Senior Product Engineer - Downers Grove - Elkay

Description

Senior Product Engineer - New Product Development

The Company

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation is a thriving, values-driven company focused on doing the right things. We're a fast growing, publicly traded company (NYSE: ZWS), with an enduring reputation for integrity, giving back, and providing an engaging, inclusive environment where careers flourish and grow.

Named by Newsweek as One of America's Most Responsible Companies and an Energage USA Top Workplace, at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, we never forget that our people are at the center of what makes us successful. They are the driving force behind our superior quality, product ingenuity, and exceptional customer experience. Our commitment to our people and their professional development is a recipe for success that has fueled our growth for over 100 years, as one of today's leading international suppliers of plumbing and water delivery solutions.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation employs over 2800 employees worldwide, working from 24 locations across the U.S., China, Canada, Dubai, and Mexico, with sales offices available around the globe. We hope you'll visit our website and learn more about Zurn Elkay at

If you're ready to join a company where what you do makes a difference and you have pride in the work you are doing, talk to us about joining the Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation family

If you are a current employee, please navigate *here $) to apply internally.

Role Summary

The Drinking Water Senior NPD Engineer serves as a technical leader for cross‐functional teams driving the design, development, and launch of new water delivery products. This role translates customer and market needs into clear technical specifications, defines key engineering milestones, and guides the team through critical technical decisions to meet performance, cost, schedule, and quality targets. The engineer oversees verification and validation activities, leads root‐cause analysis, and supports product builds from early prototypes through production readiness. With a strong focus on system integration—including electronics, refrigeration, and filtration—the role proactively manages technical risks and ensures smooth coordination across Product Management, Project Management, Sourcing, and Operations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical lead for cross-functional project teams in the design, development, and launch of new water delivery products, ensuring delivery against cost, schedule, and quality objectives.
• Translate customer and market requirements into clear, actionable product technical specifications.
• Define and establish technical milestones that align with overall program timelines and stage-gate requirements.
• Lead the team in technical decision-making and manage product-level trade-offs to balance performance, cost, schedule, and stakeholder expectations.
• Oversee product verification and validation (V&V) planning and execution, and lead teams through failure analysis and resolution.
• Lead product builds throughout the full development lifecycle, from prototype through pilot and production readiness.
• Actively manage cost, schedule, and performance trade-offs throughout the development cycle to meet overall program objectives.
• Identify, assess, and manage technical risks across the product development lifecycle.
• Lead subsystem integration into the finished product, collaborating closely with subject matter experts in electronics, refrigeration, and filtration.
• Serve as a voice of engineering to the cross-functional project team, with regular interaction across Product Management, Project Management, Sourcing, and Operations.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering, with a minimum of 5+ years of experience delivering successful new product launches.
• Proven experience leading new product development teams through a formal stage-gate development process.
• Proficiency in verification and validation tools, including DFMEA and DVPR (required).
• Proficiency in root cause analysis methodologies such as 8D and A3 (required).
• Familiarity with systems engineering principles and product architecture development.
• Knowledge of applicable industry standards and regulations related to consumer products and water safety (preferred).
• Experience with refrigeration or HVAC systems (preferred).
• Experience with electrical and electronic systems (preferred).
• Consumer product or small appliance experience, including aesthetic and structural assembly design (preferred).
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.

The compensation range identified below are a good faith estimate of the salary expected to be paid as performed from these locations. Actual salaries may vary based on compensable factors including but not limited to skillset, experience, education and training, and other relevant business and organizational factors. Most candidates will start in the lower half of the range.

The Salary Range: $94,000 - $120,000

Total Rewards and Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, AD&D, and Life Insurance
• Matching 401(k) Contribution
• Health Savings Account
• Up to 3 weeks starting Vacation (may increase with tenure)
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Annual Bonus Eligibility
• Educational Reimbursement
• Matching Gift Program
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan – purchase company stock at a discount

THIRD PARTY AGENCY: Any unsolicited submissions received from recruitment agencies will be considered property of Zurn Elkay, and we will not be liable for any fees or obligations related to those submissions.

Equal Opportunity Employer – Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation

What happens when two remarkable sustainability leaders come together as one?

A sustainability powerhouse is born, making a splash in the markets they serve and saving the planet one innovative installation at a time.

In early 2022, Zurn Water Solutions Corporation, a market leader in smart, sustainable water solutions, and Elkay Manufacturing, a commercial drinking water solutions leader, agreed to combine their two exceptional firms to become a single water solutions powerhouse.

Together, the combined company offers a comprehensive package of innovative, sustainable, specified, engineered water solutions and sustainable plumbing products that provide water safety, water quality, and water conservation through critical service environments, while delivering total building solutions for new construction and retrofit applications around the globe. Our innovative solutions enable customers to advance their ESG initiatives and reduce operating costs while providing students, patients, patrons, and people within public and private spaces a safe, clean environment and access to fresh, pure, potable water – the essence of life itself.

What makes Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation special is our people and our culture.

While playing a leading role in sustainability and water access are remarkable, what makes Zurn Elkay's story so compelling is the alignment of the two well-respected companies with powerful legacies and a combined 224-year company history and shared values and cultures where people matter most.

Sustainably inspired, the company has a deep commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, water, and environmental stewardship, and giving back to the communities where we live, work and play. Our powerful legacy of caring and commitment is made possible by the exceptional people that embody Zurn Elkay's values.

We are looking for innovative, energetic people who want to help solve tomorrow's challenges today. Our Total Associate Engagement core value means we work hard to ensure our associates have opportunities to grow and an inclusive culture in which to thrive. From formal training to on-the-job development and exposure to new businesses, when you join Zurn Elkay, you will join a collaborative organization that will give you opportunities to thrive and grow.