Product Development Engineer

The Product Development Engineer (Advanced Engineer) will lead new product development and innovation for Owens Corning’s North American Fiberglass Insulation Product Development team.  The Product Development Engineer is a key contributor to advancements that will lead to the improvement of existing and development of next generation products. This position is key to enabling growth in our Commercial & Industrial Insulation business, requiring familiarity in product research, product design, material science fundamentals, and test method development. This position works closely with other technical and manufacturing teams as well as business and operational managers.

The primary responsibilities of the Product Development Engineer include the following:

• Serving as the product development lead on key new products or product improvements.
• Preparing learning, test, and trial plans for product development projects.
• Acquiring foundational knowledge of fiberglass insulation product components.
• Researching new or revisiting existing technologies to characterize product and product component properties and improve performance.
• Leading technology screening, prototype evaluation, and plant trial activities.
• Conducting customer validation activities for new products or product features to ensure performance meets expectations.
• Collaborating within teams comprised of technical experts from different organizations as part of new product or product improvement initiatives.

Join an organization that believes that every employee owns a piece of our bold growth goals and ultimate success. We are a market-leading innovator that has placed on the Fortune 500®. Owens Corning is devoted to delivering sustainable solutions across our three business segments while striving to ensure our people and products make the world a better place. We take pride in having an inclusive and diverse workplace with employees around the globe.  A holistic sense of community exists across our entire organization as our talent grows globally. We are a company that fully recognizes the importance of paving a path to a sustainable and safe enterprise through investing in our people. Our desire to make an impactful difference in the world flows from top down to all levels of the organization. By being a company that instills pride within every employee, we aspire to build market-leading businesses; global in scope - human in scale.

Reports to: Fiberglass Insulation Product Development Leader

Span of Control:  Individual Contributor with room to grow

Job Location: Granville, OH – Science and Technology

Safer Together

• Actively participates in monthly safety meetings
• Ensures rigorous compliance with safety procedures and OC corporate policies
• Focuses on sustaining a safe work environment for self and coworkers

Product Development and Innovation

• Partner with marketing and product engineers to define key product characteristics to inform the product design and development efforts.
• Lead work with internal technical leaders, external suppliers, and third-party experts associated with key fiberglass insulation product components to enable development of innovative solutions.
• Lead the generation of key learning, test, and trial plans and utilize task management tools to inform the product design and development efforts.
• Prepare prototypes and trial setpoints for lab, plant, and customer evaluation.
• Oversee lab-scale experiments and conduct plant trials to understand the properties, behavior, and utilization of product components including laminates and adhesives. Coordinate testing, organize data, and analyze results.
• Design, coordinate, and conduct manufacturing plant trials to produce prototypes for customer evaluation to determine product acceptability and identify new claims. Draw data-driven conclusions, make adjustments, suggest direction for, and implement improvements to product design based on trial results.
• Document and present product design findings, including initial recommended manufacturing process setting and product targets, to inform the preliminary product specifications. Recognize problems and initiate corrective actions.
• Generate product and product component designs that align with customer experiences to create new and differentiating claims for products.
• Support the design of and execute field product/customer research to confirm product design technical hypotheses.
• Communicate key results and findings to other key project stakeholders, including, but not limited to, marketing, project management, operations/manufacturing, and process engineering.
• Prepare technical reports, memo reports, and technical presentations.

Intellectual Property Strategy

• File Invention Records on all innovations early in the innovation process.
• Write and file technical and memo reports in a timely manner.
• Understand and ensure communication with non-Owens Corning contacts is covered under NDAs when applicable.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related technical field; or bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related technical field with 3+ years of experience in product and/or process development.

• Experience with statistical analysis, data analysis, and reporting.

• Demonstration of safe work practices.

• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time is required (varies depending on project need).

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related technical field with 3+ years of experience in product and/or process development.

• Prototype development, testing, and evaluation.
• Test method development and materials characterization.
• Products research and customer interviewing activities.
• Product development from concept generation to product release.

• Experience with Minitab or JMP statistical software.

• Understanding of glass science, adhesives, and lamination fundamentals.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions.
• Experience with developing and maintaining intellectual property including patents and trade secrets.

• 3-5 years’ experience in an industrial operating environment.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Practices safety-conscious behaviors in all operational processes and procedures.

• Demonstrated ability to think outside of the box with new approaches to existing challenges.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently.
• Curiosity-driven approach to problem solving.
• Strong desire for innovation and ownership of work.
• Team oriented, with high energy and desire to achieve results.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to present data to multifunctional audiences to drive the decision-making process.

• Excellent written, presentation and verbal communication skills.

About Owens Corning  

Owens Corning is a residential and commercial building products leader committed to building a sustainable future through material innovation. Our products provide durable, sustainable, energy-efficient solutions that leverage our unique capabilities and market-leading positions to help our customers win and grow. We are global in scope, human in scale with more than 25,000 employees in 31 countries dedicated to generating value for our customers and shareholders and making a difference in the communities where we work and live. Founded in 1938 and based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, Owens Corning posted 2024 sales of $11.0 billion. For more information, visit www.owenscorning.com. 

Owens Corning is an equal opportunity employer. Except in limited circumstances such as formal apprenticeship programs, Owens Corning does not employ anyone under the age of 18.