Design Engineer (Junior or Senior) – Consumer Products

Role details

Who is Revo Brands?

Revo Brands builds and grows specialty consumer brands through great product design, smart engineering and strong marketing. We turn good ideas into great products and we’ve built a team of talented people doing amazing work across three brands:

• Real Avid is the go-to brand for gun DIY consumers. It makes industry-leading gun maintenance tools, multi-tools and high-performance gun cleaning products, and it has become the innovation leader in its category.
• Outdoor Edge makes knives and cutting tools for hunters, anglers, tradespeople and everyday carry. Its RazorSafe™ replaceable-blade system leads the industry and is a trusted partner at home and in the field.
• Work IQ is our newest brand. It makes problem-solving workbench tools for DIYers, makers, hobbyists and trade professionals, starting with the IQ Vise System: a modular, 360° articulating vise with swappable task-specific jaws and plug-and-play accessories.

Our products are sold at major retailers such as Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s, Academy, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Scheels, Walmart and Amazon. We make our hard goods with international factories and our cleaning chemicals in the US.

What’s the job?

We’re adding a Design Engineer to the team, and we’re open to hiring at the Junior or Senior level. We’ll match the level to the right person. You’ll use your creativity to design new products for all three brands, so one month you might be solving a firearm maintenance problem, the next a blade-change mechanism, and the next a workbench accessory.

You’ll run the full development process, starting from project briefs, brainstorming and research. That means presenting phase-gate updates to the product development team, possibly (no, probably) changing direction midstream, and delivering the final package. Projects range from blue-sky concepts to detailed SolidWorks release packages for our international factory partners. You’ll frequently be asked to help with things we don’t even know about yet. Enthusiasm for the industry, reliability and adaptability will be key traits.

This role reports to our Engineering Manager, and you’ll work closely with our Vice President of Product Development and our Industrial Designers in a cross-functional product development team.

How the two levels differ

• Senior Design Engineer: You own the most complex programs from start to finish, set engineering direction across brands, mentor other engineers, and are the person we call when a factory ramp-up goes sideways.
• Junior Design Engineer: You own projects from start to finish with support from senior team members. You’ll build on your knowledge of materials and processes, learn from our manufacturing partners, and expand your role quickly as you prove yourself.

Who are you?

A SolidWorks expert. Fun. Organized. Great at managing your time and juggling several projects at once. You thrive where things are creative and move fast. You want to create industry-leading designs that you will be proud of. You have an entrepreneur’s spirit: you take ownership of your projects and you like to leave things better than you found them.

What you need to bring

Experience by level

• Senior: 7+ years of design engineering and execution experience, including leading programs from concept through production.
• Junior: 3+ years of design engineering and execution experience.

Required for both levels

• This is NOT a draftsman position. You’ll lead the charge with innovation and decide the engineering fate of several new products every year.
• You MUST have SolidWorks experience designing plastic parts. You understand draft angles, slides, gates, ejector pins and parting lines, and you know the difference between polypropylene and polycarbonate.
• Broad experience with materials and processes: injection molding (including overmolding), casting, machining, stamping and blade/metal forming. We’re not looking for a specialist in a single process.
• Consumer product know-how: Finish, color, fit, snaps, joining methods, ergonomics and durability. This position will NOT be designing fixtures or automation equipment. All products will be highly functional and great looking.
• Decoration techniques: Laser etching, pad and screen printing, plating, color matching and texture.
• Play well with others. Though you will own projects, you will often volley your designs back and forth with an Industrial Designer. Sharing models and accepting nuanced design changes is non-negotiable.
• Business savvy. You won’t cry when you hear a new product’s target price point. For us, that’s a challenge accepted.
• Factory communication skills. You’ll work directly with our factory partners to ramp up new products and own them long-term, including after they go into production. We talk to our factories constantly with PowerPoint files, emails and video calls.
• Project Management: You’ll handle your own schedules, PowerPoint decks, BOMs and quote documentation. All of these topics will be discussed in detail, but you are responsible for staying on top of things. We don’t hold people’s hands here.
• Firefighting experience. Problems come up during ramp-up (and afterward). Maybe this has never happened to you, but we doubt it. If you want a predictable, repetitive job, save us both some time and don’t bother applying.
• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, design or a related engineering discipline.
• Comfort handling firearms, sharp tools, and discussing field dressing and game processing. Research will happen at gun ranges, gun shops or in the field. You can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.
• Travel to international factories is possible. Occasional after-hours calls (because of the time difference) are likely.
• On-site work. This is not a remote position. You’ll work at our beautiful new facility in Maple Grove, MN.
• You’ve gotta be cool. We have meticulously assembled a great team and we want you to join it. We will do things differently than you are used to (especially if you come from a big company) but we need you to be willing to adapt to the way we do things without any attitude or eye rolls.

Major bonus points will be awarded if

• You are into shooting, hunting, fishing, woodworking or making things.
• You have worked on knives, guns, vises or other hand tools.
• You worked for a competitor and want to switch teams to the winning side.
• You have the ability to speak Mandarin.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $60,000 – $140,000 depending on level, qualifications and experience.

Benefits include health/dental/vision/life/disability insurances, 401(k) match, employee discount, and PTO.

Next steps

We’re only interviewing candidates in the Twin Cities area right now. Please send your resume, work samples, whether you’re applying for the Junior or Senior level and your salary requirements. If your samples and credentials are amazing, we’ll reach out to set up an interview. Only applicants who meet the requirements will be considered. Remember, you MUST have SolidWorks experience designing plastic parts.

Email your resume and work samples to [email protected]. No phone calls.

In case you are curious, dogs are also welcome at the office, but we’ll need to interview them as well.

Pay: $60,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Are you applying for the Junior or Senior level position?
• Do you have SolidWorks experience designing plastic parts?
• What is the highest level of education you have completed?
• What are your salary expectations?

Work Location: In person