Product Safety & Forensics Engineer, Small Domestic Appliances

                                                                Job Summary

This new position will lead all product safety and field return activities for the Small Appliances team. The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of R&D and product safety experience, preferably in consumer products/appliances segments.  This candidate will work closely with the R&D teams regarding product safety – including field surveillance, root cause analysis, product safety training, and third party safety regulatory requirements (i.e. UL, CSA, etc.)  This is a full-time position.  Some domestic and international travel is required.

Essential Job Responsibilities

·       Monitor reports of safety allegations from multiple streams of data.

·       Develop a new and improved database system to track all reported safety allegations.

·       Establish a new field return lab to investigate product safety allegations related to all small appliances and environmental products.

·       Work closely with the quality organization to determine which units to return to the lab for further evaluation.  

·       Work with external forensic investigators, on allegations associated with property damage beyond the product, to understand the narrative of the event and findings from both scene and lab exams. 

·       Travel to third party lab and/or scene exams as needed to investigate safety allegations resulting in property damage, to determine cause and origin of the event.    

·       Summarize and report out findings from all streams of data on a monthly and/or ad hoc basis. 

·       Provide insights and feedback to R&D team regarding construction and testing requirements for future products under development.

·       Be a champion to further establish and define product safety processes and procedures for the team to follow.

·       Lead product safety training for an international team of engineers on an annual basis.

·       Mentor other engineers regarding product safety best practices

·       Manage various action items & day-to-day communication with various internal/external parties – including local engineering team, international teams, legal department, investigators, etc.

·       Develop a thorough understanding of existing and upcoming safety regulation changes affecting these products.

·       Work with the R&D teams to ensure future compliance & that the necessary design work is being achieved to meet regulations

·       Be a hands-on engineer who can work in the lab to test units and root cause failures

·       Maintain excellent communication with global colleagues – including taking occasional weekend/evening calls or meetings, helping track project milestones, deliverables, action items, etc.

·       Ability to travel domestically & internationally

Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree in engineering, preferably Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering

·       10+ years’ engineering experience, preferably in consumer electronics/appliances segments

·       Extensive experience investigating insurance claims & failure modes specific to small appliances, fans, heaters and air purifiers.

·       Awareness of heater recall constructions and failure modes

·       Knowledge of arc tracking failure modes and experience testing PCB designs to limit the propagation of such failure modes

·       A general understanding & familiarity with the construction of heaters, electric pressure cookers, air fryers and other small appliances.

·       Experience conducting forced failure testing, including NiCr wire, locked rotor, and UL flammability testing

·       Goal-oriented & self-managed

·       Excellent communication & organization skills

·       Ability to thrive in a collaborative team-environment

·       Be a self-starter with excellent organization skills

Preferred Qualifications

·       Master’s degree in engineering, preferably Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering

·       Direct product safety experience in consumer electronics/appliances/HVAC segments

·       Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator (CFEI)

·       EPA 608 certified

·       History of working with global colleagues