Design Assurance Engineer

PURPOSE:

The Design Assurance Engineer contributes to product development by providing specific quality and test technical support.  

The Design Assurance Engineer:

• Provides recommendations for system improvements concentrating on new product development and manufacturing.
• Designs, documents, and implements test plans for developmental programs in accordance with customer, engineering and internal specification requirements.
• Implements new test equipment and procedures for test activities.
• Provides test engineering assistance to project/program managers. 

DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Be able to work independently by prioritizing daily work and do so in a professional manner.
• Provide independent “critical eye” analysis of engineering designs in the areas of product design (meeting customer’s requirements/needs), manufacturability, inspectability, reliability and safety.
• Review and interpret requirements, analyze obstacles, and determine best trade space to bound open-ended requirements.
• Provide leadership and guidance to Engineering, Quality, and Manufacturing teams to define test and inspection plans to verify and validate key product characteristics, process control parameters, and tooling in manufacturing.
• Develop and manage test plans and procedures for requirements verification and validation on new product development activities.
• Decompose customer-imposed acceptance requirements and correlate with product development strategies and stage gated review processes.
• In conjunction with Quality Engineering, ensure inspection instructions are fully developed and validated.
• Ensure first article inspections for production hardware are completed.
• Coordinate inspection / test requests for developmental items.
• Develop procedures, and determine measurement and test equipment requirements and availability, as required for the fabrication and testing of pre-production hardware. Teamed with the Manufacturing and Quality Departments, ensure procedures, and measurement and test equipment, for production hardware are fully developed and validated.
• Develop the quality requirements for prototype and pre-production hardware.
• The Design Assurance Engineer shall manage test activities. Specifically, the Design Assurance Engineer shall develop test plans/procedures, serve as the test manager/test engineer, and develop the test report(s).
• Develop acceptance test procedures as required for pre-production hardware and for production hardware.
• Address design assurance/quality issues and any related technical risks at the programmatic level.
• Evaluate design assurance/quality planning in the areas of inspections, testing, etc. of new designs.
• Understand the product design from a design assurance/quality standpoint (inspectability, adherence to customer performance, Statement of Work (SOW), and contractual requirements and internal quality requirements, product liability considerations, etc.), influence the capture of the design in the drawing structure, and approve the drawings.
• Teamed with the Quality Engineering Identify, acquire, and validate production inspection tooling, templates, gages, and fixtures.
• Teamed with the Quality Engineering identify appropriate in-process inspection/test points.
• Act as the key liaison between the Engineering and Quality Departments.
• Support the preparation and conduct of Design and Production Readiness Reviews.
• Completes other duties as directed by Management.
• Participate in and provide value-added contributions, objective input, and constructive conflict to all aspects of the design process; including trade studies, design reviews, and other project meetings.
• Provide support to the Manufacturing and Quality Departments to resolve in-house inspection problems and supplier issues relating to product performance and quality attainment.
• Assist with proposal development efforts for new Development projects and programs.
• Ensure product development is accomplished in accordance with company quality policies and procedures.
• Recommend appropriate product labeling for prototypes and non-qualified hardware that are delivered to a customer for their evaluation.
• Research test and inspection verification requirements for test articles and specify the appropriate test and inspection equipment for the Test Lab and for Quality Control
• Design test apparatus and fixtures
• Maintain existing test equipment
• Document new test equipment in QEPs or other Gentex procedures
• Help troubleshoot test lab equipment issues
• Provide training to test lab or QC personnel on new equipment
• Develop working relationship with third party test agencies.
• Ensure Gentex testing is aligned with third party test procedures, establish and conduct periodic lab to lab R&Rs.
• Create standardized test data and analysis reporting systems to communicate results to customers (internal & external) in a timely manner.
• Participate and assist Engineering with SRR and developing requirements matrix.

EDUCATION AND/OR PROFESSIONAL LICENSE(s):

The individual shall possess a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering or related field or a minimum of 4 years’ experience in one of the following areas; Quality Assurance, Quality Engineering, Test Verification, or Systems Engineering. An Associate in Science (AS) degree with 3-5 years equivalent experience would be considered. A Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification would be considered a benefit

EXPERIENCE: 

The individual shall possess 3-5 years of hands-on Quality, Test, or Systems Engineering experience in a product development environment. Experience with the development of new products, Design of Experiments (DOE) and/or other experimental methods, and project planning is required. Experience with Military Specifications, and ISO/AS quality management standards knowledge/experience is a plus. Membership in the American Society of Test Engineers (ASTE) and/or the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE) or similar organization is desired

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• The individual shall have excellent computer skills, including experience with common Microsoft Office software programs, Test Software such as MatLab or LabView, and data Analysis packages such as MiniTab and MathCAD
• The individual shall have technical competence and fluency in laboratory test methods.
• The individual shall understand project planning and scheduling, be detail oriented with solid organizational skills and possess excellent communication and presentation skills.
• The individual shall be self-motivated, results-oriented, be able to work without supervision, manage multiple projects, and produce consistent, accurate, timely work.
• The individual shall be able to read and understand Engineering drawings and have a basic understanding of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing.
• The individual shall be able to work in a fast-paced environment, have a strong analytical/problem solving skills, and strong interpersonal skills.

POSITION SUPERVISES: 

This is a non-supervisory position.

CONTACT WITH OTHERS: 

Internal: Interacts with all departments within the company on a daily basis 

External: Frequently communicates with others outside the company 

PHYSICAL/MENTAL/COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; manual dexterity to handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; talk or hear; and taste or smell. The employee may lift and/or move up to 50 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The individual must have a high level of comprehension, and a high level of general, verbal, and numerical intelligence.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Works majority of the day in a climate-controlled environment, with the exception of occasionally performing work in the warehouse, which is subject to moderate changes in temperature.

TRAVEL:

Limited travel required   

LOCATION:

Gentex’s Carbondale facility is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County. Carbondale, PA is about twenty miles north of Scranton, PA, 50 miles south of Binghamton, NY, and about 125 miles from New York City and Philadelphia. The area hosts numerous nearby state parks, nature preserves and local colleges and universities, including The University of Scranton and Marywood University. Northeast Pennsylvania is a beautiful area and offers an excellent cost of living. It is a great place to work, recreate, meet people, raise a family and live!

Gentex Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard for any applicable state or federal protected class. Gentex is an E-Verify Participant. Pre-employment drug/alcohol/background screening is required.