Product Development Engineer

Join our dynamic team in Salisbury, NC, as a Product Development Engineer, where you'll lead innovative product development engineering projects to bring new technologies and products to market. Your passion for nurturing new ideas and products will be key to thriving in this role. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and engage directly with leadership to foster strong partnerships and deliver exceptional results. Be the change agent in our pursuit of excellence!

*Must be currently residing in or near Salisbury, NC or willing to relocate to the area.

*Must be willing to travel up to 10% to support other Westlake sites.

Duties and Responsibilities

May include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Interface with internal and external customers and stakeholders to strategically plan and develop new products, ensuring alignment with market needs and Westlake's competitive goals in the fiber cement/engineered wood building materials market.
• Develop collaborative relationships with suppliers to stay abreast of new machinery and raw materials that can enhance product offerings.
• Engage with cross-functional leadership and learn from experienced, data-driven experts to develop sound science-based principles for product innovation.
• Lead the creation and testing of new products by utilizing lab equipment and coordinating trials on pilot and production extrusion equipment to address a variety of production-related issues and improve product performance.
• Improve cost efficiency and reduce scrap during the product development phase, ensuring that all improvements are backed by rigorous data collection and analysis.
• Analyze data using statistical software and communicate results in easy-to-understand formats to cross-functional teams, aiding the decision-making process.
• Utilize state-of-the-art CAD tools to design new product profiles and extrusion processes, adhering to drafting and specification standards to ensure production-ready documentation and robust manufacturing processes.
• Partner with sales, marketing, and manufacturing teams to leverage gated processes effectively, transitioning new concepts and products from ideation to market readiness.
• Attend trade shows, classes, and training seminars to keep skills up-to-date, learn about new equipment, products, and processes related to the industry, and support the launch of new products into the market.
• Assist in capital equipment budget planning and specifying to refine production techniques for new product launches and production methods.

Education, Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from ABET accredited university in Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Plastics Engineering.
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of functional and HANDS-ON product design and development experience with demonstrated expertise in bringing new products from concept to commercialization.
• Knowledge of the manufacture, testing, analysis and application of Polymer chemistry.
• Six sigma green/black belt and knowledge of DOE, DMAIC, Fishbone, 5-Why, FMEA, statistical analysis, etc. is preferred.
• Effectively communicate with all levels of employment both verbally and in writing.  Exceptional interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build collaborative working relationships across a diverse organization are critical to success in this role.

Required Skills

• Must demonstrate exceptional collaborative problem-solving capabilities.
• Proven ability to make team-based, data-driven decisions for product and process optimization.
• A solid understanding of our products.
• Skilled in executing test trials, collecting data, establishing facts, and drawing valid conclusions.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in managing complex technical projects with significant operational impact with the ability to organize tasks and people effectively
• Strong communication skills at all levels to build consensus across diverse technical and operational teams.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to touch, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.  May require travel up to 10% of the time.  Incumbent must be able to travel.

Work Environment

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate in the office.  The position requires the incumbent travel to the various manufacturing facilities as much as 10% of the time.  The work environment at the facilities can include excessive noise levels, exposure to weather elements, working around or adjacent to moving and mobile equipment and climbing ladders.  Appropriate personal protective equipment including hearing protection, steel toe shoes, safety glasses and/or hard hats may be required while working in a facility.