Ingersoll Rand is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicab
Job title: Principal DFM Engineer
Location: Lincolnshire, IL
About Us
Imagine a company with technology leadership of over 160 years, yet it operates with the energy of a startup. Ingersoll Rand has dedicated itself to Making Life Better for its employees, customers, shareholders, and planets. We produce innovative and mission-critical flow creation and life science technologies – from compressors to precision handling of liquids, gasses, and powers – to increase industrial productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Supported by over 80+ brands, our products are used in various end-markets including life sciences, food and beverage, clean energy, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure, and more. Across the globe, we’re driving growth with an entrepreneurial spirit and ownership mindset. Learn more at irco.com and join us to own your future.
Job Overview:
The Principal DFM Engineer is responsible for driving design-for-manufacturability (DFM), process feasibility, and cost optimization for silicone and elastomer-based products across the organization. This role serves as a subject matter expert and strategic leader, owning the quoting process from a technical standpoint while establishing the manufacturing strategy from prototype through full-scale production. Responsibilities include developing detailed cost models, defining tooling approaches, estimating validation requirements, and translating customer designs into robust, scalable manufacturing solutions.
The Principal DFM Engineer plays a critical role in guiding cross-functional decision-making and influencing customer outcomes, directly impacting business growth, margin performance, and long-term capability development. While accountable for quotation and cost modeling, this position is primarily differentiated by its deep technical influence, shaping product design, tooling, and process strategies across the Elastomers Operation Unit. Additionally, this role advances best practices in LSR, HCR, and elastomer molding and extrusion technologies, particularly within regulated environments including Class II and Class III medical devices, while mentoring engineers and elevating organizational DFM capability.
Responsibilities:
- Lead Design for Manufacturability (DFM) evaluations for elastomer components and assemblies, optimizing manufacturability, quality, scalability, cost, and regulatory readiness.
- Partner with customers to influence product designs through technical reviews, identifying critical-to-quality features, tolerance risks, and optimal manufacturing methods.
- Define manufacturing strategies across LSR injection molding, HCR molding, extrusion, over molding, bonded assemblies, and automation.
- Own the technical development of RFQs, creating detailed cost models from prototype through production, including tooling, labor, materials, cycle time, capacity, and validation costs.
- Develop multi-scenario pricing strategies, tooling concepts, and lifecycle cost analyses while supporting customer-facing technical and commercial discussions.
- Establish end-to-end tooling and manufacturing strategies, including prototype scale-up, capital investment, mold design, validation, and qualification roadmaps.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and Sales to validate manufacturability, optimize production performance, and ensure seamless NPI execution.
- Drive should-cost modeling, cost reduction initiatives, and continuous improvement through process optimization, tooling enhancements, automation, and standardized DFM and quoting methodologies.
- Analyze quote-to-actual performance to improve estimating accuracy, manufacturing efficiency, and long-term operational performance.
Serve as a technical SME and mentor in elastomer processing, DFM, and cost engineering while supporting organizational capability development, capital planning, and technology roadmaps.
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Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Materials, Polymer, or similar)
10+ years of experience in elastomer manufacturing, DFM or process engineering
Preference:
- Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing certification with strong continuous improvement expertise.
- Deep knowledge of silicone (LSR, HCR) and rubber materials, including compression, transfer, and injection molding processes.
- Expertise in tooling design, mold flow analysis, GD&T, 3D CAD (SolidWorks), and elastomer cost modeling/technical estimating.
- Proven experience with validation and quality systems, including IQ/OQ/PQ, APQP, PPAP, and regulatory/customer requirements (medical device preferred).
- Experience in medical device manufacturing (Class II/III), CDMO environments, and high-volume automated manufacturing.
- Strong background in technical quoting, DFM, multi-material molding (over molding, bonding, insert molding), and manufacturing process optimization.
Demonstrated success in customer-facing, cross-functional leadership roles, partnering with engineering, quality, operations, and commercial teams.
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Travel & Work Arrangements/Requirements
Pay range:
The pay range for this role is $100,000-$150,000, excluding incentive opportunities. The pay range takes into account a wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skills; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and geographic location. Hired applicant will be eligible to receive (discretionary/nondiscretionary) annual bonuses and incentive compensation.
What we Offer
At Ingersoll Rand, we embrace a culture of personal ownership — taking responsibility for our company, our communities, and our environment, as well as our individual health and well-being. Our comprehensive benefits package is designed to empower you with the tools and support necessary to take charge of your health, ensuring that together, we can continue to make life better. Our range of benefits includes health care options like medical and prescription plans, dental and vision coverage, as well as wellness programs. Additionally, we provide life insurance, a robust 401(k) plan, paid time off, and even an employee stock grant, among other offerings. These benefits are our commitment to you, so you can be your best at work and beyond.
Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR), driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and ownership mindset, is dedicated to helping make life better for our employees, customers and communities. Customers lean on us for our technology-driven excellence in mission-critical flow creation and industrial solutions across 40+ respected brands where our products and services excel in the most complex and harsh conditions. Our employees develop customers for life through their daily commitment to expertise, productivity and efficiency. For more information, visit www.IRCO.com.
