Design Engineer III - New Product Development Engineering

Socket.dev; South Carolina; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking a Design Engineer III for New Product Development Engineering (OPE). You will lead hands‑on mechanical design from concept through production, focusing on robustness, manufacturability, and cost.

Join a cross‑functional team with Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, Sourcing and global suppliers to deliver competitive, production‑ready designs for outdoor power equipment. Strong CAD and problem‑solving skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 4 years of design experience in consumer, industrial, or electromechanical products.
• Strong proficiency in 3D CAD (Creo / SolidWorks / NX or equivalent), detailed drawings, and GD&T.
• Demonstrated experience with materials, manufacturing processes, tooling, and supplier‑built components.
• Experience leading design verification and validation activities using data‑driven methods.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and technical communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, results‑driven product development environment.

Responsibilities

• Owns end-to-end mechanical design execution for components, sub‑assemblies, or systems from concept, layout, and detailed CAD through validation and production release.
• Develops and maintains 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, GD&T, tolerance stacks, and specifications to ensure functional performance, regulatory compliance, durability, safety, and manufacturability.
• Applies structured problem‑solving methods to resolve design issues, field failures, and manufacturing concerns.
• Demonstrates strong engineering judgment and accountability for design quality and performance.
• Designs components optimized for high‑volume manufacturing, assembly efficiency, tooling capability, and supplier process constraints.
• Partners with Sourcing and suppliers to evaluate manufacturing processes, tooling concepts, and cost drivers early in development.
• Ensures designs comply with internal standards, regulatory requirements, and applicable UL / ANSI / CSA / ISO expectations.
• Defines DFMEA inputs, design risks, and mitigation strategies for owned designs.
• Develops and executes design verification plans including tolerance validation, stress analysis, durability testing, environmental testing, and abuse testing.
• Uses data‑driven test results to refine designs and confirm requirements are met with appropriate margin.
• Reviews and approves engineering changes, deviation requests, and corrective actions related to owned designs.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Works with Product Management to translate customer needs into engineering requirements and supports pilot builds, PPAP, and ramp‑ups.

Skills

3D CAD proficiency

GD&T understanding

Problem solving

Technical communication

Engineering judgment

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Creo

SolidWorks

NX

Job description

Job Description:

Design Engineer III – New Product Development Engineering (OPE)

The Design Engineer III is responsible for hands‑on mechanical design execution for moderate to high‑complexity outdoor power equipment (OPE) systems and subsystems. This role owns detailed design execution from concept to production, with a strong emphasis on robust design, manufacturability, validation, and cost. Operating within the Outdoor Engineering organization, the Design Engineer III functions as a technical leader and subject‑matter expert for assigned components and assemblies, partnering closely with Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, Sourcing, and global suppliers to deliver competitive, production‑ready designs.

Key Job Functions & Responsibilities

Technical Design Ownership

• Owns end‑to‑end mechanical design execution for assigned components, sub‑assemblies, or systems from concept, layout, and detailed CAD through validation and production release.
• Develops and maintains 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, GD&T, tolerance stacks, and specifications to ensure functional performance, regulatory compliance, durability, safety, and manufacturability.
• Ability to analyze problems and provide design trade‑off analyses (performance, cost, weight, manufacturability, reliability) and documents rationale for design decisions.
• Applies structured problem‑solving methods to resolve design issues, field failures, and manufacturing concerns.
• Demonstrates strong engineering judgment and accountability for design quality and performance.

Design for Manufacturing, Cost, and Quality

• Designs components optimized for high‑volume manufacturing, assembly efficiency, tooling capability, and supplier process constraints.
• Partners with Sourcing and suppliers to evaluate manufacturing processes, tooling concepts, and cost drivers early in development.
• Ensures designs comply with internal standards, regulatory requirements, and applicable UL / ANSI / CSA / ISO expectations.

Verification & Validation

• Defines DFMEA inputs, design risks, and mitigation strategies for owned designs.
• Develops and executes design verification plans including tolerance validation, stress analysis, durability testing, environmental testing, and abuse testing.
• Uses data‑driven test results to refine designs and confirm requirements are met with appropriate margin.
• Reviews and approves engineering changes, deviation requests, and corrective actions related to owned designs.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Works closely with Product Management to translate customer needs and CTQs into clear engineering requirements.
• Supports Manufacturing Engineering during pilot builds, PPAP, and ramp‑up by resolving build issues and incorporating feedback into design revisions.
• Collaborates with Quality, Compliance, and Reliability teams to support certifications, audits, and failure investigations.
• Provides clear technical communication to global engineering, sourcing, and supplier teams.
• Contributes to the development and improvement of design standards, test methods, and engineering processes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 4 years of design experience in consumer, industrial, or electromechanical products.
• Strong proficiency in 3D CAD (Creo / SolidWorks / NX or equivalent), detailed drawings, and GD&T.
• Demonstrated experience with materials, manufacturing processes, tooling, and supplier‑built components.
• Experience leading design verification and validation activities using data‑driven methods.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and technical communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, results‑driven product development environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with outdoor power equipment, power tools, small engines, or high‑load electromechanical systems.
• Hands‑on experience supporting pilot builds and production ramp‑ups.
• Familiarity with global supplier collaboration and Asia‑based manufacturing.
• Experience supporting UL / CSA / ANSI compliance activities.

Travel

• Up to 10% travel (international and domestic).