01Overview
About the job:
Experience: 58 Years
Industry: Rubber / Elastomers / Rubber Products
Department: New Product Development
Position: Senior Engineer NPD
Location: Kuruli
Reporting To: Factory Manager
Job Purpose
To lead and execute new product development activities for rubber products from concept to successful production, ensuring the products meet customer requirements, quality standards, cost targets, and timelines.
Key Responsibilities
Handle end-to-end New Product Development (NPD) activities from customer requirement/technical specifications through trials, validation, and commercialization.Study customer drawings, specifications, standards, and application requirements and convert them into product and process requirements.Develop and optimize rubber compounds, including selection of polymers, fillers, plasticizers, curing systems, and additives as applicable.Coordinate with R&D, Quality, Production, Tool Room, Purchase, and Sales/Customer teams for successful product development.Prepare and review BOM, process specifications, technical documents, trial reports, and development records.Plan and conduct laboratory, moulding, extrusion, mixing, and production trials as applicable to the product.Analyze trial results and identify opportunities for improvement in compound formulation, process parameters, dimensional accuracy, and product performance.Conduct root-cause analysis for development and trial failures using tools such as 5 Why, Fishbone, DOE, and other problem-solving techniques.Support development of prototypes, samples, and pre-production batches within agreed timelines.Validate products through appropriate physical, chemical, mechanical, aging, and application-specific testing.Ensure products comply with applicable customer specifications, ASTM/ISO/DIN or other relevant standards.Work on cost reduction, material optimization, alternate raw-material development, and process improvement.Support successful transfer of new products from development to regular production with defined process controls.Interact with customers during technical discussions, sample submissions, development reviews, and technical issue resolution, where required.Monitor development projects against quality, cost, delivery, and performance targets.Maintain proper documentation of development history, trials, test results, changes, and lessons learned.Support PPAP/APQP, FMEA, Control Plan, MSA, capability studies, and other customer-specific requirements, where applicable.Identify opportunities for product innovation and improvement in existing products.Required Technical Skills
Strong knowledge of rubber compounding and processing.Good understanding of rubber raw materials such as NR, SBR, BR, EPDM, NBR, CR, silicone, FKM, etc., depending on product/application.Knowledge of mixing, calendaring, extrusion, compression/injection/transfer moulding, curing/vulcanization, and related processes.Understanding of rubber testing and characterization, including hardness, tensile, elongation, tear, compression set, abrasion, aging, rheology/MDR, specific gravity, etc.Ability to interpret engineering drawings, product specifications, material specifications, and test standards.Experience in troubleshooting development and production-related technical issues.Knowledge of APQP, PPAP, FMEA, 8D, CAPA, SPC, and root-cause analysis is desirable.Good analytical and problem-solving skills.Working knowledge of MS Excel, PowerPoint, and technical documentation.Education
B.E./B.Tech in Rubber Technology, Polymer Technology, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent.M.E./M.Tech in Rubber/Polymer Technology will be an added advantage.Preferred Industry Experience
Experience in development of rubber products such as:
Automotive rubber componentsSeals, gaskets, O-ringsHoses and profilesRubber moulded componentsAnti-vibration productsIndustrial rubber productsRubber-to-metal bonded componentsKey Competencies
Product development and commercializationCustomer focus and technical communicationRubber compound developmentProject and timeline managementProblem solving and analytical thinkingCross-functional coordinationCost-conscious approachQuality and process orientationInnovation and continuous improvementKey Performance Indicators (KPIs)
On-time completion of NPD projectsFirst-time-right development and trial successCustomer sample approval rateDevelopment-to-production conversionProduct quality and performanceDevelopment cost and material cost optimizationReduction in development/trial rejectionsSuccessful resolution of technical issuesCost-saving and process-improvement contributionsIdeal Candidate Profile
A technically strong rubber professional with 58 years of hands-on experience in product development, capable of independently managing development projects, solving rubber compound/process problems, coordinating cross-functional teams, and taking products from customer requirement to commercial .
