Job Title: Product Engineer (Mechanical, Electrical)
Location: Chicagoland Area (On-Site— Split between Chicago and Elmhurst, IL)
Department: Engineering
Reports To: President & CEO
About:
Bird-X, Inc. is a family-owned portfolio of manufacturing brands serving diverse industries with innovative, dependable products. Our flagship brand, Bird-X, is the global leader in humane bird and wildlife control solutions. Tri Lite and MARS provide high-performance loading-dock lighting, signals, and safety equipment trusted across material-handling, industrial environments, and emergency vehicles. Cozy Products delivers energy-efficient personal and pet heating solutions for homes and workplaces, while Yates-Motloid manufactures premium dental lab materials used by professionals worldwide.
Together, these five brands form a dynamic, growing organization committed to product innovation, operational excellence, and delivering real value to customers across commercial, industrial, and consumer markets.
Job Summary: The Product Engineer plays a key role in design, development, certification, and lifecycle support. This role participates in product development from concept through production, balancing design excellence with manufacturability, cost, reliability, and regulatory compliance. The Product Engineer works cross‑functionally with manufacturing, quality, regulatory, suppliers, and product management to support new and existing products while driving continuous improvement.
This position is open to candidates with a Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering background.
Core Responsibilities:
Product Design & Development
- Participate in product development from concept, design, and prototyping through production launch.
- Optimize designs for manufacturability, cost, reliability, and serviceability.
- Develop and maintain engineering drawings, schematics, BOMs, specifications, and technical documentation.
- Model new part geometry and create assemblies with 3D CAD.
- Maintain and revise engineering documentation and change control processes (ECO/ECN).
- Analyze design with standard engineering tools and methods and contribute to DFM/FMEA and risk mitigation activities.
- Advise on feasibility for any proposed product or systems.
- Review/create development plans and timelines, accurately estimating engineering costs, and evaluating initial specifications from Product Management.
- Develop high-level documentation to communicate complex engineering concepts and evaluations to cross-functional team members, internal stakeholders, and external vendors.
- Work with external vendors on component specification, quality criteria, and material selections.
- Explore innovative solutions to product design goals, share ideas on new product concepts, and participate in product roadmap development.
Manufacturing Support & Process Optimization
- Support manufacturing operations in Chicago and Elmhurst with day‑to‑day engineering support and troubleshooting.
- Assist operations team in development of test fixtures, work instructions, and production documentation.
- Investigate production and field issues using root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
- Support production ramp‑ups, tooling, and transition from prototype to full‑scale manufacturing
Compliance, Certification, and Quality
- Support regulatory submissions, audits, and ongoing compliance efforts.
- Interpret various industry standards, safety regulations, and certification requirements, including UL, CE, IEC, FCC, RoHS, to ensure product compliance.
- Interface directly with certification agencies and testing labs for regulatory submissions and audits.
- Support or conduct product testing activities, including mechanical and electrical performance validation and environmental testing.
Supplier & Documentation Management
- Manage supplier drawings, part approvals, and technical documentation.
- Collaborate with suppliers on component selection, design feasibility, and cost optimization.
- Support sourcing decisions through technical evaluation of parts and assemblies.
Customer & Field Support
- Support field issues, customer feedback, and warranty investigations.
- Participate in failure analysis and continuous improvement initiatives to improve product performance and reliability.
- Assist customer service with voltage, amps, and technical electrical questions.
Discipline-Specific Responsibilities:
Electrical Engineering Responsibilities (as applicable)
- Design electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and PCB layouts.
- Specify electrical components such as power supplies, motors, sensors, relays, and controllers.
- Perform circuit analysis, power calculations, and thermal evaluations.
- Develop embedded systems, control systems, and automation logic where applicable.
- Conduct electrical testing, validation, and failure analysis.
- Implement EMC/EMI mitigation techniques and grounding strategies.
- Manage electrical safety requirements and risk assessments.
Mechanical Engineering Responsibilities (as applicable)
- Design mechanical components, assemblies, and enclosures using CAD tools.
- Perform structural, thermal, tolerance, and vibration analyses.
- Select materials and appropriate manufacturing processes.
- Develop mechanisms, housings, and thermal management solutions.
- Create detailed part and assembly drawings, basic wiring schematics, and bills of materials (BOMs).
- Hands-on support of prototyping, tooling development, and production ramp‑up.
- Investigate mechanical failures and implement corrective actions.
Shared/Cross-Disciplinary Responsibilities
- Possess a strong team-focus and collaborate closely with product management, manufacturing, and supply chain teams as a part of a matrix organization.
- Manage project schedules, technical risks, and cross‑functional coordination.
- Attend or lead team meetings for all major projects, track deliverable progress, and proactively communicate status updates to ensure product specifications are met and projects run smoothly.
- Support continuous improvement, cost‑reduction, and reliability initiatives.
- Collaborate with procurement and operations to evaluate external suppliers and support sourcing decisions.
- Prioritize engineering actions and projects in alignment with the primary goals of the organization.
- Perform additional duties and tasks as assigned to support team and organizational objectives.
Software & Tools:
- Proficiency with parametric CAD tools for 3D parts design, assembly creation, and 2D drawings (Pro/E Creo strongly preferred).
- Familiarity with ERP, PLM, and document control systems is preferred.
- Proficiency in standard Microsoft Office software.
- Experience with FEA, CFD, and/or optical design software is a plus.
Skills and Qualifications:
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
Experience
- 3–7 years of relevant engineering experience in a mechanical or electrical product environment.
- Experience supporting products through design, production, and lifecycle management.
- Experience designing components for manufacturing via injection molding or die casting is required in addition to general knowledge of other manufacturing processes such as machining, sheet metal fabrication, 3D printing, PCBA manufacturing, surface finishing/plating, or extruding.
- Lighting or electrical product experience preferred but not required.
- Experience working with UL is desired.
Core Competencies
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills.
- Hands-on approach with the ability to support field issues.
- Strong documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Project management experience is a plus.
Location Requirement:
Candidates must live in the Chicagoland area and be able to split time between Chicago and Elmhurst, IL.
Why Join Our Company?
This position is perfect for an engineer who takes satisfaction in guiding products through every stage of development—from initial concept, through production, to field support. The Product Engineer is essential in upholding the company’s reputation for delivering high-quality, compliant, and dependable products, while also contributing to ongoing growth.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $100,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Will you be able to reliably commute to Chicago, IL and Elmhurst, IL for this job?
- How many years of relevant mechanical and/or electrical product engineering experience do you have?
Education:
Work Location: In person
