Senior Product Development Engineer, Commodities

Job Identification

• Job Title: Senior Product Development Engineer, Commodities
• Department: Engineering
• Reports to: Program Director, Product Engineering
• Location: Alexandria, VA or Remote if outside the metro area
• Grade: 19
• FLSA Status: Exempt

Statement of Purpose

The Senior Product Development Engineer, Commodities leads the technical assessment and costing analysis as part of the new product development team. Supports Product Managers and the Business Development team throughout new product development efforts; primary responsibility is to drive the timely and accurate development of Product Development Plans (PDP). Provides informed manufacturing, technical and cost assistance to NIB associated agencies and NIB staff. Provides supplemental support to Product Management and Business Development team efforts as assigned.

Responsibility for the Work of Others

This position does not directly supervise employees; however, requires cross-functional project management to achieve objectives. Acts as an independent thinker to support product development and maintenance efforts of NIB associated agencies and NIB staff. Coordinates activities of agency personnel to complete necessary PDP and other documentation.

Business Communications

• Employees in Other Divisions Continually
• NIB Associated Agencies Continually
• Suppliers and Professional Organizations Occasionally
• Federal and/or State Government Agencies Occasionally

Supervision

Receives overall direct management from Program Director, Product Engineering, works independently to complete assignments and requires limited supervision. Receives project-specific assignments from Product Managers as a member of the commodity development team.

Education

The incumbent should have a bachelor's degree in Engineering or associated field from an accredited university or college; or, if non-degreed, at least eight years in related responsible positions is required. An equivalent combination of education and experience is also acceptable.

Training and Specialized Knowledge

Strong people skills

Product cost analysis

Highly detailed, organized, and analytic

Project Development/Management knowledge

Experience and knowledge of current manufacturing processes and techniques

Core Competencies

• Accountability
• Communication Skills
• Ethics / Integrity
• Customer Care
• Job Knowledge/ Technical Skills
• Process Improvement

Experience

• Previous experience in working with people who are blind is desirable. Eight or more years' experience in related field, with emphasis on the following categories:
• New product development.
• Process design and start up.
• Engineering and Project Management.
• Resource allocation, budgeting.
• Equipment, facility, and materials management
• Government procedures and regulations.
• Cost analysis

Travel

Up to 33%

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Communicates in a timely and effective manner regarding all assigned projects, reviews and comments on government specifications, commercial item descriptions, and other appropriate documents.

• Participates in and contributes to performance goals of assigned team. Coordinates and completes assignments and duties as required to reach annual NIB/team goals.
• Coordinates with other members of Engineering Team if needed in developing methods to improve agency operations for items on the Procurement List.
• Provides written reports, which will include trip reports, reviews and comments on government specifications, commercial item descriptions, and other appropriate documents.
• Work development engineering projects in business lines other than commodities as assigned.
• Performs Engineer Capability Reviews on associated agencies as assigned.
• Participates in other NIB projects such as RFA and CPI.

Lead Technical Assessment & Review for Commodity Product Development

• Serve on commodity development project teams as lead engineer for new products.
• Participates in project status meetings with all project team members (including NPA) to manage the progress of the project and ensure that milestones are met.
• Responsible for the development and performs technical review of the Project Development Plans (PDP) created with the non-profit agencies; resulting in timely, complete and accurate PDPs for project completion and submission to customer and AbilityOne Commission.
• Train and provide additional assistance to agency personnel, as required, on the PDP development process, including group training on PDP Cost and PDP Sum documents as assigned.
• Provide NIB Product Management and AbilityOne Development teams with frequent status updates regarding in-process and completed PDPs.
• Provide support to agency staff in preparation for Pre-Award survey by a government survey team.

Provide Technical Expertise

• Provide technical assistance and engineering support to associated agencies for new and existing products.
• Support agency and NIB staff through ad hoc research in support of specific projects or broader topics; most often resulting in documented summary and recommendations.
• As needed, assist in project start-up initiatives after project has been placed on the procurement list.
• Evaluate requests for assignment (RFA) and provide recommendations to Product Managers/AbilityOne Development regarding capacities and capabilities of associated agencies.
• Facilitate communications with other NIB engineers and staff; ensure and participate in cross-training and awareness.

This job description does not imply that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. The incumbent in this position will perform such other tasks as may be required for the effective operation of the Division/Department upon the request by his/her supervisor.

NIB IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

NIB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.