Product Engineer - Chippers and Drums

Valmet; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company pension plan

401k with company match

Job summary

Valmet is seeking a Product Engineer to strengthen its North American Wood Handling team. You will own the technical lifecycle for chippers, debarking drums, and log-line equipment, collaborating with design, development, delivery, and service groups globally.

The role emphasizes cross-functional teamwork, hands-on engineering, and travel as required. A mechanical engineering degree and SolidWorks proficiency are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• Experience with industrial equipment or process industries is valued.
• Strong communication and coordination in a global team.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical ownership for chippers, debarking drums and related equipment.
• Lead layout, basic and detailed engineering using SolidWorks; prepare drawings and BOMs.
• Coordinate with sales, project management, procurement and service to define technical scope and reviews.
• Manage engineering deliverables, hours and costs; identify risks and communicate deviations.
• Coordinate global subcontracted designers and engineering partners; review deliverables and comments.

Skills

SolidWorks proficiency

Strong communication

engineering calculations

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM/PLM

ERP systems

COMOS

LN

M-Files

Job description

Are you ready for the next step in your career?

At Valmet, we are shaping the future of sustainable solutions through innovation, collaboration, and a seamless lifecycle approach. Join us in advancing the Wood Handling business, as we move forward with our renewed strategy to Lead the Way. This means pioneering smarter technologies, expanding our service capabilities, and delivering customer value across the entire lifecycle—from raw material to finished product. If you're ready to make a real impact in a dynamic, future-focused environment, we invite you to grow with us.

We are currently seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Product Engineer to strengthen our global Wood Handling product team, with a focus on North American projects. In this role, you will provide technical ownership for assigned products, like chippers, debarking drums and associated log-line equipment, working with global product specialists from design and development through delivery and lifecycle support. This equipment supports the pulp and paper industry.

Key Responsibilities Of This Role

• Support the technical lifecycle of chippers, debarking drums and associated equipment. Use feedback from projects, manufacturing and Service to improve safety, reliability, standardization and cost competitiveness through Product Care and R&D.
• Lead or execute layout, basic and detailed engineering using SolidWorks. Prepare and check calculations, drawings, equipment specifications and bills of materials, ensuring technical quality and compliance with project requirements and Valmet guidelines.
• Work closely with Sales, project management, procurement and Service to define technical scope, review customer requirements and supplier proposals, and resolve equipment interfaces. Participate in customer design reviews and support technical estimates and proposals.
• Plan and follow up engineering deliverables, hours and costs. Identify technical risks, manage design changes and promptly communicate deviations affecting quality, schedule or budget.
• Coordinate subcontracted designers and engineering partners globally, including teams in India, Brazil and the United States. Define work packages, review deliverables and resolve comments within agreed schedules.
• Support suppliers and manufacturing by resolving technical questions and reviewing drawings and component selections. Provide installation, commissioning and troubleshooting support, including occasional domestic and international travel as required by projects.

Your home base will be Florence, Alabama, United States, working closely with our global Wood Handling team.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a professional with a systematic way of working and an active work approach. You should combine deep technical understanding with the ability to communicate effectively in a global environment.

To Succeed In This Role, You'll Need

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Proficiency in SolidWorks and experience preparing mechanical drawings and bills of materials. Experience with PDM/PLM and ERP systems is highly valued; familiarity with COMOS, LN or M-Files is an advantage.
• Experience in mechanical engineering for industrial equipment or the process industry. Experience with chippers, debarking drums, conveyors or other wood-handling equipment, and with project delivery or supplier coordination, is highly valued.
• Strong communication and coordination skills, a systematic approach to technical problem-solving, and the ability to manage several priorities in a global team. Good skills in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel for engineering calculations and analysis.
• Fluency in spoken and written English; other languages are considered an asset.
• Ability and willingness to travel occasionally globally

Most importantly, we appreciate your enthusiasm to learn, your persistence in overcoming challenges, and your commitment to professional growth. You don’t need to be a seasoned expert—we’re looking for someone ready to become one.

This position is NOT open for international relocation. Applicant please be living and authorized to work in the US.

We offer

• Valmet offers a dynamic work environment that is team-oriented, international and focused on growth. We value and encourage an innovative culture that suits development-minded people who enjoy working in a fast-paced and energetic environment. All this comes with a competitive wage and a generous benefits package that includes a company funded pension plan, and 401k with company match.
• Please note than any offer of employment is contingent upon a background check.

Where everything works together

Valmet is where the best talent from a wide variety of backgrounds comes together. With 20,000 professionals around the world, we are the leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries, and serve an even wider base of process industries with our automation systems and flow control solutions. Our commitment to moving our customers’ performance forward requires creativity, technological innovations, service know-how – and above all, teamwork.

Valmet is an equal opportunity employer. All employees and applicants for employment will not be discriminated on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit-based factors.