Principal Design Engineer - Advanced Development & Strategic Projects

haier; Concord (KY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

GE Appliances, a Haier company, seeks a Principal Design Engineer to drive advanced development and strategic projects across our Air and Water portfolio, with emphasis on heat pump water heating and high-efficiency technologies.

The role defines product concepts, evaluates new technologies, and guides projects from early development to production readiness in collaboration with strategic partners and suppliers. You will coordinate across engineering, manufacturing, and product teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in product design, systems engineering, advanced development, or similar engineer product development.
• Experience leading complex product or technology development from concept to production readiness.
• Strong understanding of mechanical design, system integration, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid systems.
• Experience coordinating technical work with manufacturing, suppliers, or external partners.
• Ability to balance performance, manufacturability, cost, quality, reliability, and timing.
• Experience with prototyping, testing, data analysis, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Ability to lead through influence and align cross‑functional teams without direct authority.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced development and strategic engineering projects for new products, technologies, and platforms with initial focus on heat pump water heating and related high-efficiency technologies.
• Translate business, customer, and regulatory needs into product requirements and development plans.
• Define system architectures and lead tradeoff decisions on performance, cost, quality, reliability, and schedule.
• Coordinate design development with partners and suppliers, including milestones and acceptance criteria.
• Lead technical reviews, resolve design issues, and maintain alignment between internal and partner teams.
• Work with manufacturing to ensure manufacturability, assembly, quality, and launch readiness.
• Engage manufacturing early and incorporate feedback into architecture and processes.
• Lead prototype builds, testing, and design verification activities.
• Analyze test/production data to identify risks and drive improvements.
• Collaborate with product management, sourcing, quality, service, controls, electronics, and regulatory teams.
• Assess emerging technologies for future products and transition concepts into production.

Skills

Mechanical design

Systems engineering

Advanced development

Product development

Regulatory & safety

Prototype/testing

Cross-functional leadership

Data analysis

Project coordination

Supplier collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related

Job description

At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make “good things, for life.”As the fastest-growing appliance company in the U.S., we’re powered by creators, thinkers and makers who believe that anything is possible and that there’s always a better way.We believe in the power of our people and in giving them the freedom to explore, discover and build good things, together.

The GE Appliances philosophy, backed by three simple commitments defines the way we work, invent, create, do business, and serve our communities: we come together, we always look for a better way, and we create possibilities.

Interested in joining us on our journey?

We are seeking a Principal Design Engineer to support advanced development and strategic engineering projects across our Air and Water product portfolio, with an initial emphasis on heat pump water heating and related high-efficiency technologies. This role will define product concepts, evaluate new technologies, and guide complex projects from early development through readiness for production in coordination with strategic partners. The ideal candidate will combine strong technical judgment with the ability to coordinate design work across engineering, manufacturing, strategic partners, and suppliers.

Position

Principal Design Engineer - Advanced Development & Strategic Projects

Location

USA, Louisville, KY

How You'll Create Possibilities

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead advanced development and strategic engineering projects for new products, technologies, and product platforms with initial focus on heat pump water heating and related high-efficiency technologies.

• Translate business, customer, and regulatory needs into product requirements, technical plans, and development priorities.

• Define system architectures and lead tradeoff decisions involving performance, cost, quality, reliability, schedule, and customer experience.

• Coordinate design development with strategic partners and suppliers, including responsibilities, milestones, deliverables, reviews, and acceptance criteria.

• Lead joint technical reviews, resolve design issues, and maintain alignment between internal and partner engineering teams.

• Work closely with manufacturing to make design decisions that support manufacturability, assembly, quality, capacity, cost, and launch readiness.

• Engage manufacturing early in development and incorporate factory feedback into product architecture, component design, tolerances, and production processes.

• Lead prototype builds, technical evaluations, testing, and design verification activities.

• Analyze test and production data, identify risks, and drive practical design improvements and corrective actions.

• Collaborate with product management, program management, sourcing, quality, service, controls, electronics, and regulatory teams.

• Assess emerging technologies, components, materials, and manufacturing approaches for future products.

• Transition advanced-development concepts into formal new product introduction programs with clear requirements, risks, and technical readiness.

• Communicate technical decisions, partner performance, project risks, and recommendations to engineering and business leadership.

What You'll Bring to Our Team

MinimumQualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline

• 7+ years of experience in product design, systems engineering, advanced development, or related engineered-product development

• Experience leading complex product or technology development from concept through validation and production readiness

• Strong understanding of mechanical design, system integration, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid systems, or related engineering fundamentals

• Experience coordinating technical work with manufacturing, suppliers, or external development partners

• Ability to make balanced design decisions considering performance, manufacturability, cost, quality, reliability, and timing

• Experience with prototyping, testing, data analysis, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions

• Ability to lead through influence and align cross-functional teams without direct authority

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including communication with technical and business leadership

• Ability to manage multiple strategic workstreams in an environment with changing priorities and technical uncertainty

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Thermal Sciences, or a related discipline

• Experience with heat pump water heaters, HVAC, refrigeration, water heating, appliances or other energy-efficient products

• Experience developing products jointly with global suppliers, strategic partners, research organizations, or universities

• Experience working with manufacturing teams on design for assembly, process capability, pilot builds, and production launches

• Experience developing technology roadmaps and transitioning advanced concepts into production programs

• Familiarity with product safety, energy-efficiency, regulatory, and certification requirements

• Experience mentoring engineers, developing intellectual property, or serving as a technical authority

Our Culture

Our work is centered on our People and Culture as reflected in our Zero Distance philosophy and we recognize the importance of reaffirming our commitment to inclusion and diversity (I&D). This underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where every individual feels valued, connected, and empowered to contribute, while positioning our organization to adapt seamlessly to the evolving needs of our workforce and communities.

This reflects our dedication to creating solutions that: Empower colleagues by fostering an environment where all voices are heard, valued, and encouraged to contribute. Strengthen communities where we live and work. Reinforce a culture of belonging, purpose, and engagement. Reflect the diversity of the communities we serve through our workforce, products, and practices.

By further embedding Zero Distance into our People and Culture framework, we will continue to build a deeply connected organization. We are cultivating a culture of engagement, belonging, and connection, because while attracting new talent remains a priority, retention is a cornerstone of our strategy.

GE Appliances is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

GE Appliances participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S

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