Sr. Product Engineer

About the Company

I

f you’re passionate about future-focused innovation and joining a team where your ideas are valued and your skills are honed, we invite you to join Ultrafabrics as we reshape the world of high-tech performance fabrics. At Ultrafabrics, we combine high-performance, comfort, and sustainability to support the visions of leading designers and manufacturers in over 10 global industries.

About the Role

Seasoned product engineering professional, collaborating in the development of PUR textile product for open line and specialized markets (furniture, hospitality, healthcare, A\&D, RV, marine, aviation) for various surface material applications, supporting the product design, development and product quality from a technical perspective. As part of the UFI Engineering team, the Senior Product Engineer interfaces directly with Product Development designers and Product Managers, the Quality team and the different markets sales managers, as well as with our partner mills technical personnel to contribute from a technical perspective to the development of new product. Responsible for resolution of technical issues with our R\&D and mills in Japan, Mexico and other locations.

Responsibilities

In Product Development

• ED\&T of new surface material products for open line (contract and residential furniture) and custom (aviation, healthcare, vertical surfaces, bus and coach) markets, supporting the Product Development department initiatives and owning the product validation interfacing with internal and 3rd party labs.
• Understand the synthetic leather material technical requirements from our main markets and customers.
• Participate in the different market’s industry associations (ACT, AATCC, BIFMA) to remain informed on upcoming requirements.
• In tandem with Product Development product managers and in partnership with other companies, develop secondary processes such as Lamination, Perforation, Embossment, Embroidery, Printing to increase the value added to Ultrafabrics product.
• Collaborate in the development of best practices for the most common processes Ultrafabrics material undergoes at customer’s production (e.g.: cut and sew, upholstery, lamination).
• Benchmark our product to leather \& fabric alternatives as well as competitor synthetic materials and identify our products’ advantages and disadvantages.
• Researching/developing sustainable options for fibers and materials for backcloths following our sustainability initiatives.
• Provide data to create the required product information sheets and sales sheets for sales to use when presenting to customers.
• Creating and keeping Outsourced Product Requirements (OPR) for partner mills when new products are being developed and tracking Engineering Change Notices (ECN) when changes to production are made.
• Technical research about chemical additives needed such as Antimicrobial, Anti pinking, and PFOA-free ink/stain resistance treatments, matte agents.
• Participate in trade shows/conferences for new business developments.
• Cooperate with other functional areas during development, helping departmental team cohesiveness to ensure key deliverables are met.

In Product Validation

• Assess our products’ ability to meet the specifications of existing and new customers.
• Plan for new testing in accordance with specifications, obtain quotes, and coordinate with in-house or outside test facilities for development.
• Create and maintain a record of test results, drawing conclusions useful to identify unique selling points and conveying them succinctly to the Sales and Marketing teams to support the creation of collateral and generation of new sales.
• Oversee field/pilot studies, determine variables, frequency of testing.
• Prepare overview reports of testing and field studies for analysis.
• Ensure timely and accurate milestone reviews, report routinely, expose risks and elevate issues.

In Product Quality

• Support cross-functional involvement in quality processes.
• Assist the Quality department in checking specified records, files and documentation -both for quality assurance (PPAP, PFMEA, CP, etc.) as well as for quality issues resolution (8D, root cause, corrective actions).
• Coordinate with Auto Team and/or QM to obtain customer-specific requirements for PPAP submission.

Qualifications

• 5\+ years experience in coated textiles product development or materials science specialized in polymer science and textile manufacturing.
• PU manufacturing process knowledge.
• Working knowledge of backcloth constructions (knit, woven, non-woven) as it applies to fibers, fabrics and yarns; foams and upholstery for indoor and outdoor furniture and other applications.
• Able to understand and interpret customer specifications and test methods, and effectively gain technical knowledge.
• Familiarity with analytical techniques such as GC-MS, HPLC-MS, FTIR, DSC, SEM, and TGA, for chemical analysis and textile materials characterization, is a plus.
• Project management: Able to create and maintain schedules to meet customer milestones to launch programs.
• Skillful at navigating the cultural differences in working and communication styles with the Japanese, European, Mexican and American counterparts of the organization.
• Fluency in Spanish or Japanese languages is a plus.
• Demonstrated capacity to organize data, interpret technical requirements, understand test methods and reports, draw conclusions, communicate key points timely to appropriate counterparts and translate conclusions into actionable direction.

Preferred Skills

• Interacts with partner mills’ engineering and quality departments; testing labs and industry associations (BIFMA, ACT, AATCC, etc.) technical boards.
• Will collaborate closely with Engineering peers, Product Development, Quality, Program Management, and Sales teams routinely.
• Present to non-technical departments and upper management as needed.

Pay range and compensation package

Salary commensurate with experience.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Ultrafabrics is committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.