Product Design Engineer (2400)

Protomet Corporation in Loudon, TN onsite is seeking a Product Design Engineer to connect customer needs with manufacturing execution, applying mechanical proficiency and aesthetic design to develop concepts and renderings and steer designs through production and change management.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the liaison between customers (primarily boating OEMs) and Protomet’s operations, translating requirements into feasible designs.
• Apply strong mechanical aptitude and a solid understanding of manufacturing processes.
• Blend interpersonal skills with an eye for aesthetic design to deliver compelling concepts.
• Engage with customers in a sales-like capacity through effective communication and relationship building.
• Cultivate relationships with key customers through regular, proactive engagement.
• Navigate the transition of designs to the operations team with emphasis on change management, clear communication, and logistics coordination.
• Leverage aesthetic design capabilities to enhance the value of the design engineering role.
• Provide sketches, CAD renderings, and visually engaging designs to customers.

Requirements

• Commitment to going beyond the mandatory baseline to drive personal and company growth.
• Focus on long-term rewards and resist short-term gratification when appropriate.
• Adopt an abundance mindset, viewing new teammates as opportunities for collective growth.
• Prioritize skills and outcomes over formal credentials.
• Thrive in challenging situations and view difficult work as a catalyst for growth.
• Maintain high standards for personal and team performance.
• Build trust with colleagues who are not direct reports and influence them to take action.
• Demonstrate humility, willingness to admit mistakes, and thoughtful self-assessment.
• Exhibit high mechanical aptitude with a relentless problem-solving approach.
• Dislike inefficiencies and apply lean manufacturing principles, including one piece flow, minimum viable product, and Pareto optimization.
• Show initiative to start projects and discipline to finish them.
• Embrace innovation through practical learning, curiosity, and a readiness to test and adapt.

Technologies

• CAD

Outcomes

• Visit customers or host site tours at least six times per year with prior approval.
• Call on at least one customer weekly and discuss topics beyond work-related matters.
• Attend one industry expo or conference annually.
• Design and secure two million dollars in recurring annual projects each year.
• Identify and share a daily two-second improvement with the engineering team via photo or video.
• Identify, purchase, and implement one significant piece of technology, software, hardware, or equipment per year.
• Engage in ongoing education for CAD or related software.
• Improve manufacturability and advocate for internal customers during design and prototyping phases.
• Diagnose quality issues and design processes to prevent recurrence.
• Ensure work instructions are available for new projects, in video or text form.
• Respond to all external customer communications within four work hours.

Competencies

• Cultural: Second Mile — going beyond the mandatory baseline for growth.
• Cultural: Don’t Touch the Marshmallow — prioritize longer-term rewards over immediate gratification.
• Cultural: Abundance Mindset — view new teammates as growth opportunities, not threats.
• Cultural: Skills Beat Credentials — what you can do matters more than credentials alone.
• Cultural: That’s Hard…Good — growth happens through challenging experiences.
• Functional: High Standards — personal and team performance should be top quality.
• Functional: Influence — build trust with non-direct reports and persuade action.
• Functional: Humility — self-awareness, willingness to admit mistakes, and thoughtful appraisal of accomplishments.
• Functional: High mechanical aptitude and relentless problem-solver.
• Functional: Lean mindset — hatred for waste, practical lean principles, one piece flow, MVP, and Pareto.
• Functional: Initiative to start, discipline to finish.
• Functional: Innovation — practical intelligence, curiosity, and learning, paired with testing and change.