacturing opportunities while maintaining product performance, reliability, safety, and compliance.
9. Manage product deviations, engineering changes, and product configuration updates for assigned product lines, ensuring technical documentation, requirements, and released product definitions remain accurate and aligned.
10. Support product certification and regulatory compliance activities, including design reviews, testing, technical documentation, and product updates required by applicable standards and regulatory agencies such as UL, CSA, IEC, RoHS, REACH, and other relevant requirements.
11. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and internal/external customers, including manufacturing, quality, sourcing, suppliers, product management, test engineering, laboratories, and customers, to support product changes, line extensions, sustaining engineering activities, and resolution of product issues.
12. Support Design and Release activities by assessing technical requirements, coordinating design changes, completing engineering reviews, ensuring design readiness, and driving changes through validation and release for production implementation.
13. Support supplier and component lifecycle activities, including qualification of alternate materials or components, supplier changes, component obsolescence, and product updates required to maintain continuity of supply.
14. Provide technical support for manufacturing and field issues, using engineering data, test results, product requirements, and lessons learned to improve product quality, reliability, and maintainability. #LI-DG2

Qualifications:

Education level required    

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronic, Mechanical, Electronic,  Electromechanical Engineering, or similar engineering careers.

Years and area of experience required    

• Minimum experience of 5 - 7 years in similar positions.

Technical knowledge   

 - Bilingual: English/Spanish.
 - CAD/SolidWorks/CREO modeling experience and the ability to develop 2D drawings and assembly documentation including design intent, Minitab, MS Office, Altium Designer, AutoCAD or equivalent (and drawing interpretation skills)
- Materials knowledge with emphasis on plastic injection molding and metal stamping.
 - Knowledge in mechanical simulation using Ansys, Creo, SolidWorks or equivalent software or Electrical simulation with LTSpice
 - PLM Systems knowledge such as Enovia and production environment system knowledge such as Mapics/AS400.
 - Yellow Belt - Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) or in DMAIC Lean Six Sigma Certified (preferred)
 - Knowledge in Minitab or other SPC (Statistical Process Control) tools, 6 Sigma and ISO9001.

Skills:

Soft skills   

Think Big: Demonstrates curiosity and learning agility, challenges conventional approaches, uses data and engineering judgment to solve problems, and connects technical decisions to customer, product, and business outcomes.

Act Boldly: Takes ownership and accountability for assigned responsibilities, prioritizes what matters most, makes timely decisions using available information, proactively raises technical risks and issues, adapts to change, and maintains high standards of safety, quality, integrity, and execution.

Win Together: Collaborates effectively across functions, locations, and technical disciplines; communicates openly and respectfully; values different perspectives; builds trust; shares accountability; and works across organizational boundaries to achieve common product and business objectives.

Demonstrates effective written and verbal communication, structured problem-solving, adaptability, initiative, customer focus, and the ability to manage multiple engineering priorities.

Demonstrates a continuous-learning and digital mindset, with willingness to develop technical knowledge across different products, technologies, engineering disciplines, and systems.