Product Development Engineer

Sterling St James LLC; Carol Stream (IL); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling St James LLC in Illinois is seeking a Fountain Technical Product Manager to shape our beverage dispensing product lines. You’ll manage key specifications and partner with Marketing Product Managers to guide the roadmap for core offerings and new development.

This role bridges customers, commercial teams, and engineering, ensuring designs meet performance targets, safety standards (UL, NSF, CE), and regulatory requirements, while supporting warranty teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering.
• 5–10 years in beverage dispensing or food equipment product development.
• Experience defining requirements with customers and project scope.
• Experience writing or contributing to technical specifications.
• Ability to translate complex concepts into clear language.

Responsibilities

• Partner with cross-functional teams to develop beverage dispensing products or improve existing ones.
• Conduct market research and translate requirements into product specs and roadmaps.
• Build business cases for fountain equipment and features.
• Work with project teams on timelines, budgets, resources, and priorities.
• Create and manage technical requirements meeting performance expectations.
• Collaborate with engineering to ensure designs meet standards and feasibility.
• Work with reliability teams to confirm durability and performance targets.
• Track industry regulations and certification standards (UL, NSF, CE).
• Support technical service and warranty teams in resolving product issues.

Skills

Fountain beverage dispensing systems

Engineering fountain systems

Customer requirements gathering

Technical specifications writing

Translating tech concepts

Cross-functional collaboration

Product quality issues resolution

Electromechanical systems knowledge

Regulatory and safety standards

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering

Job description

Fountain Technical Product Manager

We’re looking for a Fountain Technical Product Manager to help shape the future of our beverage dispensing product lines. In this role, you’ll manage key product specifications, partner closely with Marketing Product Managers, and help guide the product roadmap for both core offerings and new product development.

You’ll act as the bridge between customers, commercial teams, and engineering-making sure our products meet real-world needs, hit performance expectations, and support long-term commercial success. This is an individual contributor role with a strong technical focus and high visibility across the organization.

This position follows a hybrid schedule: in-office Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday with flexibility the rest of the week.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with cross-functional teams to develop new beverage dispensing products or improve existing ones

• Conduct market research, gather customer requirements, and translate them into clear product specifications and roadmaps

• Build strong business cases for new fountain beverage equipment and features

• Work with project teams on timelines, budgets, resources, and priorities to keep programs on track

• Create and manage technical requirements that meet customer and business performance expectations

• Collaborate with engineering to ensure designs meet standards, regulations, and technical feasibility

• Work with reliability teams to confirm products meet durability and performance targets

• Track and understand industry regulations, safety requirements, and certification standards (UL, NSF, CE, etc.)

• Support technical service and warranty teams in resolving product issues while preserving product performance and functionality

Who You Are

• Comfortable working with cross-functional partners and customer stakeholders

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to think strategically and execute tactically

• Always looking for ways to streamline, improve, and optimize

• A self-starter who can drive work forward with limited oversight

Skills & Experience That Matter

• Deep knowledge of fountain beverage dispensing systems

• Hands-on experience engineering fountain systems for QSR or convenience-store environments

• Experience working directly with customers to define requirements and project scope

• Strong background writing or contributing to technical specifications

• Ability to translate technical concepts into clear, simple language

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

• Experience diagnosing and resolving product quality or performance issues

• Solid understanding of electromechanical systems and subsystem interactions

• Familiarity with safety, compliance, and certification requirements (UL, NSF, CE, etc.)

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering

• 5-10 years of experience in beverage dispensing or food equipment product development