Design Engineer

At Rite-Hite, your work makes an impact. As the global leader in loading dock and door equipment, we design and deliver solutions that keep our customers safe, secure, and productive. Here, you’ll find innovation, stability, and the chance to grow your career as part of a team that’s always looking ahead.

Lead and support Advanced Technology Development and New Product Development projects for new and existing mechanical products. Work under the direction of the Engineering Manager, Engineering Project Manager, or Project Engineer to define requirements, develop and evaluate concepts, create production-ready designs, coordinate prototypes, complete validation testing, and support commercialization. The position also supports product life cycle needs, cost reduction, quality improvements, and alternative sourcing.

• Lead mechanical product development activities from concept through production release, including design, analysis, prototyping, testing, and implementation.
• Support development of safety equipment and updates to established product lines in accordance with the New Product Development process.
• Use approved product requirements to develop detailed mechanical designs, component specifications, and verification plans.
• Create and revise 3D models, engineering drawings, bills of materials, specifications, and other product documentation.
• Develop and execute validation and production test plans, including outdoor testing when required.
• Analyze test results and field performance, identify failure modes, and implement design improvements.
• Evaluate materials, components, tolerances, and manufacturing methods to achieve product performance, quality, cost, and manufacturability objectives.
• Support supplier transitions by reviewing legacy documentation, updating designs and specifications, coordinating tooling, reviewing samples, and qualifying production components.
• Identify and implement cost-reduction opportunities during redesign, retooling, and product life cycle activities.
• Evaluate alternative components and suppliers, and redesign related components when required to maintain product availability and supply continuity.
• Investigate quality improvement requests, supplier concerns, procurement issues, and field problems using structured root-cause and corrective-action methods.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Operations, Procurement, Sales, Service, customers, and suppliers throughout project execution.
• Maintain engineering documentation and product data in accordance with document revision and MRP requirements.
• Prepare, distribute, and review work completed by Associate Engineers and Designers when assigned.
• Mentor and collaborate with other team members to improve engineering practices and shorten development timelines.

• Advance strategic product-development priorities by delivering new products, product improvements, and product life cycle projects to agreed requirements and schedules.
• Provide clear ownership of assigned projects, including technical decisions, risks, testing, documentation, and cross-functional communication.
• Protect product availability and business continuity by responding to supplier, quality, and procurement issues in a timely manner.

• Ability to apply algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and statistics to engineering analysis, design decisions, and test data.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to organize complex information, identify root causes, compare alternatives, and develop practical design solutions.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts, risks, recommendations, and test results clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, make sound engineering decisions, and work independently with appropriate direction.

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a related engineering field required.
• Two or more years of experience in mechanical design, product development, manufacturing engineering, or a related field.
• Experience developing mechanical products from concept through production release.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and engineering drawing software;
  Solid Works experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of engineering drawings, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, tolerance analysis, and design documentation.
• Experience developing test plans, conducting validation testing, analyzing…