Senior Product Engineer

Department: Industrial Products Group

Reports to: Sr. Director of Industrial Components

Location: Onsite Battle Creek, Michigan or Old Fort, North Carolina

Travel: 25%-30% Potential

We’re looking for a forward-thinking problem solver and change-maker ready to help take NexForm to the next level. This is a full-time, on-site Senior Product Engineer role within our Industrial Products Group (ICG). The Senior Product Engineer serves as a trusted, long-term technical partner to our customers: building and maintaining strong relationships, understanding their evolving needs, and translating those needs into engineering solutions from concept through prototype and validation before transitioning programs to manufacturing.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Engage directly with customers to understand their applications, needs, and pain points.
• Translate voice-of-customer input into clear engineering requirements, design targets, and specifications.
• Serve as the primary engineering contact for the business unit, building and maintaining long-term, trusted relationships primarily with customer technical teams.
• Maintain regular contact with key customers through site visits, technical reviews, and check-ins to stay ahead of their needs and identify new opportunities.
• Partner with Sales and Program Management to strengthen existing customer accounts and grow NexForm’s position in the markets we target.
• Communicate technical information clearly in customer meetings, design reviews, and technical presentations, representing NexForm professionally.
• Respond to customer requests, engineering changes, and technical questions in a timely, solutions-focused manner.
• Remain a consistent point of contact after launch, supporting customers with field concerns, product updates, and continuous improvement requests.
• Build and refine prototype parts and tooling quickly to support design iteration and customer evaluation.
• Balance customer requirements against manufacturability, process capability, and cost constraints throughout development.
• Apply Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles to prototype and production designs.
• Create and maintain technical data to protect the company’s IP.
• Develop and execute Design Verification Plan and Report (DVP&R) test plans that validate part performance against customer specifications and applicable industry standards.
• Coordinate testing with technicians and outside test facilities; analyze results and drive corrective design actions.
• Deliver customer-facing milestones, including prototypes, data packages, and relative information on schedule and to specification.
• Plan and coordinate engineering deliverables to support program timing and customer milestones.
• Participate in Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) activities and support Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) submissions.
• Partner with manufacturing and launch engineering to transition programs to production by providing relevant technical data and product information.
• Make timely, well-reasoned decisions on design trade-offs, test failures, and go/no-go program decisions.
• Proactively identify program risks and improvement opportunities and bring recommendations forward.
• Lead through influence, rallying teammates, technicians, and customer contacts around program plans without formal authority.
• Share technical knowledge and support the development of less experienced engineers and technicians.

REQUIREMENTS:

This position is onsite at either our Battle Creek, Michigan or Old Fort, North Carolina location. Ability and willingness to travel up to 25–30%, including visits to customer sites, NexForm facilities, and test facilities. Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Materials, Chemical, Textile or a related engineering discipline. Minimum of five years of engineering experience in product development, including direct customer-facing responsibility and a track record of building and maintaining long-term customer relationships. Proven track record developing products from concept through prototype and validation, with experience supporting production launch. Experience with fiber-based, nonwoven, acoustic / NVH, or thermal insulation products preferred. Customer-first mindset, with the relationship-building skills to earn trust and become a go-to technical partner for customer teams. Hands-on experience building prototypes and developing prototype tooling. Demonstrated experience designing and executing DVP&R test plans and interpreting test data against customer and industry standards. Knowledge of APQP, PPAP, DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, GD&T, and quality systems. Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the confidence to represent NexForm in front of customers. Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and decision-making skills, including the ability to make sound calls on design trade-offs under pressure. Ability to manage multiple customer programs simultaneously in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities. Ability to lead through influence and collaborate effectively with customers, suppliers, and internally with cross-functional teams. Self-starter who takes ownership, follows through reliably, and seeks out greater responsibility.

Who We Are

NexForm, headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, is a vertically integrated manufacturer of engineered fiber solutions for automotive thermal and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) applications. We design and produce lightweight, durable components for leading OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, with operations in the U.S. and Mexico. Backed by Crest Rock, NexForm is focused on growth through innovation, expanded capabilities, and operational excellence. NexForm offers competitive compensation and benefits package (including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, Rx, life insurance, disability coverage, 401K and company match, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement eligibility, etc.) NexForm is an Equal Opportunity Employer. At NexForm, we take pride in our diverse team. Our organization is made up of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, races, beliefs, and experiences, all united by a shared goal of making a positive impact. We’ve seen firsthand the strength that equity brings and believe everyone should have equal opportunities to grow, succeed, and live with purpose.

Unsolicited Resumes from Third-Party Recruiters Please note that, in accordance with NexForm policy, we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters. Any agency, individual, or entity that submits a resume without prior authorization does so with the understanding that NexForm reserves the right to hire the candidate at its discretion without any obligation to pay a fee.