Product Design Engineer

Role details

About the role

Founded in 1923 in central Massachusetts, Gavitt Wire & Cable Company designs and manufactures custom, highly engineered wire and cable products for demanding markets including aviation, military, industrial, medical, and sports & entertainment. We pride ourselves on prompt, accurate service, design expertise, and rigorous in‑process monitoring, ensuring the quality and reliability our customers expect. Guided by honesty and hands‑on leadership, top management oversees daily operations and gives every inquiry, order, and concern individual attention.

The Product Design Engineer designs and develops wire and cable products from customer requirement through qualified, production-ready design. You will turn application needs — voltage, current, temperature, flexibility, environment and regulatory approvals — into cable constructions, specifications and bills of materials that our plant can build reliably and profitably.

You will work closely with Sales, Quality, Manufacturing and Purchasing, and serve as a technical point of contact for customers. Typical products include medical cables, military/aerospace, industrial high flex products, and specialty cables for the music industry.

Product design and development

• Design new wire and cable constructions — conductor, insulation, shielding, armor, fillers and jacket — to meet electrical, mechanical, thermal and environmental requirements.
• Select conductor materials, stranding and sizes (AWG/kcmil or mm²), and specify insulation and jacket compounds such as PVC, XLPE, PE, TPE, EPR, LSZH and fluoropolymers.
• Calculate key parameters: ampacity, voltage drop, conductor resistance, capacitance, impedance, insulation resistance, outer diameter, weight and bend radius.
• Create and maintain cable drawings, product specifications, data sheets and bills of materials using CAD and cable design software.
• Modify existing products for cost reduction, performance improvement or material substitution.

Customer and quoting support

• Review customer specifications and RFQs; propose compliant designs and identify exceptions.
• Provide material and cost estimates to Sales for quotations.
• Act as technical contact for customers on product selection, application questions and complaints.

Standards, testing and certification

• Design to applicable standards, such as UL (1581, 758), CSA, NEC, ICEA/NEMA, ASTM, IEC, and MIL-spec where relevant.
• Plan and run qualification testing: electrical, flame (e.g., UL 1685, FT4, VW-1), aging, cold bend, crush and impact.
• Manage UL/CSA listings, file updates and third-party agency inspections.
• Support RoHS, REACH and other material compliance declarations.

Manufacturing support

• Hand off new designs to production with clear process parameters for drawing, stranding, extrusion, cabling, shielding, armoring and jacketing.
• Run and evaluate prototype and first-article trials on the plant floor.
• Resolve design-related production and quality issues using root-cause analysis (8D, 5 Why, fishbone).
• Contribute to DFMEA, PPAP and engineering change processes.

Materials and suppliers

• Evaluate and qualify new compounds, conductors, tapes and yarns with Purchasing and suppliers.
• Track material cost and availability, and recommend alternates to manage copper, aluminum and compound price changes.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Materials, Polymer or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
• 3+ years of product design or engineering experience in wire and cable, or a closely related industry (electrical components, wire harness, polymer extrusion).
• Working knowledge of cable construction and conductor, insulation and jacketing materials.
• Familiarity with UL, CSA, NEC, ICEA and ASTM standards and the agency certification process.
• Ability to read and write technical specifications and engineering drawings.
• Clear written and verbal communication with customers and cross-functional teams.

Preferred qualifications

• 5+ years of wire and cable design experience.
• Hands-on experience with extrusion, stranding, cabling and shielding processes and equipment.
• Experience with cable design software and ERP/PLM systems.
• Knowledge of IEC and international standards, MIL-spec, or industry-specific requirements (automotive, aerospace, energy, data center, industrial automation).
• Experience with polymer compounding and material testing.
• Lean manufacturing experience

Skills and competencies

• Technical judgment — balances performance, manufacturability, cost and compliance in every design.
• Analytical problem solving — uses data and structured methods to find root causes.
• Customer focus — translates application needs into practical, compliant solutions.
• Collaboration — works well across Sales, Quality, Operations and Purchasing.
• Organization — manages several projects, quotes and certifications at once and meets deadlines.
• Documentation discipline — keeps specifications, drawings and agency files accurate and current.

Working conditions

• Split between office and manufacturing floor; plant time involves noise, heat from extrusion lines and moving equipment.
• Required PPE on the floor: safety glasses, hearing protection and safety footwear.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods and lift up to 50 lb (reels, samples, test fixtures).

Gavitt Wire is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Pay: $85,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

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

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• wire and cable: 3 years (Required)

Work Location: In person