Mechanical Engineer – Food team (New Product Development)

Laitram LLC; Harahan (LA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Laitram LLC is seeking a Mechanical Engineer for New Product Development on the Intralox Food team. You will design innovative conveyor technologies and equipment used by global food manufacturers, working with customers, manufacturing, sales, and internal shops to turn challenges into commercially successful products that improve safety, sanitation, throughput, and performance.

The role requires a BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering, 3+ years of design experience, and hands-on CAD proficiency.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years of engineering design experience.
• Solid modeling in SolidWorks or Creo.
• High mechanical aptitude.
• Self-managed and motivated.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 15% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Create product designs, technical documentation, and support materials for commercialization.
• Create detailed 3D CAD models, prototypes, and engineering drawings.
• Evaluate components, materials, and manufacturing approaches for performance and cost.
• Integrate design requirements with production requirements for scalable manufacturing.
• Collaborate with internal mold shop, molding facility, and machine shops for rapid prototyping and tooling feedback.
• Support patent development with in-house attorneys.
• Provide technical support to commercial teams during rollout and adoption.
• Lead product validation and de-risking through testing and failure analysis.
• Collaborate with customers, project managers, manufacturing, and patent attorneys throughout the lifecycle.
• Develop and execute test plans to validate performance against customer requirements.
• Translate customer operational and economic drivers into practical product requirements.

Skills

Engineering design

SolidWorks/Creo

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Industrial environments

Education

B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Creo

Job description

Join Intralox’s Food team as a Mechanical Engineer focused on New Product Development. In this role, you will create innovative conveyor technologies and equipment used by leading food manufacturers around the world. You will work closely with customers, manufacturing, sales, engineering, and Intralox’s internal mold shop, molding facility, and machine shops to turn customer challenges into commercially successful products that improve food safety, sanitation, throughput, and operational performance. As part of Laitram, Intralox offers a unique self-management culture, extensive technical and professional development opportunities, performance-based profit sharing, and a workplace consistently recognized among the nation’s top large employers, including Top Workplaces USA rankings in 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Responsibilities

• Create product designs, technical documentation, and support materials that enable successful commercialization.
• Create detailed 3D CAD models, prototypes, and engineering drawings.
• Evaluate and specify components, materials, and manufacturing approaches that support performance, cost, and reliability goals.
• Integrate product design requirements with production requirements to support scalable manufacturing.
• Collaborate directly with Intralox’s internal mold shop, molding facility, and machine shops to rapidly prototype concepts, incorporate tooling and manufacturability feedback, and prepare designs for production.
• Support patent development in collaboration with in-house patent attorneys.
• Provide technical support to commercial teams during product rollout and early customer adoption.
• Lead product validation and de-risking through prototype builds, internal and field testing, failure analysis, and customer feedback to reduce technical and commercial risk.
• Collaborate with customers, project managers, manufacturing teams, commercial teams, and patent attorneys throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Develop and execute test plans to validate product performance against critical customer requirements.
• Understand the customer’s operational and economic drivers and translate them into practical product requirements.

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering curriculum.
• 3+ years of demonstrated engineering design experience.
• Solid modeling experience in SolidWorks®, Creo®, or similar software.
• High level of mechanical aptitude.
• Self-managed, hard-working, and self-motivated.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to meet functional job requirements within industrial environments, such as climbing ladders.
• Willingness to travel up to 15% domestically and internationally to support customer visits, field testing, supplier collaboration, and product launches.
• Comfort using approved AI tools responsibly to improve productivity, research, documentation, data analysis, and communication while applying sound engineering judgment.