The Senior Project Engineer will be part of the Design and Development group in Tucson, Arizona, supporting new product development and product improvement initiatives for rotor and spray product categories. This role requires a strong technical project leader who can guide cross-functional teams, solve complex engineering problems, mentor less-experienced team members, and drive projects from concept through production.

• Lead projects through concept, design, validation, production launch, and post-launch support.
• Serve as the technical mentor for cross-functional teams, driving project scope, schedules, budgets, risk management, stakeholder communication, and project documentation.
• Develop robust production-ready solutions using engineering judgement, risk assessment, prototyping, testing, tolerancing, and design for manufacturability.
• Partner with manufacturing sites and suppliers to develop and qualify tooling, components, and processes.
• Resolve complex products, process, reliability, and field-performance issues through root cause investigation and corrective action methodologies.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical guidance to project teams.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• S. in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Seven or more years of progressively responsible product design and project engineering experience, including self-directed leadership of complex cross-functional projects through production launch.
• Advanced practical knowledge of mechanical design, prototyping, materials, fluid mechanics, tolerancing, manufacturing processes, and design for manufacturability.
• Proficiency with SolidWorks or comparable 3D CAD software, engineering drawings and documentation, and data-based design validation.
• Experience designing injection-molded plastic components and supporting mold development, qualification, and production implementation.
• Demonstrated technical judgment, problem-solving ability, and clear communication and collaboration with engineering teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.
• Ability to travel periodically to manufacturing locations, including Nogales and Tijuana, Mexico.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in engineering, engineering management, or business administration.
• Experience in applying FMEA, design of experiments, statistical analysis methods, and verification and validation techniques.
• Experience with FEA, CFD, Moldflow, or similar engineering analysis tools.
• Experience with irrigation or fluid-control products such as valves, rotors, sprays, or solenoids.

Rain Bird is an Equal Opportunity Employer