Refrigeration Lab Specialist

About Midea America Corp:

Midea America Corp. is one of the world’s largest home appliance brands, offering the most comprehensive selection of products in the world to fully serve the needs of day-to-day living at home, at work, or anywhere else you go. In North America, we strive to aim high, put the customer first, transform, and innovate the marketplace, utilizing our commitment, dedication, inclusion, and partnership with our teams. We are a global company with over 150,000 employees and operations in more than 195 countries. As a publicly listed company, we are also ranked #245 as a Fortune Global 500 company and offer one of the most comprehensive ranges in the home appliance industry.

Job Title: Refrigeration Lab Specialist

Job Summary:

The Refrigeration Lab Specialist is responsible for directing all laboratory activities related to supporting innovative features, new product introductions, and current products. Key responsibilities include overseeing the maintenance and calibration of lab equipment, spearheading product testing and evaluation, and cultivating expertise in all relevant agency testing protocols. The position also entails managing and refining lab processes and procedures, championing continuous improvements in lab efficiency, and fostering effective collaboration between the product design team and lab management. The successful candidate will be expected to build in-depth technical knowledge of refrigerator system and sub-system testing to ensure adherence to regulatory and safety standards, while continuously advancing test procedure development.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Lab Ownership

·       Develop expertise in thermal chamber operation, PLC controls, and DAQ programming maintenance, coordinating with vendors as needed to ensure operational lab equipment.

·       Create and maintain operating and maintenance procedures for lab equipment and processes.

·       Lead continuous improvement initiatives, optimize test procedures, enhance lab efficiencies, maintain 5S requirements, and manage consumables.

·       Manage the lab inventory management system (LIMS) and prepare labs for quarterly audits.

·       Collaborate with global teams to align test standards and data consistency across laboratories. May require travel less than 10% of the year.

Product Testing Expert

·       Develop and maintain internal test procedures that comply with agency regulations, educating global teams on requirements, and working closely with product development teams.

·       Conduct standardized engineering and consumer research testing, analyze test data, and provide feedback to ensure product compliance, performance, reliability, and consumer satisfaction.

·       Support product innovation through testing and prototyping.

·       Actively participate in technical project reviews, including Service, Safety, and Installation assessments.

·       Lead the efforts of ordering, receiving, and testing competitor products as needed.

·       Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

·       Required Education: High School graduate.

·       Experience working with refrigeration products.

·       Demonstrable Excel and PowerPoint experience.

·       Work as a lab technician or service technician with 5+ years experience.

Preferred Experience:

·       Mechanical technical certificate or mechanical technician degree program.

·       Experience with refrigeration agency requirements, including DOE energy consumption (AHAM HRF-1).

·       Experience with appliance industry evaluation standards such as UL 60335-1 and UL 60335-2-24.

·       Experience with technical writing such as test procedures and SOPs.

Job Skills

·       Proficient with additive and subtractive rapid prototyping methods.

·       Familiarity with plastics manufacturing and metal fabrication.

·       Strong communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills.

·       Organized, self-starter with strong task-prioritization skills.

·       Strong desire to learn with the ability to be self-taught.

Disclaimer:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

EEO Statement:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.