JOB SUMMARY:

Join The Toro Company’s R&D team and leverage your technical expertise to create and develop innovative solutions including new and improved machinery, tooling, processes, and products. Engineers at Toro Micro Irrigation participate in one or more project teams focused on mechanical, extrusion, molding or materials research projects. Under limited supervision, this position is responsible for all aspects of product and process lifecycle: Concept, Design, Prototyping, Performance Qualification Testing, Manufacturing Integration, Continual Product and Process Improvements.  Works with additional internal (engineers, technicians, quality, operations, maintenance) and external resources (equipment and material suppliers, toolmakers, and customers).  Leads and project manages small development teams, and larger cross functional teams.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develops new and improved machinery, tooling, processes, and products.
• Performs engineering tasks covering all project phases: concept, feasibility, development, prototyping, qualification, documentation generation and release, training, manufacturing launch, and production validation.
• Creates project plans, schedules, and definitions of deliverables. Provides project status on monthly basis.  Accomplishes project objectives, meeting resourced schedule estimates.   Includes leading small development teams, and larger cross functional teams.
• Conducts research and / or field testing of newly developed products. Includes periodically performing activities within an agricultural field environment.
• Generates operating procedures, process setups, Quality documentation, and product specifications. Provides training to Operations and Quality.
• Provides direct production support, as required, for production processes in El Cajon. Provides remote production support, and periodic direct production support as required to Toro manufacturing sites in Texas, Florida, and global locations.  (onsite support to other facilities up to 5% of time).
• Working with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Process Engineering, defines, analyzes, coordinates and performs continuous improvement activities.
• Perform analysis to predict the behavior of the proposed designs. Analysis tools may include closed form solutions, or electronic simulation programs.
• Consult on proposed projects with research scientists, agronomists, engineers, and marketing staff to develop hypotheses and experiments which simulate the requirements of the customer. May be responsible for work direction of other staff including research technicians, engineers, designers, drafters, contract or consulting personnel.
• Work with vendors to finalize designs and implement, in hardware, that meet the needs of the product or production process application. Develops specifications and working agreements with vendors. Helps ensure that the vendor meets the requirements of the design.
• Keep abreast of new technological developments, components, concepts, materials, manufacturing processes, or competitive environment which would affect product designs or the design process.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

JOB DIMENSIONS:

• Receives work direction from Sr. Principal Engineer
• Work independently and also collaborate with or lead other R&D staff members.
• Organize and lead project teams within R&D, and cross functionally (Operations, Process Engineering, Quality, Product Management).
• May provide direct or indirect supervision to research technicians, engineers, designers, drafters, contract or consulting personnel.
• Direct and coordinate activities of supporting vendors to accomplish project goals

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science degree or higher in mechanical engineering.
2. EXPERIENCE: 5 to 7 years process development and product development.  Proven record of accomplishments leading to innovative new production processes, and products or features.   Ideal candidate has experience developing continuous plastic production processes including molding, web handling, mechanical systems, automation, tooling, extrusion, and insertion.  Experience with plastic products designed for water flow a plus.  Agricultural irrigation exposure a plus.
3. TRAINING: Must have knowledge of Parametric CAD for design and analysis, geometric tolerance knowledge, and experience working within a PDM system.  (Creo preferred, SolidWorks secondary preference)  Fluid flow and thermoplastic materials testing experience is a plus.  Must have computer skills for theoretical analysis, spreadsheets and word processing for effective communication and presentation.
4. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Be proficient in engineering mathematics.
5. REASONING ABILITY: Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.  Ability to solve complex engineering problems, including evaluation / analysis of multivariable continuous production processes.  Ability to prepare clearly worded project reports or technical analyzes.
6. CERTIFICATES/LICENSES: None required.
7. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  When performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required:

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Required Skills Required Experience

• 4-year degree preferred in a business discipline. However, the degree may be substituted with an appropriate combination of experience, related education such as DAWIA and DAU certifications, and/or at least 24 business credits from an accredited educational institution. A DAWIA Level III certification or DAU equivalent in Contract Management is preferred.
• 7 - 10 years of direct subcontracts/contracts experience that includes the following to assure successful execution and fulfillment of the job description, duties, roles and responsibilities of an SCA:
  • Understanding and experience with the DoD Acquisition and (Sub) Contracts Lifecycle which includes requirements definition; pre-award; post-award and oversight of cost, schedule and performance requirements of subcontractors
  • Thorough familiarity with supply chain performance management, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and process improvement implementation
  • Ability to effectively contribute to cross-functional teams in the execution and implementation of Supply Chain performance/process/subcontract enhancement
  • Excellent presentation, interpersonal, and communication skills
  • Action and closure oriented
  • Disciplined business acumen, diplomacy, multi-functional team orientation, high ethical standards, and flexibility
  • Demonstrated program performance and business management expertise
  • Demonstrated ability to create and drive new and innovative solutions
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate and influence executives at the Director and VP level
  • Skilled and knowledgeable in the execution of subcontracts with minimal management oversight
  • Advanced MS Word and Excel skills