Associate Design Engineer

Associate Design Engineer | Carson, CA

Regular Employee | Salary Exempt | $75,000.

The Associate Design Engineer is responsible for supporting engineering design, drafting, documentation, product improvement, current production portfolio support, design testing, validation fixtures, and engineering release activities. This role assists with creating and updating CAD models, drawings, bills of material, controlled engineering documents, technical presentations, and basic test or validation fixture concepts while working closely with Engineering, Production, Quality, Purchasing, Sales, Management, and Customer Support.

The position is intended for an early-career engineer who can apply mechanical engineering fundamentals, learn company design standards, support manufacturability improvements, assist with troubleshooting, and help maintain accurate engineering data within the PDM system. The Associate Design Engineer will also contribute to continuous improvement efforts by helping identify drawing issues, manufacturing inefficiencies, quality concerns, warranty claim trends, documentation gaps, design inconsistencies, and opportunities to standardize parts, assemblies, fixtures, and engineering practices.

• Create, revise, and maintain 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, assemblies, and engineering documentation using Solid Works.
• Support design changes, engineering releases, and drawing updates through the PDM software workflow.
• Assist with bills of material, part numbers, revision control, drawing packages, and document accuracy to support production, purchasing, quoting, and customer service needs.
• Prepare and update fabrication drawings, assembly drawings, installation details, layout drawings, and supporting documentation based on engineering direction.
• Work with Engineering, Production, and Quality to resolve drawing questions, fit-up concerns, manufacturability issues, and documentation gaps.
• Support the current production portfolio by troubleshooting manufacturing inefficiencies, recurring build issues, fit-up problems, and process-related concerns that may require engineering review or design clarification.
• Assist in investigating quality issues and warranty claims by reviewing drawings, parts, assemblies, field feedback, production history, and engineering documentation to help identify potential design, documentation, or manufacturing contributors.
• Recommend practical corrective actions, drawing updates, design improvements, or documentation changes to reduce repeat quality issues, production disruptions, and warranty-related concerns.
• Support product improvement, standardization, and cost-reduction initiatives by developing practical design updates under engineering guidance.
• Review legacy drawings and models for accuracy, completeness, and alignment with current engineering standards.
• Assist with engineering change requests by gathering required information, updating affected drawings, coordinating review comments, and supporting release readiness.
• Participate in design reviews, prototype evaluations, production feedback reviews, and corrective action discussions as needed.
• Support dimensional checks, basic design verification, component fit reviews, and engineering documentation validation.
• Design and help build basic design testing and validation fixtures to support product evaluation, prototype verification, production troubleshooting, quality investigations, and warranty-related analysis.
• Maintain organized engineering records and ensure released files are properly stored, controlled, approved, and accessible through PDM.
• Prepare clear documentation, summaries, and presentations to explain design changes, engineering updates, product modifications, and technical recommendations…