Senior Product Safety Engineer

Midea America; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Midea America is seeking an experienced engineer to lead product safety and field return activities for the Small Appliances team. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in R&D and product safety, ideally in consumer products and appliances.

You will work closely with various internal stakeholders, conduct investigations, and drive compliance with safety regulations. Candidates should possess a Bachelor's in Engineering and have a collaborative spirit with strong organizational skills.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of engineering experience, preferably in consumer electronics/appliances segments.
• Extensive experience investigating insurance claims & failure modes specific to small appliances.
• Knowledge of arc tracking failure modes and experience testing PCB designs.

Responsibilities

• Lead product safety and field return activities for the Small Appliances team.
• Develop a database system to track all reported safety allegations.
• Establish a field return lab to investigate product safety allegations.

Skills

Product safety expertise

Root cause analysis

Engineering

Collaboration

Excellent organization skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

PCB testing

Database management system

Job description

Job Summary

This new position will lead all product safety and field return activities for the Small Appliances team. The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of R&D and product safety experience, preferably in consumer products/appliances segments. This candidate will work closely with the R&D teams regarding product safety – including field surveillance, root cause analysis, product safety training, and third‑party safety regulatory requirements (i.e. UL, CSA, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Monitor reports of safety allegations from multiple streams of data.
• Develop a new and improved database system to track all reported safety allegations.
• Establish a new field return lab to investigate product safety allegations related to all small appliances and environmental products.
• Work closely with the quality organization to determine which units to return to the lab for further evaluation.
• Work with external forensic investigators, on allegations associated with property damage beyond the product, to understand the narrative of the event and findings from both scene and lab exams.
• Travel to third party lab and/or scene exams as needed to investigate safety allegations resulting in property damage, to determine cause and origin of the event.
• Summarize and report out findings from all streams of data on a monthly and/or ad hoc basis.
• Provide insights and feedback to R&D team regarding construction and testing requirements for future products under development.
• Be a champion to further establish and define product safety processes and procedures for the team to follow.
• Lead product safety training for an international team of engineers on an annual basis.
• Mentor other engineers regarding product safety best practices.
• Manage various action items & day‑to‑day communication with various internal/external parties – including local engineering team, international teams, legal department, investigators, etc.
• Develop a thorough understanding of existing and upcoming safety regulation changes affecting these products.
• Work with the R&D teams to ensure future compliance & that the necessary design work is being achieved to meet regulations.
• Be a hands‑on engineer who can work in the lab to test units and root cause failures.
• Maintain excellent communication with global colleagues – including taking occasional weekend/evening calls or meetings, helping track project milestones, deliverables, action items, etc.
• Ability to travel domestically & internationally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, preferably Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering.
• 10+ years’ engineering experience, preferably in consumer electronics/appliances segments.
• Extensive experience investigating insurance claims & failure modes specific to small appliances, fans, heaters and air purifiers.
• Awareness of heater recall constructions and failure modes.
• Knowledge of arc tracking failure modes and experience testing PCB designs to limit the propagation of such failure modes.
• A general understanding & familiarity with the construction of heaters, electric pressure cookers, air fryers and other small appliances.
• Experience conducting forced failure testing, including NiCr wire, locked rotor, and UL flammability testing.
• Goal‑oriented & self‑managed.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative team‑environment.
• Be a self‑starter with excellent organization skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in engineering, preferably Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering
• Direct product safety experience in consumer electronics/appliances/HVAC segments
• EPA 608 certified
• History of working with global colleagues

Midea America Corp. is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.