Automation Product Engineer — Design, Manufacturing & NPI

The Home Depot; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel to suppliers and partners

Waltham facility access

Competitive compensation

Job summary

The Home Depot in Waltham, MA is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to own design, documentation, sourcing, and manufacturing readiness of automation products. This role collaborates with contract engineers, suppliers, and internal teams to ensure products are well-designed, reliably manufactured, and ready for deployment at scale.

You will lead new product introductions, drive manufacturing documentation, manage supplier relationships, and oversee testing and root-cause investigations to deliver

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in mechanical engineering, product engineering, manufacturing engineering, robotics, industrial automation, or related industry.
• Experience taking products from design through manufacturing and production release.
• Strong understanding of engineering drawings, bills of materials, tolerances, specifications, and revision control.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers, suppliers, and outsourced engineering resources.
• Demonstrated experience with new product introduction and manufacturing readiness.
• Experience with product testing, validation, failure analysis, and root-cause investigation.
• Strong understanding of design for manufacturing and assembly principles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical design and ongoing development of the company’s automation products.
• Utilize and coordinate contract engineering resources to support immediate and specialized product design requirements.
• Maintain ownership of all product drawings, specifications, bills of material, engineering documentation, and revision control.
• Ensure product documentation remains accurate and reflects current production configuration.
• Analyze existing products and recommend improvements related to reliability, manufacturability, cost, serviceability, performance, and installation.
• Lead engineering changes and ensure updates are properly communicated to suppliers, manufacturing partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Lead new product introduction initiatives from initial concept through production readiness.
• Prepare and maintain the documentation required to successfully manufacture company products.
• Ensure smooth handoff of new products and engineering changes into production.
• Develop manufacturing requirements, assembly instructions, inspection criteria, and supporting technical documentation.
• Manage external product sourcing and supplier relationships.
• Identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers based on technical capability, quality, cost, lead time, capacity, and supply-chain risk.
• Coordinate with contract manufacturers and external partners to ensure production activities align with company requirements and objectives.
• Support supplier negotiations, cost-reduction initiatives, and ongoing vendor performance management.
• Lead the transition and onshoring of selected components and subassemblies.
• Evaluate onshoring opportunities based on total landed cost, quality, capacity, supply-chain resilience, and operational risk.
• Support production ramp activities and resolve manufacturing issues as they arise.
• Own product testing and validation activities, including testing and burn-in procedures performed at the Waltham facility.
• Develop and maintain test procedures, acceptance criteria, and product validation documentation.
• Ensure products meet defined requirements for performance, reliability, quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.
• Analyze product failures and lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners to resolve recurring quality issues.
• Use testing and field-performance data to identify opportunities for continuous product improvement.
• Establish appropriate quality controls for incoming components, manufacturing, final assembly, and product release.
• Participate in customer and partner discussions when technical product expertise is required.
• Provide technical guidance regarding product capabilities, limitations, configuration, and implementation requirements.
• Support internal teams during solution development and project planning.
• Collaborate with engineering, realization, sales, operations, and project teams to ensure proposed solutions can be successfully delivered.
• Work directly with suppliers, contract manufacturers, integrators, and other external stakeholders to resolve technical issues.
• Maintain technical ownership of products throughout their lifecycle.
• Support engineering change control, documentation management, configuration management, and product revision tracking.
• Monitor product performance in production and in the field.
• Identify opportunities for cost reduction, component standardization, design simplification, and reliability improvement.
• Evaluate component obsolescence and supply-chain risks and develop appropriate replacement strategies.
• Support long-term product roadmap and product lifecycle planning.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Product engineering

Manufacturing engineering

Supplier management

Root-cause analysis

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD software

ERP/PLM systems

Test equipment

Job description

The Home Depot in Waltham, MA is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to own design, documentation, sourcing, and manufacturing readiness of automation products. This role collaborates with contract engineers, suppliers, and internal teams to ensure products are well-designed, reliably manufactured, and ready for deployment at scale.

You will lead new product introductions, drive manufacturing documentation, manage supplier relationships, and oversee testing and root-cause investigations to deliver