Principal Design Engineer - Mechanical / Hardware

Job ID: 17288

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Newell Brands is a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands like Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid®, Sharpie® and Yankee Candle® - and 24,000 talented teammates around the world. Our culture is built on values in action: Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership, and Leadership. We work together to win, grow, and make a real impact-supported by a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative environment where you can be your best, every day.

The opportunity

Graco Children’s Products is seeking a Principal Design Engineer to lead engineering work on new and existing durable consumer products. You will scout and develop technologies for use within the Newell Brands Product Development Process, champion new product development from conception through production launch, and ensure products meet cost, timing, quality, and technical specifications.

This is a senior individual-contributor role with broad influence and no formal people-management responsibility. You will recommend platform architecture, guide large and complex programs, and work across Marketing, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and global supplier teams. The role includes a strong emphasis on electromechanical power transmission and motion control. Some travel may be required.

What you will do

Business and program leadership

• Champion engineering execution for NPD projects from conception through production launch while following the Newell Brands Product Development Process.
• Understand category profit-and-loss drivers and influence decisions affecting program margins, cost, revenue, schedule, quality, and overall financial health.
• Validate program success requirements, define the most timely and cost-effective path forward, and influence department budget priorities to support business objectives.
• Review project proposals cross-functionally, establish technical specifications, and develop timing and action plans for large-scope programs in partnership with senior Program Managers.

Technical leadership and innovation

• Recommend the architecture and product-design approach for an entire platform to ensure performance, scalability, and design consistency.
• Develop fully engineered products and solutions autonomously or as the lead engineer on a project team, applying expert judgment with minimal guidance.
• Scout, assess, and implement existing, emerging, and disruptive technologies at the project and category level, with an emphasis on electromechanical power transmission and motion control.
• Apply advanced knowledge of product specifications, material selection, manufacturing processes, cost constraints, sustainability, and the regulatory and legal landscape to deliver efficient, high-quality products.
• Create and review 3D CAD models, assemblies, engineering drawings, interface definitions, tolerance analyses, bills of materials, and design-change documentation.
• Lead prototyping, design validation, technical reviews, risk assessment, test planning, and systematic root-cause analysis to resolve complex product and manufacturing problems.
• Demonstrate expert knowledge of manufacturing technologies and use DFM/DFA principles to influence product architecture, supplier capability, tooling, process selection, quality, and production readiness.
• Identify and recommend invention and ideation submissions to Intellectual Property counsel to build a defensible competitive advantage.

Cross-functional influence

• Serve as a company subject-matter expert, providing creative solutions to business-critical challenges and roadblocks across organizational, cultural, and geographic boundaries.
• Translate unmet consumer and market insights into product and system specifications that drive innovation and project execution.
• Informally direct technical-team execution, monitor product deliverables, and oversee technical status reporting and mitigation plans for management review.
• Partner with Marketing, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and domestic and global suppliers to balance NPD, productivity, derivative-product, and commercialization needs.
• Challenge prevailing viewpoints when appropriate, communicate complex technical concepts in clear language, negotiate cross-functional tradeoffs, and present opportunities in forums that promote ideation and technical sharing.
• Set engineering standards and reusable design practices while coaching engineers through technical feedback, design critique, and hands-on problem solving.

What you bring

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• 10+ years of product-development experience, including a proven record of driving successful durable-consumer-goods launches on time, on cost, on budget, and to specification.
• Expert-level proficiency in 3D CAD modeling of parts and assemblies; Creo experience is preferred.
• Deep knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-up, fits, materials, manufacturing processes, and the design of complex mechanical assemblies.
• Demonstrated experience developing products that integrate electronics, motors, sensors, wiring, controls, power transmission, motion control, or other electromechanical systems.
• Expert problem-solving skills and a systematic approach to problem definition, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and verification of the solution.
• Strong prototyping, design-validation, test-development, and model-building skills.
• Experience with intellectual property, invention disclosures, patents, and collaboration with IP counsel.
• Experience leading complex projects with domestic and global suppliers from development through production qualification.
• Strong working knowledge of PLM/PDM systems, specifications, BOMs, ECO/ECN workflows, and production documentation.
• Effective planning and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, risks, schedules, and technical deliverables.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, with a record of leading through influence and aligning diverse stakeholders on difficult technical decisions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, Project, and PowerPoint.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in the relevant product category or a highly regulated product-development environment.
• Expertise in one or more relevant specialties, such as mechanisms, structural analysis, thermal management, fluids, acoustics, shock and vibration, or precision systems.
• Experience with reliability engineering, FMEA, statistical methods, Design for Six Sigma, cost optimization, or high-volume manufacturing.

How success will be measured

• NPD programs launch on time, on cost, on budget, and to agreed quality and technical specifications.
• Product and platform decisions improve consumer value, reliability, manufacturability, sustainability, margin, and long-term design consistency.
• Critical technical and program risks are identified early, supported by clear mitigation plans, and retired with objective evidence.
• New technologies, intellectual property, and reusable engineering practices create measurable category and enterprise value.
• Cross-functional teams and global suppliers remain aligned on priorities, tradeoffs, responsibilities, and execution.

Working conditions

This role requires hands-on work in laboratories, prototype shops, supplier facilities, and manufacturing environments. Some domestic and international travel may be required.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.