Wick
Website:
wicksports.com
Company:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wickautomation
Seniority: Director
Industries: Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
Job details:
Job Title: Chief Design Officer (CDO) / Head of Product Design
Please Read Before Applying
CTC - 5-7 Lakhs Per year
Location: Faridabad
Industry: Automotive | Pneumatic Systems | Industrial Product Development
Experience: 2+ years
Employment Type: Full-time
About the Role
We are looking for a highly experienced and hands-on Chief Design Officer / Head of Product Design to lead the design and development of automotive, pneumatic, and industrial products.
This is not a purely managerial position. The candidate must have strong practical experience in reverse engineering, mechanical product designing, SolidWorks, pneumatic systems, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing implementation.
The selected candidate will take complete ownership of product development from studying an existing component or market requirement to designing, prototyping, validating, industrializing, and successfully launching the product into production.
Core Responsibilities
Reverse Engineering and Product Development
- Lead the reverse engineering of automotive, pneumatic, and mechanical components, assemblies, and systems.
- Study existing products, understand their working principles, identify design parameters, and develop technically improved and commercially viable alternatives.
- Perform accurate measurements, component analysis, material identification, tolerance evaluation, and functional benchmarking.
- Convert physical components, samples, sketches, and concepts into accurate 3D CAD models and manufacturing drawings.
- Identify opportunities for product improvement, localization, cost reduction, weight reduction, durability enhancement, and design simplification.
Product Designing and Engineering
- Design and develop new automotive, pneumatic, mechanical, and industrial products using SolidWorks.
- Create 3D models, detailed part drawings, assembly drawings, exploded views, BOMs, and manufacturing documentation.
- Apply GD&T, tolerance stack-up analysis, material selection, fits, clearances, and engineering calculations.
- Design pneumatic circuits, valve arrangements, pressure-control systems, manifolds, reservoirs, fittings, hoses, actuators, and related components.
- Develop products from initial concept through prototype, testing, validation, production, and continuous improvement.
- Conduct design reviews and ensure all designs are functionally reliable, manufacturable, serviceable, and cost-effective.
Pneumatic and Mechanical System Expertise
- Possess a strong understanding of pneumatic system design, air-flow management, pressure regulation, valves, actuators, compressors, reservoirs, manifolds, and safety mechanisms.
- Select appropriate pneumatic components based on pressure, flow rate, temperature, operating conditions, and application requirements.
- Diagnose and resolve pneumatic leakage, pressure-drop, flow restriction, component failure, and system-performance issues.
- Integrate pneumatic systems with mechanical, electrical, and electronic components where required.
- Apply knowledge of automotive systems, hydraulic systems, fabricated assemblies, machined components, sheet-metal products, and industrial equipment.
Prototype Development and Validation
- Lead prototype planning, fabrication, assembly, testing, and design validation.
- Develop testing procedures, test rigs, validation plans, and acceptance criteria.
- Analyse prototype and field-test results and implement necessary design modifications.
- Perform engineering calculations, FEA, CFD, pressure calculations, flow analysis, and design validation wherever required.
- Conduct failure analysis and root-cause analysis for design or product-performance issues.
- Ensure that the final product meets functional, safety, durability, quality, and customer requirements.
Manufacturing and Cost Optimization
- Drive Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, DFMEA, value engineering, and cost optimization.
- Design components suitable for machining, fabrication, sheet metal, welding, injection moulding, casting, forging, extrusion, and 3D printing.
- Work closely with production and quality teams to resolve manufacturing and assembly issues.
- Review tooling, fixtures, jigs, manufacturing processes, and inspection requirements.
- Reduce product cost without compromising performance, quality, reliability, or safety.
- Support the smooth transition of products from prototype stage to serial production.
Vendor and Cross-Functional Coordination
- Lead vendor development, component sourcing, technical discussions, and supplier evaluations.
- Communicate technical requirements, drawings, specifications, tolerances, and quality expectations to vendors.
- Coordinate with production, quality, procurement, sales, service, and field teams.
- Evaluate supplier capabilities and support the development of new components and manufacturing processes.
- Resolve vendor-related technical, quality, fitment, and performance issues.
Documentation and Change Management
- Prepare and maintain BOMs, SOPs, work instructions, product specifications, testing documents, inspection standards, and quality documents.
- Manage engineering change requests, engineering change notices, drawing revisions, and design-release processes.
- Maintain proper version control for CAD files, drawings, BOMs, and technical documents.
- Ensure that products comply with customer specifications and applicable automotive, ISO, safety, and quality standards.
- Document design calculations, validation results, product changes, and lessons learned.
Team and Project Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop the mechanical design and product-development team.
- Assign responsibilities, review designs, track project progress, and ensure timely completion of deliverables.
- Manage multiple product-development projects simultaneously.
- Establish structured design-review, testing, documentation, and product-release processes.
- Take complete ownership of technical decision-making and product-performance outcomes.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Production Engineering, or a related field.
- 2+ years of experience in mechanical product design and development.
- Strong hands-on experience in reverse engineering and new product development.
- Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks, including part modelling, assembly modelling, sheet metal, surfacing, and manufacturing drawings.
- Strong practical knowledge of pneumatic systems and pneumatic component selection.
- Experience in automotive, industrial equipment, machinery, pneumatic products, or related sectors.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes including machining, fabrication, welding, sheet metal, injection moulding, casting, and 3D printing.
- Good knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-up, material selection, BOM management, and engineering documentation.
- Experience in prototype development, testing, validation, troubleshooting, and production support.
- Experience working with suppliers, vendors, manufacturing teams, and cross-functional departments.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, project-management, and communication skills.
Preferred Skills
- Experience with FEA, CFD, flow simulation, and pressure-system calculations.
- Understanding of hydraulic, electromechanical, and automotive systems.
- Knowledge of DFMEA, PFMEA, DFM, DFA, APQP, PPAP, and root-cause analysis.
- Familiarity with PLM, PDM, and engineering change-management systems.
- Knowledge of ISO, automotive, and relevant product-quality standards.
- Experience developing products from a physical sample or initial idea through commercial production.
- Previous experience leading an engineering or product-design team.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a practical engineering leader who can:
- Reverse engineer a physical product and understand exactly how it functions.
- Design a complete product independently using SolidWorks.
- Develop and troubleshoot complex pneumatic and mechanical systems.
- Convert concepts into reliable, manufacturable, and commercially viable products.
- Work comfortably on the shop floor, with vendors, and during field trials.
- Take complete ownership of design, testing, documentation, manufacturing, and product improvement.
This role is suitable for someone who enjoys building real products, solving complex engineering problems, and taking ideas from the drawing board to successful production.
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