Product Development Engineer - Suterra

Join our dynamic maintenance team at Suterra, where you'll be at the forefront of transforming the agricultural industry with cutting-edge pheromone-based innovations.

At Suterra, we are innovators by nature and for nature. From our founding in 1984, we have been driven by one goal: to protect the future of the food supply in partnership with sustainable growers. Driven by Science, we have patented technology designed for all growing conditions, that are applied on more than 1 million acres worldwide in all major specialty crops on 5 continents. 

We are recruiting a Product Development Engineer to design and support product concepts that can be utilized for multiple finished product formulations for customers worldwide.  The Product Development Engineer will translate product functional requirements into detailed component and material specifications, develop product performance tests, and manage suppliers that provide outsourced components.  This role will extend from product design into product manufacturing, where the Product Engineer will support the specification of equipment and will lead new product launches with supplier qualification and production line trials.  This role provides a unique opportunity to take a product concept all the way from a sketch to a high-volume commercial product on sale in multiple markets.

This person will interface closely with both customer-facing teams and internal departments, including Sales, Field Service, Regulatory, Sourcing, and Manufacturing.

Responsibilities Include:

Product Design:

• Early partnership with marketing teams to identify design elements that are new, unique or difficult and enable their realization through all engineering verification and validation cycles.
• Understanding the functional requirements for the product and developing quantified functional specifications to evaluate product designs.
• Translating functional specifications into detailed component and material specifications.
• Developing test criteria for evaluating the quality of products at the end of the manufacturing process.
• Drive DfX activities in the hardware product development schedules to meet or exceed product targets (ex. Manufacturability, scale, quality, reliability, safety, cost).
• Drive clear and accurate communications and recommendations to peers and senior management by distilling complex technical challenges, outlining options, and providing supporting data.
• Perform technical analyses, recommend, prepare and execute designs of experiments, and characterize process and design interactions.

Supplier Evaluation & Qualification:

• Identifying candidate suppliers for materials and components.
• Assessing supplier technical capabilities for sourcing decisions.
• Supporting the qualification of new suppliers with on-site visits and quality control assessments.

New Product Launch: 

• Devising trials for demonstration of production process capability pertaining to new products.
• Analyzing trial data to identify issues and propose improvements.
• Defining material specifications, SOPs, and process parameters that are compatible with our goals for safety, quality, delivery and cost in mass production.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and external vendors to identify, characterize and deliver manufacturing processes that enable the commercialization of unique and emerging technologies in new product categories.

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering.
• Three to five years of experience in an engineering role involving product development or manufacturing.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems while mitigating risks to resources and deadlines.
• Concurrent engineering experience with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in CAD/CAM software required, SolidWorks or Autodesk Fusion 360 preferred.
• Experience with analytical tools for assessing design performance, like Finite Element Analysis.
• Understanding of and experience with tools for characterizing and validating processes, including Statistical Process Control and Design of Experiments, including tools like JMP and Minitab.
• Understanding of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing.
• Strong computer skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Enthusiasm for teamwork at multiple levels and across multiple functions of the organization.
• Strong written and oral communication skill
• Travel to domestic and overseas vendors and factory sites as required.

Suterra is wholly owned by The Wonderful Company

The Wonderful Company, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a privately held $6 billion global agribusiness company with consumer brands including Wonderful® Pistachios, Wonderful® Halos®, POM Wonderful®, FIJI® Water, JUSTIN® and Landmark® wines, as well as the Teleflora® flower delivery service.

To learn more about The Wonderful Company, visit www.wonderful.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To view the current Corporate Social Responsibility report, visit www.wonderful.com/csr.

The Wonderful Company is an Equality Opportunity Employer that provides opportunities for advancement. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce that embodies a deep culture of acceptance, equity, and inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, region, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories.

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