Principal Engineer

Hillphoenix; Keosauqua (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision

401k Retirement Plan

Flexible Spending

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Dover Food Retail is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead strategic product development and engineering initiatives in the Specialty Engineering group at its Keosauqua, IA site. You will drive design-for-test, instrumentation, and data-driven decision making across complex refrigeration-related projects.

The role emphasizes mentoring engineers, advancing engineering rigor, and aligning product requirements with analytical methods to deliver validated solutions for evolving customer and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent engineering discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of engineering experience in product design, development, testing, or systems engineering; or 7+ years with a Master's degree.
• Minimum 5 years of experience leading engineering product development projects.
• Minimum 5 years of experience applying engineering analysis, testing, simulation, or other quantitative methods to product design.
• Minimum 3 years of experience leading or coordinating the technical work of other engineers.
• Minimum 3 years of experience applying quantitative methods (DOE, statistics, simulation) to product development.

Responsibilities

• Lead major engineering and product development initiatives from definition through implementation.
• Establish project plans, workstreams, schedules, and risks for successful execution.
• Provide technical leadership to engineers on complex development activities.
• Mentor engineers in judgment, problem solving, and data-driven decisions.
• Develop and promote engineering methods linking requirements to design verification and validated outputs.
• Improve instrumentation, data acquisition, and test planning processes.
• Translate test and analysis data into actionable design conclusions.
• Document engineering rules, models, and guidelines for product families.
• Promote physics-based methods to reduce iterative build-and-test reliance.
• Identify technical risks early and plan mitigation.
• Lead root-cause analysis and cross-functional technical reviews.
• Collaborate with Product Management, Operations, and Quality to ensure projects succeed.
• Monitor regulatory requirements and translate them into design implications.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Mechanical engineering

Product development

Data analysis

DOE

Thermodynamics

CFD/FEA

Instrumentation

Regulatory knowledge

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Our Story

Dover Food Retail (DFR) is a leading manufacturer of Display Cases, Specialty Products, Refrigeration Systems, Power Systems and Comprehensive Services; and leading our industry by Innovating What's Next in glass doors and intelligent merchandising technologies that keep food safe under brands such as Hillphoenix and Anthony. DFR is part of the Climate & Sustainability Technologies segment of the Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV). Dover is a diversified global manufacturer with annual revenues in excess of $7 billion. DFR is built on creativity and customer-centric innovation delivered by people invigorated by a strong sense of responsibility to help our customers win in their marketplaces. The relationships we build with our customers are as important to our success as the products we manufacture. This collaborative environment delivers FRESH THINKING, reassuring our customers that they choose the best when they choose to work with the people of Dover Food Retail.

Job Title: Principal Engineer

Location: Keosauqua, IA

What We Are Looking For

The Principal Engineer will serve as a senior technical leader within Specialty Engineering, providing technical leadership, project execution discipline, and mentorship across complex product development initiatives. This position will lead strategically important engineering projects from definition through implementation while helping advance the organization's engineering methods, technical rigor, and problem-solving capabilities. The Principal Engineer will establish and promote engineering practices that connect product requirements and design inputs to analytical methods, testing, objective data, and validated design outputs. This includes improving approaches to instrumentation, data acquisition, test methods, data analysis, design verification, and the development of engineering design rules that can be applied across product families. This individual must demonstrate strong technical aptitude, engineering judgment, structured problem-solving capability, and the ability to use objective data and engineering fundamentals to solve complex technical problems. The Principal Engineer will also mentor and develop other engineers and provide technical leadership for major portfolio and product redesign initiatives required to address evolving customer, market, technology, and regulatory requirements.

What You Will Be Responsible For In This Role

• Lead major and strategically important engineering and product development initiatives from project definition through implementation.


• Establish project plans, technical workstreams, schedules, deliverables, risks, resource requirements, and decision points necessary for successful project execution.


• Provide technical leadership and direction to engineers working on complex product development and problem-solving activities.


• Mentor engineers in engineering judgment, structured problem solving, project execution, experimental methods, data analysis, and technical decision making.


• Establish and promote disciplined engineering methods that connect product and market requirements to engineering specifications, design decisions, verification methods, and validated product performance.


• Improve engineering rigor surrounding instrumentation, data acquisition, measurement methods, test planning, data integrity, and analysis.


• Develop approaches for translating test, analytical, simulation, and field data into actionable engineering conclusions and design decisions.


• Lead the development and documentation of engineering design rules, models, guidelines, and standard practices that can be applied across product families.


• Promote predictive and physics-based engineering methods that reduce dependence on iterative build-and-test development.


• Identify critical technical risks early in product development and establish appropriate analysis, testing, and mitigation plans.


• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of difficult and complex technical problems using objective data and structured engineering methods.


• Provide expert technical consultation and design review support to engineers and cross-functional project teams.


• Collaborate with Product Management, Operations, Product Engineering, Engineering Lab, Quality, Sourcing, and other functions to ensure successful execution of major initiatives.


• Evaluate emerging technologies, market requirements, and regulatory changes and provide technical guidance regarding their impact on future product architecture and portfolio strategy.


• Provide technical leadership for major portfolio redesigns required to address evolving customer, market, technology, and regulatory requirements.


• Support development of organizational engineering capabilities by identifying technical competency gaps and helping establish methods, standards, and training to close those gaps.


• Clearly document and communicate technical findings, recommendations, project status, risks, and decisions to both technical and business audiences.

What are the basic qualifications?

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent engineering discipline.


• Minimum 10 years of engineering experience in product design, product development, product testing, or systems engineering; or minimum 7 years with a Master's degree in an engineering discipline.


• Minimum 5 years of experience leading engineering product development projects.


• Minimum 5 years of experience applying engineering analysis, testing, simulation, or other quantitative methods to product design and development.


• Minimum 3 years of experience leading or coordinating the technical work of other engineers.


• Minimum 3 years of experience applying statistical analysis, engineering simulation, Design of Experiments, or other quantitative engineering methods to product development or technical problem solving.

To Be a Great Fit For The Role

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent engineering discipline.


• Commercial refrigeration, HVAC, appliance, or other complex electromechanical product development experience.


• Engineering expertise in heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, airflow management, or refrigeration.


• Experience establishing instrumentation, data acquisition, measurement, and engineering test methods.


• Experience with statistical analysis, Design of Experiments (DOE), Measurement System Analysis (MSA), or similar analytical methods.


• Experience developing engineering models, design rules, product architecture guidelines, or standardized engineering practices.


• Experience with simulation tools such as CFD, FEA, system modeling, or other physics-based analytical methods.


• Experience leading major product platform, product-family, or portfolio redesign initiatives.


• Experience translating customer, market, or regulatory requirements into engineering specifications and product requirements.


• Experience with DOE, EPA, UL, ASHRAE, or other applicable regulatory standards.


• PMP, Six Sigma, or similar project management/problem-solving certification.


• Strong technical problem-solving skills with an emphasis on using engineering fundamentals and objective data to reach conclusions.


• Strong project management skills, including resource planning, scheduling, risk management, and status reporting.


• Ability to coach and mentor engineers and elevate the technical capabilities of others.


• Ability to clearly document technical results and communicate complex engineering information to technical and non-technical audiences.


• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills with the ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives with limited oversight.

How We Define Our Values and Why You Should Join Our Team

These values must be expressed in our work and embody our actions, as they form the basis by which we do our jobs, make decisions and measure our performance. It’s our unwavering commitment to maintaining our values that defines who we are as a Company.

• Collaborative Entrepreneurial Spirit


• Winning Through Customers


• Respects and Values People


• Expectations for Results


• High Ethical Standards, Openness, and Trust

What’s in it for you?

• Medical, Dental, and Vision


• 401k Retirement Plan


• Flexible Spending


• Paid Holidays

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the Company.

Dover Food Retail is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, genetic information, or any other factors prohibited by law.