Product Design Engineer

Full Time (On-Site, No Remote)

New York Mills, NY

The Fountainhead Group is looking for a self-motivated Product Design Engineer to join our FGI Family and support our growing Engineering Department. Our products include manually-powered and lithium-ion battery powered Sprayers for the consumer lawn & garden industry and professional landscaping industry. Our Engineering Department takes a team approach to product development by working in cross-functional groups to generate, identify, and implement the best ideas into our products.

About Us:

The Fountainhead Group (FGI) is a family-owned and operated company, dedicated to the success and longevity of our business, our employees, and our community. For more than 130 years, FGI has been creating, innovating, and manufacturing liquid sprayer products for the world's top brands and retailers. From the first compressed air sprayer in 1888, we have dedicated ourselves to creating products that make our customer’s lives easier, expanding our offering to include the highest quality sprayer technology for both home and professional use.

Across four manufacturing and distribution centers in Central New York, we’re committed to the betterment of our FGI Family of employees and our local community, supporting more than 350+ local nonprofits through our robust philanthropy and volunteer programs to ensure the success of our community for generations to come.

What You’ll Do:

The Product Design Engineer will work on cross-functional teams to design, develop, and test products for the consumer lawn and garden industry. They will support the team-design effort by using 3D CAD software extensively to design mostly plastic parts, and integrate them with electro-mechanical power systems. They will also troubleshoot designs, develop and execute tests of the design, and work with suppliers to ensure the parts are designed well for molding. Additional responsibilities may be required by the Design Engineering Supervisor.

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  Complete design assignments that range in size from small product improvements, through product line extensions, and up to major new products.
• Design components and assemblies using SolidWorks 3D CAD and PDM systems to create 3D models and 2D drawings. Most components are injection molded or blow molded plastics.
• Conduct regular design reviews on major projects with other engineers to collaborate in evaluating options, solving problems, and ensuring both product specifications and project goals are achieved.
• Develop product test plans and perform testing to verify product performance meets specifications, FGI quality standards, and customer requirements.
• Manage small projects including design, timeline, cost, and working with manufacturing or suppliers to develop needed tooling.
• 3D Print or purchase prototypes appropriate for testing.
• Create purchase requisitions for prototypes, materials, tooling, or equipment as needed to support projects.
• Utilize the Engineering Change Notice process to communicate engineering changes throughout the company.
• Work collaboratively with manufacturing or suppliers to ensure designs are optimized for manufacturability by evaluating requests for changes, understanding the effects on the design intent, and determining the best path forward.
• Identify possible opportunities to obtain patents to protect intellectual property developed by FGI.
• Investigate, research, test, and prove out design proposals for improvements to cost, performance, manufacturability, ease-of-use, customer value, etc.
• Participate in continuous improvement activities within the engineering department and with other departments.
• Provide Engineering support to Production Control, Manufacturing, QC, and Purchasing on disposition and corrective action for non-conforming material.
• Adhere to all department policies and procedures.
• Engineering tasks as assigned by the Design Engineering Supervisor to include but not limited to idea generation, problem solving, investigation, cost analysis, feasibility research, manufacturability research, detail design, design validation, manufacturing validation and support, QC support, documentation, cost reduction.

Who You Are:

• 4-year engineering degree in Mechanical or Plastics Engineering from an accredited college or university.
• 3+ years of experience in an engineering position at a manufacturing facility.
• 2+ years of experience in a product development engineering role.
• 2+ years of experience with 3D CAD software (SolidWorks preferred).
• Ability to work within a team to collaboratively design and test products.
• Ability to work independently on specific assignments related to the design and testing of products.
• Detailed knowledge of engineering drawings, including ability to understand, create, revise, and check.
• Ability to communicate directly with manufacturing and suppliers.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and design for manufacturability, particularly injection molding and associated component design requirements.
• Ability to do some limited travel to domestic suppliers or trade shows.
• Experience with MS Office Products – Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience designing parts for injection molding.
• 3+ years of design engineering experience with hand-held power tools.
• Ability to perform complex CAD surface modeling.
• Ability to perform Finite Element Analysis and Mold Flow Analysis.
• Ability to review and critique injection molding tool designs.
• Experience working with Product Data Management software for CAD file management.
• Detailed understanding of Fluid Mechanics.
• Detailed understanding of Lithium-Ion Battery systems.
• Detailed understanding of DC electric motors and pumps.
• Experience working with and traveling to domestic suppliers.

The Fountainhead Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer (AAE/EEO) and ranked one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State by the Society for Human Resource Management. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, refugee or disability status. With over 12 languages spoken at FGI, regardless of language ability, education, or training, there is a place for you within the FGI Family!

To learn more about our company culture and commitment to the local community, visit the “Community” page of our website and be sure to follow our Facebook account for exciting updates and events!

www.thefountainheadgroup.com/community

www.facebook.com/thefountainheadgroup