Design Engineer - Fabricated Metal Solutions

Join our operations team where you will be influential in shaping our business strategy and ensuring we have the most effective operations. Be your own boss by creating your own career path and pushing your professional limits.

General Summary

The Design Engineer is responsible for designing and developing products and solutions within UFP Packaging's Metal Fabricated Solutions unit that meet customer's needs and specifications. These products include (but are not limited to) metal crating, material-handling and shipping racking, OEM parts, returnable crating, etc. to serve vast array of customers and industries. The Design Engineer will coordinate customer needs and expectations with sales strategy and manufacturing operations consistent with cost, profit, and productivity objectives. Will apply and expand knowledge of materials and processes such as steel tubing and other structural shapes, laser cutting, bending, forming, and welding to design products that will be manufactured by UFP and utilized by our customers in the field.

Works under general direction of the Packaging Design Manager; exercises discretion and judgment on work priority on a regular basis; and a wide degree of innovation, creativity, and analytical thinking is expected.

Position is Full-time, located in Newnan, GA.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Communicates with customers, vendors and various departments within the company to develop long-term working relationships.

• Leverages strong knowledge of UFP's products and manufacturing capabilities to identify, communicate, and develop solutions that solve problems for our customers. In many cases, works directly with our customer's engineering and purchasing teams to identify pain points and develop viable solutions.

• Based on customer needs, designs Metal Fabricated products suitable for the purpose intended. Offers alternative designs of existing products and alternate material solutions when applicable.

• Develops weldment drawings and specifications that meet customer requirements and ensure accurate production. These specifications are used in the manufacturing of our products.

• Utilizes Solid Modeling and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) or other computational analysis processes to develop, analyze, and optimize product designs. Understands and communicates these results with our customers and sales team.

• Develops bills of materials and costing of products using strong working knowledge of materials and production processes. Utilize design and production practices to optimize product cost to drive sales and margin growth.

• Monitors quality of designed products being produced to ensure they meet customer expectations while maintaining acceptable margins.

• Gains and leverages extensive knowledge of our target markets to offer innovative products and solutions that provide UFP a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

• Drive efficiency in product manufacturing through design methods and assist production team in efficiency initiatives where applicable

• Monitors the established efficiencies and quality standards for designed products and assists in corrective action as required.

• Develops source contacts and relationships for raw materials in cooperation with the Purchasing department.

• Prepares various reports as required.

• Performs other duties as required.

Job Specifications

Knowledge

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, other related field of study, or equivalent work experience is required.
• Working knowledge of Metal Fabricated Solutions Design, Engineering, and Manufacturing; 3 to 5+ years of experience in Metal Fab Design and Engineering is preferred.
• Working knowledge of steel types, grades, shapes, and properties, and the ability to select optimal materials for the intended usage when designing products.
• Working knowledge of fabrication and welding, and ability to determine and specify welds to use on various products (weldment drawings), optimized for the purpose intended
• Working knowledge of business math
• Proficiency in the use of MS Excel/spreadsheets is required
• Proficiency in solid modeling software (Inventor/Solidworks) and FEA is required.
• Preferred experience in a Metal Fabrication design or manufacturing environment

Skills and abilities

• Proficiency in the use of the English language in reading, writing and speaking.

• Ability to successfully interact with all organizational levels, customers, and the public.

• Ability to apply business math to sales and manufacturing processes.

• Ability to recognize value in various products and use them in manufacturing new products.

• Ability to design and create computer generated specifications for production and to use them in sales presentations.

• Ability to optimize designs based on customer needs, market knowledge, knowledge of UFP materials and manufacturing best-practices, and FEA computational analysis.

• Ability to physically make product prototypes based on design (should receive safety training related to the equipment and machine to be used in making product samples.)

• Requires superior analytical, problem solving and engineering skills/aptitude.

• Ability to review actual performance to plan, identify trends and implement profit generating solutions.

• Ability to manage several activities/projects at once, to organize and prioritize work, to meet deadlines, to prepare plans, goals and budgets.

• Ability to be mobile in the work environment, travel as required.

• Ability to use a computer, and proficiency in the use of MS Office

• Ability to pass a drug test

Conduct

• Self-starting and the ability to operate with limited supervision

• Highly motivated and enthusiastic

• Good interpersonal skills; a good listener and communicator

• Process oriented

• Eagerness to learn

• Be a team player and support the Company's goals