The Requirements

To meet the basic qualifications for this role you will have legal authorization to work permanently in the United States for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship. To be a good fit for the Development Engineer opportunity, you also should have:

• A bachelor's degree in Engineering (Polymer/Mechanical preferred) or Engineering Technology, or a four-year technical degree with experience in polymer film production processes.
• At least five years of relevant industrial experience, including:
  • Experience with plastics materials and plastic film processing, ideally including polyethylene and polypropylene polymers.
  • Knowledge of polymer blending and compounding, including resins and additives.
  • Experience with blown film extrusion is strongly preferred. Quick question for you - click here
• A demonstrated ability to:
  • Choose appropriate plastic material and plastic manufacturing processes for a given set of product requirements.
  • Design experiment, set up experimental equipment, run pilot lines and scale up the process.
• A proven ability to resolve problems analytically using technical data.
• Experience with Six Sigma variability reduction tools, including statistical process control, process capability and other opportunity analysis tools. Six Sigma green belt certification is a plus.

Just as important as your experience and skills will be the following characteristics and competencies:

• Demonstrated group leadership abilities.
• The ability to create and execute detailed plans with tight timelines to meet market demands.
• The ability to work in a team based environment as well as the willingness to lead aggressively when goals and responsibilities are set.

Knowledge of and/or experience with the following is preferred but not required:

• Mechanical engineering.
• Power chemistry for batteries.
• Polymer science/chemistry.
• Thermal and/or fluid dynamics. Quick question for you - click here

You also will need to be willing and able to travel, sometimes internationally, 10% to 15% of the time. Travel will include visiting other Celgard facilities for production scale-up.

Pictured: passenger cars aren't the only vehicles using electric drives. You'll find them in delivery vehicles, buses, boats and many other vehicle types.

The Role

Reporting to a Technical Manager, you will join an R&D team that also includes two PhDs and four Technicians. One part of this group focuses on the research and the other -- the part you will join -- focuses on commercialization.

We use a stage/gate process, with research considered "phase 0." Next comes development, design engineering, and testing/trials, with the last phase being reproducible manufacture. The team operates without boundaries from concept to manufacturing, and you will contribute at multiple stages.

At any given time you will be involved in multiple projects, and most will be related to battery separators. Many projects will involve working with an existing Celgard project and determining how to alter it in order to deliver the unique characteristics a customer wants. Projects can last from 6 to 12 months, depending on a variety of factors.

More specifically, you responsibilities will include:

• Development of next generation lithium ion battery separators through advanced material compositions and plastics process technology.
• Development of film manufacturing processes employing single/twin screw extrusion, co-extrusion, casting, lamination, and MD/TD stretching.
• Initiating, managing and participating in safety, quality, cost and process control actives to support successful stage/gate product launch.
• Providing direct leadership to at least one Technician.

Note: this description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

Pictured: SEM surface photomicrograph of a Celgard monolayer polypropylene (PP) battery separator. Celgard is the leading supplier of monolayer PP separator membranes to the disposable (primary) lithium battery market. Monolayer PP separators are also well suited for electric drive vehicle (EDV) applications because they offer increased rate capabilities and are stable across a wide thermal range.

Why Celgard

Visible impact -- given our global footprint, our R&D team is relatively small, meaning your successes will be noticed. History has shown that strong players, once they have proven their technical knowledge and ability to deliver results, often have opportunities to get involved in other areas of Celgard.

Professional development -- this role is all about taking on and mastering new challenges, and you will keep growing your skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis. You'll focus on process engineering for development, but you'll get involved in all phases, from research to production. We promote collaboration and idea sharing.

Career options -- once you have proven yourself in this role you might pursue advancement along a technical track or into leadership. You also might look at opportunities in other engineering areas, such as manufacturing or process engineering. With multiple sites, Celgard can offer many opportunities.

Strong growth environment -- Celgard and our parent company, Polypore International, Inc., continue to grow, as our product line is used in a diverse number of applications in robust markets, including laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, medical devices, and various military applications. In addition:

• Since 1997 we have expanded our Charlotte facility five times.
• In 2011 we opened a brand new facility in Concord, NC, and we have expanded that plant twice already.
• In 2008 we acquired a new technology along with production facilities in Korea, so that we now have the broadest portfolio in our industry. In 2010 we expanded the Korean facility.

Green is the present and future -- at Celgard we are highly cognizant of corporate citizenship. We not only develop and manufacture products for the green energy sector, but we also practice environmental responsibility, as demonstrated in the video, above. In fact, we recycle more than 99% of our waste materials.

Competitive compensation -- in addition to a competitive salary and discretionary bonus incentive, we offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, a 401k plan and more.

Keys to Success

Your interpersonal and leadership skills will be as important as your engineering expertise. While this is largely an individual contributor role, we promote teamwork and knowledge sharing. Achieving your goals will involve cross-functional activities, and often you'll provide guidance and direction to others. This is not a job you can do entirely from your desk. You'll need to spend quality time out on the production floor, rolling up your sleeves, getting valuable information from Production Associates, and training them on new manufacturing processes.

If you are the person we're looking for, you understand that the blending and compounding steps are pivotal to the success of all steps that follow. You will be involved in all the steps, but you probably will be able to make your biggest impact by leveraging your knowledge of resins and additives.

In addition, in order to be an outstanding Product Development Engineer, you will:

• Demonstrate initiative and a sense of urgency.
• Pay close attention to detail and also grasp the bigger picture and how the details fit into it.
• Maintain constant quality awareness.
• Manage multiple activities effectively, and remain flexible and adaptable as priorities change.
• Keep a constant eye out for ways to improve processes to enhance quality, efficiency, and cost control.

About Celgard

Celgard is a global leader in the development and production of specialty microporous membranes, and is one of the largest suppliers to the lithium battery industry. Celgard battery separators are in batteries for personal electronic devices such as notebook computers, mobile telephones, digital cameras, and power tools and are emerging in applications including electric drive vehicles (EDVs) and reserve power and electricity grid management systems.

With company headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and battery separator manufacturing facilities in the United States, Korea, and China, we are ideally positioned to serve the just-in-time needs of a global market.

Celgard is part of Polypore International, Inc., a global high technology filtration company specializing in microporous membranes. Polypore's flat sheet and hollow fiber membranes are used in specialized applications that require the removal or separation of various materials from liquids, primarily in the ultrafiltration and microfiltration markets. Also based in Charlotte, NC, Polypore International, Inc. is a market leader whose 4 core companies manufacture, market, and service products through 14 manufacturing sites and 14 sales and service locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, with sales relatively balanced across these regions.

Pictured: our Charlotte facility and headquarters is certified to the ISO/TS 16949 Quality Management System, an international standard with a set of strict automotive industry-specific requirements above and beyond other recognized systems such as ISO 9001:2008.