Product Engineer

Job Summary

We are looking for a talented Product Engineer to join our team specializing in Product Validation for our location in Rocky Mount, NC. In this role, you will support the Current Product Function within the B Platform team, with responsibilities extending across the full midrange (4–9L) diesel, natural gas, and gasoline engine portfolio. While organizationally aligned to the B platform, your work will span multiple midrange programs, supporting both current production needs and forward-looking product reliability initiatives.

You will investigate product quality, design, and validation concerns by understanding causal mechanisms, recommending corrective actions, and owning problem resolution through documented analyses, with guidance from experienced engineers as needed. Projects will focus on resolving product quality and design issues, addressing part continuity challenges impacting sourcing and plant operations, and supporting service-related component concerns, including customer returns and potential updates to service literature. Your work will contribute directly to improving product robustness, sourcing stability, and overall customer experience.

This role requires strong cross‑functional engagement with Quality, Sourcing, Suppliers, Plant teams, and Customers, as well as close collaboration with technical managers, project leaders, and fellow product and manufacturing engineers. You will apply academic knowledge and professional experience to make timely, quality‑focused decisions—ranging from day‑to‑day project execution details to analysis approaches and test work instructions—while coordinating effectively across disciplines to ensure meaningful technical progress.

A key focus of the role is the execution of Engineering Standard Work (ESW), iDFMEA, and structured problem‑solving methods such as 7‑step problem solving and design review checklists to enable high‑quality engineering decisions. You will be responsible for creating and leading validation plans using VPCR and PPS processes, leveraging Cummins simulation tools alongside on‑engine experimental testing to verify and validate component and system performance.

Additionally, this position will support failure analysis efforts associated with in‑house projects stemming from the Everest program launches between 2026 and 2028, ensuring lessons learned are captured and applied. With 2+ years of professional experience in product validation, project management, quality, or product design, you will independently execute established processes while continuing to build technical depth, contribute to process improvement, and help deliver reliable, high‑quality products across Cummins’ midrange portfolio.

In this role, you will make an impact in the following ways: 

• Lead Product Issue Investigation: Investigate product and system-level issues by understanding causal mechanisms, recommending appropriate corrective actions, owning problem resolution, and documenting results with guidance from more experienced team members.
• Execute Core Engineering Processes: Support Product Preceding Technology (PPT), Value Package Introduction (VPI), and Current Product Support (CPS) activities by executing Engineering Standard Work (ESW), iDFMEA, Failure Incident Review Group (FIRG), and related technical processes to enable high-quality decision making.
• Apply Structured Problem-Solving Tools: Utilize 7-step problem solving, design review checklists, and other specialized engineering tools to analyze issues, validate solutions, and ensure robust technical outcomes.
• Collaborate with Key Stakeholders: Gather and integrate input from technical managers, project leaders, product and manufacturing engineers, and supplier partners to deliver clear insights and recommendations that support sound product decisions.
• Drive Quality-Focused Decision Making: Apply academic knowledge and prior experience to make timely, informed decisions that advance projects while maintaining quality, including analysis approaches, test work instructions, and day-to-day project details.
• Own Resolution of Complex Technical Problems: Take accountability for resolving moderately complex component, system, or product issues, with increasing technical complexity and ambiguity as experience and capability grow.
• Independently Execute and Improve Processes: Execute established work processes with minimal supervision while continuing to build product and technology knowledge and actively contributing to continuous improvement of systems and workflows.
• Support Team Effectiveness and Coordination: Contribute strongly to team goals, demonstrate influence within the work group, and coordinate work activities for technicians and/or temporary student employees as needed, while developing core competencies critical to long-term success.

To be successful in this role you will need the following: 

• Data-Driven Engineering Judgment: Apply principles of statistical methods to analyze technical data using descriptive statistics, probability distributions, regression, design of experiments, and hypothesis testing to make rigorous, fact-based engineering decisions that balance risk, quality, and performance.
• Systems Thinking and Requirements Discipline: Translate stakeholder needs into clear, verifiable system and product requirements, understand interactions across components and subsystems, and assess the downstream impact of design or requirement changes across the full product lifecycle.
• Product Design Integration and Interface Management: Integrate mechanical, electrical, software, and control system elements into cohesive product designs by managing interfaces, conducting cross-functional design reviews, and ensuring alignment to value package and customer requirements.
• Robust Product Problem Solving and Failure Avoidance: Identify and mitigate potential failure modes through structured problem-solving approaches, FMEA, validation planning, and root cause analysis to deliver reliable products and prevent issue recurrence.
• Execution Excellence and Cross-Functional Collaboration: Plan, execute, and monitor product development activities while collaborating effectively across engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, and project teams to drive results, make timely decisions, and continuously improve technical outcomes.

Education, Licenses, Certifications: 

• College, university, or equivalent Bachelor's degree in Engineering or appropriate STEM field is required. 
• Post-graduate (Master's) degree relevant to this discipline area may be required for select roles. 
• This position may require licensing for compliance with export controls or sanctions regulations. 

Experience: 

• Entry level/Early career professional. 
• Preferred candidates would have relevant experience working in either a temporary student employment environment (intern, co-op, or other extracurricular team activities) or as an early career professional in a relevant technical discipline area. 
• Knowledge of MS Office tools is also preferred

• 2 to 4 years professional experience in a product validation, project management, quality, or product design role
• Affected area of work will include componentry on Current Product Midrange (4-9L) Diesel, Natural Gas, and Gasoline products. 
• Investigate product problems, understand causal mechanisms, recommend appropriate action, own problem resolution and documents results with guidance from more experienced team members. 
  • Provide independent execution of established work processes and systems, while still developing technology or product knowledge; engages with the improvement of systems and processes. 
• Obtain input from stakeholders such as technical managers, project leaders, other product and manufacturing engineers, and supplier partners to deliver information and recommendations that lead to quality product decisions. A candidate will apply academic knowledge and existing experience to take action and make decisions that progress projects forward without sacrificing project quality expectations. 
  • Projects will look to resolve Product Quality and Design issues as well as resolve part continuity issues that plague sourcing and the plant 
  • Role will require engagement with Quality, Sourcing, Suppliers, Plant cross functional groups, and Customers 
  • Examples of these decisions include day to day project details, analysis or test work instruction details, coordination across discipline areas that are necessary to make quality progress
• Focus will include working with business processes of executing technical processes such as Engineering Standard Work (ESW) and iDFMEA, while using tools such as 7-step problem solving, design review checklist and other specialized tools required to support the processes and enable high quality decision making.
• Role will be responsible for creating and leading validation plans via VPCR and PPS processes
  • Validation will require Cummins simulation tools as well as on engine experimental testing 
• Work will also extend to failure analysis for in house projects stemming from the launch of Everest programs between 2026 and 2028
• Component responsibility extends to Service and will require parts analysis for customer returns as well as potential service literature updates