Advanced Specialist Product Engineer - Thermionic Cathodes

As an Advanced Specialist Product Engineer – Thermionic Cathodes for Vacuum Electron Tubes, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative people around the world.

In this role, you will lead product engineering activities for the Thermionic Cathodes portfolio, supporting existing products, product improvements, design changes, Change Management projects, and new product launches.

Here, you will make an impact by:

• Leading product engineering activities for the Thermionic Cathodes portfolio, including new cathode design, product support, product advancement projects, and supervision of the design engineering team.
• Partnering closely with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Application Engineering, Quality, Business Supply Chain, Marketing, and Global Portfolio Strategy teams to support business priorities and successful product execution.
• Leading Change Management projects, including maintaining accurate records of technical activities, experiments, decisions, risks, recommendations, and outcomes.
• Supporting Application Engineering with product specification input for existing Thermionic Cathodes products, customer needs, and potential product adaptations.
• Overseeing prototype and pre-production builds, including test plans, technical requirements, documentation, and readiness for manufacturing scale-up.
• Collaborating with Process Engineering and Manufacturing Technology to define equipment needs for prototype, pre-production, and production-scale activities.
• Supporting manufacturing-led improvement projects focused on yield improvement, productivity gains, cost reduction, quality improvement, and product specification compliance.
• Providing technical leadership for projects related to product modification, process advancement, quality improvement, cost reduction, and new product introduction.
• Maintaining strong technical understanding of Thermionic Cathodes products, manufacturing processes, customer applications, and market needs.
• Supporting innovation through product improvements that create commercial advantage, reduce risk, improve quality, or increase customer satisfaction.
• Ensuring appropriate implementation of Trade Secret Protection Plans and export control product classifications.
• Promoting a safe and healthy work environment through EHS procedure implementation, employee training, ergonomic reviews, and safety compliance.

Your Skills and Expertise 

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline (completed and verified prior to start)
• Five (5) years of experience in product engineering, product development, materials engineering, manufacturing support, or process development in a private, public, government or military environment.
• Three (3) years of experience supporting new product introduction (NPI), prototype builds, pre-production builds, or manufacturing scale-up.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Experience with ceramics, thermionic cathodes, advanced materials, or related product technologies.
• Experience with Change Management Process activities and technical documentation.
• Familiarity with process improvement, yield improvement, productivity improvement, and cost reduction in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership in cross-functional teams.
• Experience working in a plant, laboratory, or manufacturing support environment.
• Ability to translate customer and business needs into robust technical solutions.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to influence across technical and business functions.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex technical problems.
• Strong understanding of product specifications, technical documentation, change management, and cross-functional project execution.
• Ability to work effectively with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, business, and customer-facing teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Commitment to safety, quality, compliance, and continuous improvement.