Project Engineer - New Product Development (Heat Pumps)

AOS/Johnson City, TN

A. O. Smith Corporation, founded in 1874, is a $3.5 billion publicly traded global water technology leader (NYSE: AOS) with over 12,000 employees globally.  We are one of the world’s leading manufacturers and best-known brands of residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, as well as a global leader in the manufacturing of water treatment systems for household and light commercial applications.  Our Johnson City location in Eastern Tennessee is home to approximately 1000 employees on our Manufacturing and Engineering teams for Residential Water Heaters, a product category in which we have #1 market share - nearly 40% of homes with a water heater have an A. O. Smith brand.

Overview

A.O. Smith’s Residential Product Engineering team develops Residential Water Heaters for Retail and Wholesale channels, a category where we are the industry leader.  We are looking for a Project Engineer – New Product Development (Heat Pumps) that will be located at our Residential Engineering Center of Excellence in Johnson City, Tennessee.   This role will work closely with the Global Engineering team in Nanjing, China as the focus will be on Residential Heat Pump projects.

What is unique about this role?

• You will be the liaison between Residential Engineering Center of Excellence in Tennessee, the Global Engineering Center in Nanjing and several manufacturing locations in North America.
• You will have the ability to own Engineering projects from concept to manufacturing
• You will enjoy have support throughout the Engineering process with our Simulation team, CAD Design team, and Lab Tech team
• You will benefit from company growth and a defined career ladder allows our Engineers to move up a Technical Expert path or a Management path

Responsibilities

• Conduct Project Identification meetings with Product and Senior Management to define project scope and provide a written description of the project.
• Plan/implement an engineering program using the New Product Development System as guide to achieve the goals of the project. 
• Liaison with all departmental contacts as required to gain input when needed, and effectively communicate the status of project activity routinely through scheduled project reviews/reports.
• Provide detailed test programs and guidance to assigned lab and CAD personnel in the conductance and documentation of product specific test standards; evaluate data and make recommendations.
• Review product design for compliance with engineering principles, company standards, and customer contract requirements, and related specifications.
• Coordinate activities to efficiently resolve technical developments, rescheduling issues, and engineering design and test problems as they arise.
• Evaluate and approve design changes, specifications, and drawing releases.
• Interact with and mentor other Engineering Staff to provide input regarding areas of your expertise.
• Prepare project expense estimates and control expenditures within the limitations of the project budget.
• Collaboration between A.O. Smith and respective test agencies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or another related discipline plus 3 years of work experience OR Master’s Degree in Engineering or a related discipline plus 1 year of work experience
• 1+ year of Refrigerant Cycle experience dealing with HVAC air conditioning systems and/or heat pumps.
• Heat Pump Equipment Design (Sizing of Condensers, Evaporators and Compressors)
• Air conditioning and/or Heat Pumps design and hands on testing experience.
• Experience with simulation/analysis tools (CFD, FEA), CAD tools (Solidworks), and ERP software (SAP or similar).
• Great communication, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Strong time management and prioritization skills in order to balance projects within a defined schedule and budget.
• Ability to travel 10 - 15% for agency certification, trial builds, attend meetings with other A. O. Smith Engineering teams, provide technical support to manufacturing and service, etc.

We Offer

Competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plans which include medical and dental insurance, company-sponsored life insurance, retirement security savings plan, short- and long-term disability programs and tuition assistance.