Product Engineer: Sustaining & Innovation for Manufacturing

A. O. Smith Corp.; Appleton (WI); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A.O. Smith is seeking a Product Engineer in Wisconsin to sustain and improve existing product lines while supporting new product development and manufacturing operations.

This role emphasizes continuous improvement, cost optimization, product quality, and accurate engineering documentation using SolidWorks. The position focuses on sustaining engineering, design-for-manufacturing input, and collaboration with Quality, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to drive cost reductions and throughput

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field required.
• 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.

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

Mechanical design

Manufacturing processes

Cost reduction

PLM/PDM

Quality tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM/PLM

Job description

A.O. Smith is seeking a Product Engineer in Wisconsin to sustain and improve existing product lines while supporting new product development and manufacturing operations.

This role emphasizes continuous improvement, cost optimization, product quality, and accurate engineering documentation using SolidWorks. The position focuses on sustaining engineering, design-for-manufacturing input, and collaboration with Quality, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to drive cost reductions and throughput