About the Role

The Product Validation Engineer plays a key role in the development of new products by developing the tests required to qualify the incredible products we develop. This individual participates in the design process, partnering with YETI Design Engineers, to create Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), developing Design Validation Plans and working with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Test labs and Product Management to ensure that all testing follows defined procedures and delivers results the team can use to evaluate the product.

What You’ll Do

• Generate well-designed tests that are rooted in a deep understanding of the consumers expectations and intended use for unique products not defined by industry standards. Support the recommendations of each test with a statistical analysis to define the severity of the test relative to the nominal consumer use case.
• Confirm new tests deliver effective, repeatable results and document the procedure in such detail that our global lab partners are equipped to run the tests.
• Serves as a product validation expert on project core teams
• Leverage advanced knowledge of mechanical design principles and understanding of common lab equipment to develop creative solutions to simulate consumer behavior.
• Ability to convert customer use case to test protocol and requirement.
• Own training and auditing lab partners on how to run test procedures required for the development of any given product (could require domestic and/or international travel)
• Partner with product management and industrial design to understand the target consumer, how they intend to use, or may misuse, the product and use this information to determine appropriate testing baselines.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Material Science, Chemistry or similar area of study preferred
• Greater than 5 years of design qualification experience, which includes establishing, testing and evaluating product qualifications against specifications.
• Advanced knowledge of industry standards applicable to the design and test of products
• Strong technical background - heat transfer, impact, vibration, abrasion, environmental, life/cycle testing, material validation, and process validation
• Root Cause Analysis experience in mix material product assemblies
• Proven record of accomplishment in the design and build of test equipment to support thermal, mechanical, repetitive motion and/or other testing needs
• Proficient with electronic and mechanical test equipment
• Excellent social, interpersonal, and presentation/communication skills - ability to convey knowledge, skills, and results to NPD customers, lab engineers, technicians, and other applicable personnel
• Technical writing skills a must
• Proficient in reading and/or producing schematics and drawings, identifying components, and component values via CAD design tools (SolidWorks preferred)
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and similar products (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, etc.)
• Product Design experience
• FEA experience
• Experience with statical analysis software (JMP, Minitab)
• Injection molding and/or textiles experience
• Regulatory compliance experience
• Color science experience a plus