Sr. Validation Engineer

The Sr. Product Validation Engineer plays a key role in the development of new products by overseeing the qualification of designs to meet the required technical specifications. They will report to the Sr. Manager of Innovation and Validation Engineering. This individual will participate in the design process, partnering with YETI Design Engineers to create Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), develop Design Validation Plans and Reports (DVP&R), and Test Plans. They will also work with Sr. Manager, using their technical skills and experience, to develop other validation engineering team members. They will also work with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Test Technicians, and Product Management to ensure that new products and sustaining programs are fully validated and ready for production. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Project Management: 

• Manage and coordinate the testing and validation of multiple projects across various product categories, ensuring alignment with technical specifications and production timelines. 

• Drive the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Validation Engineering processes and methodologies. 

Test Design and Execution: 

• Design and execute customized tests for innovative products, addressing scenarios not covered by industry standards. This includes creating comprehensive Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA) and Design Validation Plans and Reports (DVP&R). 

• Develop and refine test protocols and conduct trials to benchmark new testing ideas for effectiveness and consistency. 

Technical Leadership: 

• Act as a product validation expert on project core teams, leveraging advanced knowledge in mechanical design, troubleshooting, and lab instrumentation to ensure product validation. 

• Promote and utilize reliability engineering principles, scientific method, human interaction factors to translate customer use cases into actionable test protocols, ensuring rigorous validation against product requirements. 

• Lead, develop, and establish solutions with team in new technical challenges, areas of focus, or complex issues that arise.  

Team Development and Support: 

• Mentor and develop lab technicians and engineers, providing training on new equipment, testing procedures, and validation techniques. 

• Enhance collaboration between validation and test lab teams to streamline validation processes and foster a culture of continuous improvement. 

Vendor and Third-Party Management: 

• Manage and audit third-party test labs and supplier test results, ensuring adherence to company standards. This may include domestic and international travel for vendor oversight and evaluation. 

Qualifications and Attributes: 

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Material Science, Chemistry, or a related field required. Master’s degree in any of these technical fields preferred.  

Experience:

• 6+ years of experience in product design and qualification. 

Technical Skills: 

• Expertise in mechanical testing areas such as heat transfer, impact, vibration, abrasion, environmental conditions, life/cycle testing, and material validation. 

• Proven experience with DFMEA and DVP development, as well as technical writing and documentation. 

• Experience in reliability engineering practices including translation of product requirements into technical performance expectations, developing product system reliability models to accurately predict expected failure modes, and time to failure of a full product assembly or sub-assemblies. 

• Experience with global test standard organizations (i.e. ASTM, ISO, EN, JIS, Mil-Spec, AATCC, BIFMA, SAE).   

• Proven experience utilizing Root Cause Analysis engineering and DOE techniques. 

• Proficiency in using SolidWorks for CAD design, and familiarity with statistical analysis tools (e.g., JMP, Minitab). 

• Strong background in electro-mechanical test fixture design. 

• Experience with manufacturing processes across a range of materials: Plastics, Rubbers, Foam, Metals, Textiles, and electronic subassemblies. 

• Experience with consumer product utilizing multiple materials and manufacturing processes.  

Soft Skills: 

• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills. 

• Ability to build strong cross-functional relationships and present technical information clearly to diverse audiences. 

• Strong ability to work directly with manufacturing suppliers involved in supplier test support.  

Additional Skills: 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint). 

• Experience with FEA, product design. 

• Demonstrated success in designing and building test equipment for thermal, mechanical, repetitive motion, and other testing needs. 

• Experience correlating test results between multiple test sites.  

Physical Requirements: 

• Operate office equipment and technology. 

• Bend, lift, open, and move product up to 50 pounds as needed.  

• Work in variety of conditions office, shop, indoor, and outdoor year-round.  

• Up to 15% travel including international.