Product Development Engineer

Product Development Engineer is responsible for developing ceramic products and applications. The role will work extensively with regional suppliers, tolling partners, customers, and global technology and production teams to translate market requirements into product specifications, coordinate external development trials and material property measurements, validate performance in customer applications, and support commercialization in Asia. The position emphasizes external collaboration, supplier capability development, customer qualification, and equipment evaluation.

Responsibilities:

• Develop BN products and targeted applications by defining material, component, process, equipment, and application requirements with customers and global stakeholders.
• Identify, qualify, and develop regional suppliers and tolling partners for powder processing, forming, machining, heat treatment, and related manufacturing operations.
• Plan and coordinate supplier trials, including trial objectives, process conditions, raw material requirements, sampling plans, acceptance criteria, documentation, and follow-up actions.
• Coordinate internal and external measurement of material properties and product performance, including density, porosity, purity, phase composition, microstructure, thermal conductivity, electrical properties, mechanical properties, dimensional capability, and application-specific attributes.
• Analyze trial and characterization data, identify process-property-performance relationships, and recommend product, process, supplier, or specification changes.
• Work directly with regional customers to define application requirements, provide samples and technical data, coordinate qualification testing, investigate performance gaps, and validate product performance under customer operating conditions.
• Evaluate manufacturing, test, and characterization equipment for development and production; develop user requirements, technical specifications, supplier comparison criteria, acceptance test plans, and commissioning requirements.
• Serve as the technical interface among regional customers and suppliers and the global technology, production, quality, sourcing, and commercial teams, ensuring clear and timely communication of requirements, data, risks, decisions, and action items.
• Support technology transfer and production readiness by establishing material specifications, process windows, control plans, test methods, quality requirements, and technical documentation with suppliers and manufacturing teams.
• Manage development activities through appropriate stage-gate or tollgate processes, including schedules, budgets, technical risks, supplier deliverables, customer milestones, and commercialization readiness.
• Generate technical reports, specifications, trial plans, test protocols, customer data packages, operating procedures, invention disclosures, and other documentation needed for qualification and commercialization.
• Travel periodically within the region and internationally to visit customers, suppliers, tolling partners, and manufacturing sites for trials, audits, equipment evaluations, technical reviews, and qualification support.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Ceramics Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical field, with experience appropriate for a P3 product development role.
• Knowledge of ceramic materials, powder processing, solid forming, machining, thermal management, or related ceramic manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer application requirements into material properties, product specifications, test methods, and supplier process requirements.
• Experience in planning and executing trials with equipment manufacturers, tolling partners, test laboratories, or pilot production organizations.
• Working knowledge of material characterization methods relevant to ceramic solids, such as density and porosity measurement, microscopy, phase analysis, chemical purity analysis, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, mechanical testing, and dimensional inspection.
• Ability to evaluate process and test equipment, develop technical specifications, compare supplier proposals, and support acceptance testing and commissioning.
• Proficient in statistical methods, including measurement system analysis, design of experiments, hypothesis testing, process capability, and process control.
• Project management experience, including planning, prioritization, supplier coordination, risk management, and delivery of customer samples and qualification milestones.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills for working with regional customers and suppliers and with global technology, production, quality, sourcing, and commercial teams.
• Ability to communicate technical requirements across language, cultural, and functional boundaries and to document decisions, responsibilities, and follow-up actions accurately.
• Experience working in industrial environments with appropriate attention to safety reviews, PPE, management of change, supplier confidentiality, and disciplined documentation.
• Willingness and ability to travel periodically to customer, supplier, tolling partner, and manufacturing locations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with new product development using Stage-Gate or tollgate processes.
• Three to five years of related industrial R&D, product development, process development, or application development experience.
• Experience in supporting customers, technical service, or application development in Asia.
• Six Sigma certification and experience working with statistical software such as Minitab.
• Background aligned with ceramic material synthesis, powder characterization, structure-property-processing relationships, and practical scale-up from lab to pilot or manufacturing environment.