What are the responsibilities and job description for the Industrial Product Design Engineer position at Thermcraft, Winston-Salem, NC?
Description
Product Design Engineer – Manufacturing | Winston-Salem, NC | 100% Employee-Owned ESOP Company
About Thermcraft
Thermcraft is a leading manufacturer of high-quality thermal processing equipment, including industrial furnaces, laboratory furnaces, ovens, heaters, kilns, custom thermal systems, and related components. Based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Thermcraft designs and manufactures standard and fully customized solutions for customers across a wide range of industries. As a 100% employee-owned ESOP company, every team member has a stake in our success and the opportunity to help shape the future of the business.
Position Overview
We are seeking a versatile Engineer to own the lifecycle of our products from initial concept through to the production line. You will split your time between creative product design (CAD modeling, prototyping) and industrial process optimization (design for manufacturability, workflow efficiency). The Product Design Engineer will work closely with production, sales, engineering, purchasing, and leadership to create reliable, cost-effective, and customer-focused furnace, oven, heater, and thermal system solutions.
Key Responsibilities
· Design and develop new and existing industrial furnaces, laboratory furnaces, ovens, heaters, kilns, thermal processing systems, and related mechanical components.
· Create 3D CAD models, detailed engineering drawings, bills of materials, layouts, and product documentation for manufacturing and customer-specific applications.
· Apply mechanical design, design for manufacturability, value engineering, and component standardization principles to improve product quality, cost, reliability, and production efficiency.
· Collaborate with production, purchasing, sales, and leadership to support custom product design, new product development, product changes, and engineering problem-solving.
· Support prototyping, testing, troubleshooting, and validation of designs to ensure performance, safety, functionality, and manufacturability.
· Evaluate materials, components, fabrication methods, tooling, fixtures, and assembly processes to improve production flow and reduce rework.
· Review customer requirements, technical specifications, and application needs to develop practical engineering solutions for thermal processing equipment.
· Assist with continuous improvement projects related to manufacturing processes, quality, standard work, product documentation, and engineering efficiency.
· Partner with cross-functional teams to support product launches, custom orders, design revisions, and production readiness.
· Ensure designs align with applicable safety standards, quality expectations, customer requirements, and internal manufacturing capabilities.
Requirements
· Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Product Design, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field preferred.
· 3 years of experience in product design, mechanical design, manufacturing engineering, industrial equipment design, or custom engineered products.
· Strong experience with 3D CAD software such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Creo, Inventor, or similar design tools.
· Ability to create and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, bills of materials, tolerances, and manufacturing documentation.
· Working knowledge of mechanical design principles, fabrication, sheet metal, welding, machining, assembly, electrical/mechanical components, and design for manufacturability.
· Experience in industrial equipment, thermal processing equipment, furnaces, ovens, heaters, machinery, or custom manufacturing is a plus.
· Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to balance product performance, manufacturability, cost, safety, and customer requirements.
· Effective communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work across engineering, production, sales, purchasing, and leadership teams.
Why Join Thermcraft? Thermcraft offers the opportunity to design real products that are built on-site and used by customers around the world. As a 100% employee-owned ESOP company in Winston-Salem, NC, we are looking for people who want to contribute ideas, solve problems, support manufacturing, and take pride in building high-quality thermal processing solutions. If you are a hands-on engineer who enjoys product design, CAD, manufacturing, and continuous improvement, we encourage you to apply.