Product Engineer: Drive Quality, Cost & Innovation

A. O. Smith Corporation; Appleton (WI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

A.O. Smith Corporation is seeking a Product Engineer to sustain and improve existing product lines and support new product development.

You will focus on continuous improvement, cost optimization, product quality, and maintain accurate SolidWorks documentation. Responsibilities include leading engineering support for current products, driving design improvements, and collaborating with Quality, Manufacturing and Supply Chain to execute projects.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of product engineering or design engineering experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with sustaining engineering and product lifecycle management strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of plastic part design and understanding of plastic injection molding processes.
• Knowledge of water treatment and regulatory compliance preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering support for currently manufactured products to ensure performance, reliability, and compliance.
• Investigate and resolve field issues, customer complaints, and internal quality concerns.
• Maintain product design integrity through controlled engineering change processes (ECR/ECO).
• Identify and implement design improvements to enhance product performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Drive initiatives focused on reducing defects, improving durability, and simplifying designs.
• Collaborate cross-functionally (Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain) to execute improvement projects.
• Analyze product cost structures and identify opportunities for material and component cost reductions.
• Lead value engineering efforts, including alternative materials, supplier changes, and design simplification.
• Support sourcing initiatives by working with suppliers to optimize cost and performance.
• Participate in and lead product quality reviews, including root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Utilize tools such as FMEA, 8D, and statistical analysis to address quality issues.
• Partner with Quality Engineering to ensure compliance with internal standards and regulatory requirements.
• Support design and development activities for new products, including prototyping, testing, and validation.
• Provide design-for-manufacturing (DFM) and design-for-assembly (DFA) input.
• Assist in transitioning new products from development to production.
• Provide engineering support to manufacturing teams to resolve production issues and improve throughput.
• Develop and refine work instructions, assembly processes, and production documentation.
• Participate in troubleshooting and process optimization on the production floor.
• Create, modify, and maintain 3D models, assemblies, and detailed drawings using SolidWorks.
• Ensure all engineering documentation is accurate, complete, and compliant with company standards.
• Manage BOMs, drawing revisions, and data within the PDM/PLM system.

Skills

SolidWorks

Manufacturing

Cost reduction

Quality tools

PLM/PDM

DFM/DFA

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

A.O. Smith Corporation is seeking a Product Engineer to sustain and improve existing product lines and support new product development.

You will focus on continuous improvement, cost optimization, product quality, and maintain accurate SolidWorks documentation. Responsibilities include leading engineering support for current products, driving design improvements, and collaborating with Quality, Manufacturing and Supply Chain to execute projects.