Product Development Engineer

Position: New Product Development Engineer
Experience:

5–8 Years
Industry:  Rubber / Elastomers / Rubber Products
Department:  New Product Development
Position:  Senior Engineer – NPD

Location:

Kuruli
Reporting To:  Factory Manager
Job Purpose
To lead and execute new product development activities for rubber products from concept to successful production, ensuring the products meet customer requirements, quality standards, cost targets, and timelines.

Key Responsibilities
Handle end-to-end  New Product Development (NPD)  activities from customer requirement/technical specifications through trials, validation, and commercialization.
Study customer drawings, specifications, standards, and application requirements and convert them into product and process requirements.
Develop and optimize  rubber compounds , including selection of polymers, fillers, plasticize rs, curing systems, and additives as applicable.
Coordinate with  R&D, Quality, Production, Tool Room, Purchase, and Sales/Customer teams  for successful product development.
Prepare and review  BOM, process specifications, technical documents, trial reports, and development records .
Plan and conduct laboratory, moulding, extrusion, mixing, and production trials as applicable to the product.
Analyze trial results and identify opportunities for improvement in  compound formulation, process parameters, dimensional accuracy, and product performance .
Conduct root-cause analysis for development and trial failures using tools such as  5 Why, Fishbone, DOE, and other problem-solving techniques .
Support development of prototypes, samples, and pre-production batches within agreed timelines.
Validate products through appropriate  physical, chemical, mechanical, aging, and application-specific testing .
Ensure products comply with applicable  customer specifications, ASTM/ISO/DIN or other relevant standards .
Work on  cost reduction, material optimization, alternate raw-material development, and process improvement .
Support successful transfer of new products from development to  regular production  with defined process controls.
Interact with customers during technical discussions, sample submissions, development reviews, and technical issue resolution, where required.
Monitor development projects against  quality, cost, delivery, and performance targets .
Maintain proper documentation of development history, trials, test results, changes, and lessons learned.
Support  PPAP/APQP, FMEA, Control Plan, MSA, capability studies, and other customer-specific requirements , where applicable.
Identify opportunities for product innovation and improvement in existing products.
Required Technical Skills
Strong knowledge of  rubber compounding and processing .
Good understanding of rubber raw materials such as  , S ,  , EPDM, N , CR, silicone, FKM , etc., depending on product/application.
Knowledge of  mixing, calendaring, extrusion, compression/injection/transfer moulding, curing/vulcanization , and related processes.
Understanding of rubber testing and characterization, including  hardness, tensile, elongation, tear, compression set, abrasion, aging, rheology/MDR, specific gravity , etc.
Ability to interpret  engineering drawings, product specifications, material specifications, and test standards .
Experience in  troubleshooting development and production-related technical issues .
Knowledge of  APQP, PPAP, FMEA, 8D, CAPA, SPC, and root-cause analysis  is desirable.

Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
Working knowledge of  MS Excel, PowerPoint, and technical documentation .
Education
B.E./B.Tech in Rubber Technology, Polymer Technology, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering , or equivalent.
M.E./M.Tech in Rubber/Polymer Technology will be an added advantage.
Preferred Industry Experience
Experience in…