Lead/ Principle Engineer - Plastic Manufacturing

Lead / Principal Engineer

Location: Midwest USA (Relocation Available)

Type: Full-Time

Overview

A leading consumer products organization is seeking a Lead / Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership across the development of highly engineered, safety-critical products for the North American market.

This individual will play a key role in advancing product architecture, validation capability, engineering rigor, and innovation initiatives within a highly regulated environment. The position requires a hands-on technical leader capable of guiding complex product development efforts from concept through launch while driving engineering excellence across cross-functional teams.

This is an opportunity to influence next-generation product platforms while helping shape long-term engineering strategy, product integrity standards, and advanced development methodologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Product Development
• Lead technical development activities for complex mechanical consumer products within a regulated environment
• Drive engineering excellence across product architecture, performance, manufacturability, reliability, craftsmanship, and cost optimization
• Support full product lifecycle activities including concept development, prototyping, validation, launch, and continuous improvement
• Guide engineering teams in the use of advanced development tools and methodologies including GD&T, DVP&R, DFMEA/FMEA, tolerance analysis, and simulation techniques
• Develop scalable product architectures and standardized engineering approaches to improve performance consistency and development efficiency
• Troubleshoot complex technical and validation-related issues using structured problem-solving methodologies
• Analyze dynamic product performance and investigate root causes related to testing outcomes and product integrity
• Partner cross-functionally with Product Development, Quality, Manufacturing, Testing, and Leadership teams to meet program objectives related to cost, timing, quality, and performance

Innovation & Strategy

• Contribute to long-term product innovation and technology roadmap initiatives
• Support advanced development efforts focused on improving speed-to-market and product competitiveness
• Incorporate consumer usability and voice-of-customer considerations into engineering solutions
• Help identify opportunities related to intellectual property, technical differentiation, and platform expansion
• Foster a culture centered around ownership, accountability, learning, and continuous improvement

Experience

• 10+ years of technical product development experience within a highly regulated industry
• Prior experience in automotive safety, transportation systems, durable consumer products, medical devices, aerospace, or similar engineering environments strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success leading complex engineering programs and technical teams
• Strong understanding of product validation, testing, and structured problem solving
• Experience with formal methodologies such as 8D, 5 Why, Six Sigma, DFMEA, and DVP&R
• Hands-on experience with 3D CAD systems (SolidWorks preferred)
• Understanding of global and regional regulatory considerations related to safety-critical product development
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing and quality functions preferred
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field required
• Master's degree preferred