Sr. Engineer

Prefix Corporation is an engineering services company, developing innovative design and engineering solutions for various industries. Continuously owned and operated by the same founding family for over 40 years, today the company operates multiple facilities in Michigan with over 300 employees, and has become a single-source American manufacturing, prototype, concept vehicle and production solutions provider to the automotive, aviation, motion picture, themed entertainment, and a variety of other industries.

At Prefix, we are wanting motivated, ambitious people who put the needs of our customers first, bring creativity to their work and will do whatever it takes to achieve success. If you share our passion for providing innovative solutions to complex challenges, we want you on our team.

We have an opportunity for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join our team. This position will be involved in the creation of mechanical designs on multiple systems from concept to commissioning for the Themed Entertainment industry. This includes mechanism design, 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models, drafting, and assembly of complex mechanical systems as well as involvement in structural analysis of said systems. This position will work in a team environment on defined tasks while also collaborating with other team members to meet the customer’s needs and requirements for Show and Ride systems.  The position is located at our Rochester Hills, MI facility.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Convert customer ideas and requirements from concept design through possible production release using applicable engineering analysis to design components, subsystems and assemblies.
• Direct the design of mechanical, electromechanical and structural systems through the product design cycle while providing leadership, guidance, coaching, mentorship and technical support to team members.
• Participate and assist in the development and maintenance of Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), Design Validation Plan & Report (DVP&R) and associated engineering documents.
• Prepare, review and approval of customer deliverable design packages and reports and present mechanical design elements at formal reviews to team and customers.
• Review and approval of Bill of Materials (BOM’s) and all other required design documentation.
• Assure design are in compliance to customer and industry standards, and manage engineering change through completion including tracking and reporting of design hours budget to actual.
• Defines and develops hardware development tasks, manpower needs and required testing, in support of mock-ups, prototype / pre-production, and production builds.
• Coordinate with CAE/FEA resources for simulation analysis and part mitigation resolution and review and report status of analysis progression to defined schedule.
• Review and approve design of components, subsystems and assemblies to meet or exceed the required stress load conditions, duty cycle, acceleration, velocity and other related engineering performance requirements.
• Collaborate, manage and oversee allocated CAD resources for the refined development of 3D models and 2D drawings as required.
• Provide design recommendations, alternative solutions and risk assessment for resolution to mechanical, performance and operational design issues.
• Collaborate with other project stakeholders (quality, purchasing, manufacturing, etc.) on issues including but not limited to design for manufacturing feasibility, cost, ease of assembly and error-proofing.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS (Required):

• Bachelor degree in mechanical engineering or related technical degree
• Minimum 6 years of engineering experience in automotive, machine design, aerospace or other related industry.
• Proficient using SolidWorks 2D/3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) or similar operating system.
• Experience in the development and understanding of CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) and/or Rigid Body Dynamics (RBD).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel (intermediate), Outlook, and PowerPoint).

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS (Preferred):

• Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• Knowledge on manufacturing processes in machining, composites and metal fabrication.
• Ability to multi-task and ability to support multiple programs at one time.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills and able to convey technical data to various audiences and thrive in a team environment, strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Work experience in themed entertainment industry.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Direct Reports: 2-4
• P.E. License preferred (not required) 
• Travel Requirements: Up to 20% may be required. (Current valid passport preferred / not required)
• U.S. Citizen or legally authorized to work in the United States.