Product Development Specialist

POSITION SUMMARY:
The Product Development Specialist, Grade 3 - Nuclear, provides independent product design and development planning, oversight and execution within the framework of; industry regulatory requirements, Shawflex Quality Management System, Mattr strategic business plan and commercial objectives.
They are responsible for the development of Nuclear wire and cable products technologies from concept to commercial scale in conformance with our development processes and other quality system requirements under ISO9001 and CSA N299. Projects will consist of substantial customer facing product and materials technology platform development programs. Product design and development oversight includes the areas of; material technology, product testing and qualification, supply chain evaluation, adherence to internal and external regulatory requirements, internal and external stakeholder reporting, budgetary management and reporting.
They are also responsible for supporting ongoing continuous improvement and root cause analysis for Shawflex Nuclear products portfolio as the Nuclear materials technology expert. The employee is expected to leverage highly developed technical engineering skills such as front-end engineering product design, product application engineering, technical document writing, customer interaction, project planning, cost/benefit analysis, vendor management, detailed engineering design, execution/physical implementation, and general work prioritization.

DUTIES:
Product Development:
- Act as Nuclear materials technology technical expert.
- Independently lead, plan, and execute complex nuclear product and material technology development programs from concept to commercial launch in accordance with international industry regulatory requirements, strategic commercial targets, Shawflex QMS and HSE targets. This includes being responsible for delivering new products at desired cost, performance and quality levels and coordinating transition from developmental to full-scale production on-time and on-budget.
- Independently design, plan, conduct and supervise lab and plant trials related to development projects using appropriate analytical methodologies.
- Independently analyze test data and validate production processes.
- Investigate and evaluate new and/or alternative raw materials
- Conduct technical feasibility studies as required.
- Propose, initiate, plan and conduct R&D work for new prospective technologies suitable to meet Shawflex’s growth plans.
- Participate in cost reduction and continuous improvement projects as required
- Provide technical service leadership for new nuclear product introductions and to requesting departments as required.
- Coordinate with external consultants and service providers to deliver sub-scopes of work.
- Complete polymer formulation design of experiment to optimize material performance properties based on design inputs.

Administration:
- Lead stakeholder update meetings as required.
- Coordinate technical development staff as technical program senior team member (comprising of junior development engineer, lab technician and project coordinator)
- Provide mentorship and training for new and junior members of the group on an ongoing basis
- Ensure project/program governance and reporting is adhered to within the required regulatory and quality frameworks. A high degree of documentation accuracy, currency and detail is required at all times.
- Act as lead audit representative for Nuclear product design as required.
- Liaise with the regulatory bodies and their personnel.
- Liaise with customer technical staff.
- Participate in Standard Committee for assigned strategic market segment and visit key customers.
- Keep up-to-date on material and product technologies
- Review industry white papers and attend industry technical forums and seminars
- Coordinate, plan, troubleshoot and prioritize work for Lab Testing Technicians related to assigned projects and programs.

SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED:
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience in an Engineering function in the materials supply chain for product applications in the nuclear industry.
- Polymer composite formulation experience is a benefit.
- Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or chemical Engineering
- MSc, MEng, Ph.D. in Chemical, Materials or Polymer related Engineering field and/or Nuclear Engineering
- Professional Engineer Status (desired)
- Extensive experience with polymeric materials design and qualification for use in safety critical Nuclear or other extreme environmental applications including knowledge relevant regulatory and product standards.
- Knowledge of QA/QC systems and controls (ISO 9001, N299)
- Knowledge of wire and cable manufacturing techniques
- Experience with delivering large materials technology platform developments with time constraints and complex interdependencies.
- Analytical interpretation of FTIR, DSC, TGA, DMA and other techniques is required.
- Self-driven, detail oriented and highly analytical mindset. Willing and able to uncover and bridge barriers to project progress even when outside of technical areas.