Senior Design Engineer Innovation – Smart Composites at TPI Composites, Inc in Warren, Rhode Island

Job Description:

About TPI

TPI Composites is a global provider of structural composites products and the largest U.S. based independent manufacturer of composites wind blades to major turbine manufacturers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. TPI Composites is a global provider of structural composites products and has 50 years of experience in the design, development, prototyping and serial production of advanced lightweight composite structures. 

TPI Automotive also provides a full range of services that complement our customers’ extensive vehicle engineering capability. Our Automotive business customer base includes new entrants and established OEMs in the passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, and transit bus segments. We have established our Automotive business unit as a leader in composite solutions, providing our customers with lightweight structures and components that perform better than their metallic alternatives. The composites we manufacture make vehicles more efficient through weight reduction, improved corrosion resistance, and thermal management.

About the Role

The Senior Design Engineer, Innovation will focus on “Smart composites” in our rapidly growing Automotive Division. This is a product innovation and application development position, not a research position. The goal of this position is to add electrical/electronic functionality into composite structures, applying emerging technology to create product applications to elicit customer and market interest. Develop products with high value for structural composites automotive, bus, commercial, and delivery ICE, BEV, and HEV markets.

Technology includes circuits – printed, embedded, embroidered; and sensors – piezoelectric, RFID, dielectric, pressure, light, temperature, humidity, strain, and vibration. 

Applications will enhance user experience via HVAC, lighting, alertness, safety/well-being, structural health monitoring (SHM), human machine interface (HMI), and multi-functional energy storage composites (MESC).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop RF communication, custom RFID reader and UHF antenna technologies.


• Build mockups of circuits and sensors embedded into composite structures.


• Acquisition and conditioning of data from sensors using micro controller and Python/Micro Python.


• Use AI engines to sort sensor data and correlate with physical phenomena.


• Create and display human machine interface (HMI) systems. Add to new Smart Composites Lab capabilities. 


• Responsible for exploring applications, testing concept feasibility, validating technical and business viability. Drive product to commercialization by working with business development, technical partners. and customers. 


• Create detailed technical reports with analysis, conclusions, and recommendations. Skilled at writing design, tooling and design guidelines and specifications. 


• Act as a technology mentor to the less experienced staff members.


• Maintain a clean, safe, and organized working environment. 

Who we’re looking for:

• Four-year degree or master’s degree in electrical, mechanical, polymer science, or chemical engineering and at least 10 years engineering experience; or equivalent combination of education or experience.


• Expert knowledge of programming, electrical and electronic engineering.


• The ideal candidate will have natural curiosity to search and find interesting relevant technologies. They will follow customer market trends and identify desirable user applications of new technology.


• Product development experience, with preference for automotive or high-volume consumer or industrial product development experience. Will work with design engineering, advanced manufacturing and production engineering to develop processes/plans (DFMEA, PFMEA, process flow, DFA/DFM, APQP).


• High-energy, self-starter who is proactive, and solutions oriented. 


• Ability to prioritize and adapt to a rapidly changing environment. 


• Must be able and willing to have a professional, constructive, and cooperative working relationship with management team and coworkers. Enjoy solving problems and working with people.


• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and data analysis.


• Demonstrate strong English oral and written communications skills. Ability to find, explore, evaluate, assess, report, communicate, propose, and convince through verbal, written and often PowerPoint presentations to management, technical partners, and customers. 


• Interests, skills, and familiarity with fiber reinforced composite materials manufacturing and testing. Willingness to learn details of resins, fibers/fabrics, cure cycles, and bonding of composites in the areas of RTM, LCM, HP-RTM, compression molding, pultrusion and thermoplastic processes.

Location

This position is based at our Automotive Innovation Development Center and composite products manufacturing site in Warren, Rhode Island. Relocation benefits will be provided for the right individual.

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