Principal Engineer - Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) & Reliability

Eaton's Electrical Sector Americas is seeking a Principal Engineer - Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) & Reliability to enhance engineering excellence by turning customer needs into strong requirements, reducing technical risk, resolving complex reliability issues, and improving product quality, manufacturability, and customer satisfaction. This role may be located in Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC; or Milwaukee, WI. A hybrid work model (3 onsite/2 remote) is available, along with relocation assistance.

The Principal Engineer will serve as a highly autonomous, hands-on subject matter expert working closely with product teams, quality, lab and validation teams, manufacturing, service, MBSE Chiefs, and technical leaders. The role will independently lead complex technical work, apply DFSS and reliability methods, convert analysis into corrective actions and design improvements, and coach engineers so capability grows within project teams and across the organization. He/she will work in close partnership with the Senior Chief Engineer - DFSS & Reliability and the Technical Director to align priorities and strategy, while maintaining the independence, leadership, and decision-making authority expected of a senior technical role.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Lead the application and deployment of DFSS and Design for Reliability practices across assigned programs and organizations, developing practical methods, standard work, templates, and core deliverables that integrate with product development, quality, and MBSE workflows.
• Independently lead complex technical and quality problem-solving efforts by applying DFSS and reliability tools to root-cause analysis, risk reduction, design trade-offs, and data-driven decision making.
• Guide teams in the use of methods such as QFD, CTQ flow-down, DFMEA / system FMEA, DOE, tolerance analysis, DVP&R, FRACAS, 8D, 5-Whys, Ishikawa, Pareto analysis, SPC, reliability growth, reliability prediction, and life-data / Weibull analysis where appropriate.
• Partner with lab and validation teams to define effective test strategies, test plans, instrumentation needs, MSA (Measurement Systems Analysis), sample-size considerations, data-gathering approaches, and acceptance criteria that support DFSS and reliability analysis.
• Translate test results, field data, customer feedback, and failure information into actionable insights, including root-cause identification, corrective actions, design improvements, and reliability-growth plans.
• Coach engineers, technical leaders, and project teams while working side-by-side with them on active programs, building capability to execute DFSS and reliability practices within their own projects.
• Define, track, and interpret meaningful quality and reliability indicators such as DPMO, Cp/Cpk, MTBF, failure rate, availability, uptime, corrective-action closure, and reliability-risk reduction, as appropriate to the program.
• Collaborate with the Senior Chief Engineer, MBSE Chiefs, Systems Architects, Product Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Service, and customer-facing teams to connect customer needs, requirements, architecture, verification plans, and quality-risk management.
• Develop reusable training material, coaching plans, playbooks, and deployment mechanisms that improve DFSS process adherence, consistency, and competence development across programs.
• Advise engineering leaders and influence program teams by providing expert guidance on quality, reliability, product assurance, and process-improvement priorities that improve product outcomes and business performance.

QUALIFICATIONS - BASIC / REQUIRED

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Systems Engineering, Quality Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in product development, systems engineering, quality engineering, reliability engineering, DFSS, product assurance, or related technical roles.
• Six Sigma Black Belt certification or equivalent demonstrated DFSS expertise.
• Strong hands-on experience applying DFSS and reliability tools in real product-development, validation, quality, or problem-solving environments.
• Demonstrated experience independently leading root-cause analysis, FMEA, test planning, validation, failure analysis, corrective and preventive action processes, and data-driven engineering decisions.
• Experience coaching technical teams and influencing cross-functional stakeholders in a matrixed engineering organization.
• Strong understanding of product failure modes, field-performance risks, design and process variation, validation challenges, and customer-impacting quality issues.
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly to engineering teams, project leaders, quality teams, labs, and senior stakeholders.
• Eaton will not consider applicants for employment immigration sponsorship or support for this position. This means that Eaton will not support any CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT plans, F-1 to H-1B, H-1B cap registration, O-1, E-3, TN status, I-485 job portability, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS - PREFERRED

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Systems Engineering, Quality Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 15+ years of experience applying or leading DFSS, reliability, product assurance, engineering excellence, or technical improvement initiatives in complex product-development environments.
• Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification.
• Certified Reliability Engineer, Certified Quality Engineer, or a similar recognized quality or reliability credential.
• Experience integrating DFSS and reliability practices with MBSE, requirements traceability, system architecture, verification planning, and digital-thread workflows.
• Experience partnering closely with lab, validation, manufacturing, service, or field-quality organizations to improve test quality, data collection, and engineering learning loops.
• Experience with power electronics, power systems, UPS, drives, converters, transformers, protection, datacenter power infrastructure, or other Eaton-relevant product domains.
• Experience developing training programs, communities of practice, or technical coaching frameworks for engineering teams.

POSITION CRITERIA / DIMENSIONS

• Provides autonomous technical leadership on complex programs and high-impact DFSS and reliability challenges.
• Improves DFSS and reliability competence through hands-on project support, coaching, reusable templates, and practical deployment mechanisms.
• Supports product quality and reliability improvements through stronger root-cause analysis, data-based validation, test planning, and corrective-action practices.
• Strengthens alignment among product teams, quality, labs, MBSE Chiefs, systems engineering, validation organizations, and senior technical leadership.
• Contributes to measurable improvement in quality and reliability indicators such as defect reduction, test effectiveness, reliability-risk reduction, and customer-impacting issue prevention.

At Eaton, we strive to provide compensation and benefits that attract, engage, and retain the best talent. This includes competitive pay and a variety of benefit programs for eligible employees. The expected annual salary range for this role is $154,000 - $225,000 a year. This role is also eligible for a variable incentive program. Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

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Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

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We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.