Principal Mechanical Engineer - NPD

Principal Mechanical Engineer - NPD

Location: United States - Minneapolis, MN

Pay: $113,

With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

The Principal Mechanical Engineer is a senior technical authority responsible for defining and guiding the architecture, design strategy, and execution of complex mechanical and electro‑mechanical systems within new product development. This role applies deep product and process technology knowledge, develops and applies advanced engineering methodologies, and provides technical direction where precedent may be limited.

This position operates across complex programs, product platforms, and cross‑functional teams to deliver innovative products that meet performance, cost, quality, and schedule objectives. The role balances engineering rigor and development velocity while providing technical insight to identify risks and opportunities, adjust plans, and improve outcomes.

The Principal Mechanical Engineer contributes beyond individual project execution by improving engineering practices, mentoring others, supporting technical strategic planning, and helping set the direction for product and process technology in technically complex areas.

• Serves as a recognized technical authority in mechanical and electro‑mechanical system design, with broad versatility across complex product and process technologies.
• Provides hands‑on technical leadership across multiple product programs, subsystem domains, and cross‑functional teams.
• Leads system architecture decisions, design trade‑offs, and technical risk assessments, especially where solutions may require original approaches or may not have prior application at Tennant.
• Establishes subsystem and system performance specifications and guides their evolution throughout development.
• Applies and develops advanced methodologies, tools, and technologies to improve product performance, development speed, and engineering quality.
• Identifies industry and technology trends and translates relevant insights into product, platform, and process direction.
• Provides technical insight to analyze risks and opportunities, adjust plans, and minimize schedule, cost, quality, and performance risk.
• Drives a balanced approach to engineering rigor and speed, ensuring timely decisions without compromising product integrity.
• Defines fit‑for‑purpose validation strategies aligned to program phase, technical uncertainty, and risk profile.
• Creates and evaluates concepts, models, layouts, and detailed designs to solve complex engineering problems.
• Guides analysis activities such as tolerance analysis, design verification planning, and data‑driven performance prediction.
• Leverages laboratory, field, supplier, manufacturing, and quality data to inform decisions and manage design trade‑offs.
• Collaborates with systems, electrical, software, manufacturing, sourcing, service, and quality teams to achieve integrated solutions.
• Champions initiatives to resolve critical process and technology‑related issues using structured problem solving and technical expertise.
• Drives root‑cause analysis and corrective actions for designs not meeting requirements.
• Champions engineering best practices including DFMEA, GD&T, design reviews, requirements alignment, and verification/validation discipline.
• Improves technical processes independently and through cross‑functional teams to strengthen engineering execution and repeatability.
• Contributes to technical strategic planning for a cluster of related people, projects, technologies, or product platforms.
• May lead major multi‑year projects or technical initiatives, including early evaluation of cost, schedule, quality, and technical alternatives.
• May serve as principal…