If you combine a bachelor's degree in Engineering with automotive industry experience and an understanding of vehicle design testing and certification processes, the role of Project Design Engineer offers you some compelling opportunities. You will:

• Play an integral design role in a fast-growing facility and company. In Bristol, we keep almost doubling our business year-over-year, and expect our strong growth to continue.
• Work on a proven team of talented engineers. People enjoy working here, as demonstrated by our high number of long-tenured team members. In fact, this role is open due to retirement. Quick question for you - click here
• Enjoy working on interesting, fun, and exciting projects specifically focused on change targeted from 2-5 years out. If you love engineering and design, you're going to love it here!
• Utilimaster is an engineering-based company. We have over 50 engineers who truly drive the company's innovation. 
• Enjoy the stability and resources of an industry leader. As other companies are contracting, we continue to grow, even during the pandemic. 

Utilimaster moves ahead of the competition when commercial trucks and upfit services require precision, planning, peerless people, and the perfect vehicle. Our vehicles deliver for well-respected global brands in the package delivery, ecommerce, food and beverage, linen and laundry, grocery and pharmaceutical markets. Utilimaster is a top-tier go-to-market brand of The Shyft Group (NASDAQ: SHYF), North America's leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. The Shyft Group rebranded in 2020 to reflect a new focus on high-growth end markets to help ensure long-term profitable growth.

Pictured: Utilimaster's Velocity F-Series offers big-truck interior space without requiring a commercial driver's license -- thus expanding the pool of potential drivers for fleet operators. You will see these vehicles on the road and be able to tell friends and family, "I'm part of the team that builds those."

To meet the basic qualification for this role, you will have 5 years of experience similar design engineer role. In addition, to be a good fit for the Product Design Engineer opportunity, you will have:

• A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering is highly preferred; we may also consider candidates with an associate's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• 5-8 years of directly relevant experience including product design experience in the automotive or a related industry
• Strong computer skills including:
  • Proven experience with SolidWorks
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs including Word and Excel
• Knowledge and understanding of metal fabrication, including sheet metal, forming, tolerances and capabilities
• Knowledge of relays, Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), fabrication techniques; ability to do circuit design layout

Reporting to the Advanced Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for providing accurate, timely and cost-effective engineering solutions that work well within the limits of our manufacturing equipment and assembly capabilities. Additionally, the solutions you design must meet customer expectations, perform for the desired warranty period and comply with all applicable regulatory requirements. Additionally, you'll leverage Lean / Sigma techniques to ensure engineering solutions meet communization and simplification requirements and maximize financial profitability.

Professional development
The Shyft Group and Utilimaster are committed to the professional development of our team. You won't be siloed and can pursue advancement opportunities in Bristol or at other Utilimaster plants. You'll also have ample opportunity to demonstrate your talent and be recognized for your contributions. 

Stability and growth
The Shyft Group is financially sound and will continue to be an aggressive market disrupter through strategic acquisitions, relevant product innovations, and aggressive growth models that serve strong and growing end markets. Be assured, our accelerated growth trajectory will create opportunities for strong performers.

Focused transformation
Utilimaster, alongside The Shyft Group's family of well-respected brands, continues to lead in every segment in which they compete. The Shyft name represents speed, efficiency, agility, and a high-intensity approach, which corresponds with the company's pivot in market focus and the forward momentum garnered in the work truck, specialty service, and delivery vehicle markets.

Driven to deliver
Ever evolving and advancing, The Shyft Group is driven to make an impactful difference in how effectively goods, people, and services are delivered in today's and tomorrow's marketplace. Through our unmatched industry knowledge, engineering expertise, and manufacturing reach, we continue to deliver job-enhancing, efficiency-driving, ever-reliable products and services made for the road ahead.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary, we offer medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance plans; a health savings account; a flexible savings account; wellness credits; a wellness program; a 401(k) plan with a corporate match; an employee stock purchase program and more. 

More about your requirements

• Knowledge and understanding of:
  • Metal fabrication, including sheet metal, forming, tolerances and capabilities within our facilities and within our industry
  • The extrusion process (aluminum extrusions)
  • FEA skills (ANSI-Y14.5 is a plus)
  • geometric dimensioning and tolerance
  • Vehicle design, testing and certification process
  • Regulatory requirements for delivery vehicles desired
  • Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) desired
• Knowledge of relays, Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), fabrication techniques; ability to do circuit design layout
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to effectively work and communicate with different levels and titles within the organization
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 

Note: As an essential business, we have strong protocols in place protecting our employees and safeguarding their health. The team is currently working remotely and will develop a return to the office plan and procedures when safe and appropriate. 

More about your role
You will join a team of eight engineers, including mechanical and electrical engineers, working on a wide range of projects. We have two senior engineers leading and assigning projects and you will take full ownership of your responsibilities. While you'll collaborate with the team and keep your eye on the goals of each project, the majority of your day will be heads-down design work in SolidWorks. Additionally, you will:

• Embrace and support Utilimaster Corporate policies and procedures
• Be able to solve manufacturing and assembly problems utilizing problem-solving techniques and methodologies.
• Work collaboratively with other engineers, production personnel, purchasing personnel, and customers to create optimal solutions to support the business.
• Communicate with members of the R&D lab directly as they build prototypes
• Demonstrate a desire to support engineering’s customers (production, sales, purchasing teams, etc)
• Create solids model to correspond with engineering tree
• Pull ECN numbers and start the ECN process, corresponding with the Engineering tree
• Determine the effectiveness of the engineering solutions, understanding unintended consequences to the manufacturing processes, tooling and option capability
• Coordinate effective dates of engineering solutions
• Initiate changes to drawings, solids models and bills of material
• Effectively utilize Aurora (corporate software) to research product/spec history and structure, where used on component parts, and product compatibility

You'll typically work standard business hours, Monday - Friday. While you may have a project that requires extra time on occasion, for the most part, you'll enjoy a great work/life balance. Generally, you will work on one project at a time.

Note: This description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

More about your success
In this role, naturally, your engineering talent and design experience will be critical, but success will require a cultural fit as well. Ours is a collaborative team and humility is an important team trait. Those who think "I'm always right" don't fit in well in our environment. Instead, being open to the "best" idea for the project and organization, even if that idea is not yours, is important. Sometimes you'll need a thick skin, but we're all passionate about our work and strive to deliver the best quality possible. 

We understand that there will be a learning curve, and we'll provide training and support. At the same time, we'll look to you to leverage your knowledge and experience to start making an impact right away. In our fast-paced environment, you will be versatile and flexible, and able to pivot quickly to manage constantly changing priorities effectively. Against this backdrop, you will need to maintain a commitment to excellence and uphold high standards.

In addition, in order to be an outstanding Product Design Engineer  you will:

• Bring passion and determination
• Pay attention to details but in relation to the big picture
• Remain open to learning and advancing your skills on an ongoing basis
• Combine analytical savvy and creativity in solving problems
• Achieve individual goals autonomously and also contribute as a team player 
• Be vigilant in looking for improvements