Sr. Materials Engineer – Polymers

About the Role Sr. Materials Engineer – Polymers will identify, develop, and support applications that are innovative & desirable for use in Power Tools and contribute to their long-term continuous improvement. Based at Milwaukee Tool’s Corporate & Global Design Headquarters in Brookfield, WI, you’ll be part of a rapidly growing company and work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment to innovate new products from concept to production.

What You'll Do

• MATERIALS / ENGINEERING: Research & develop new polymer technologies (plastics, elastomers, composites, adhesives, and coatings), systems and manufacturing techniques

• Apply knowledge & understanding to define high performance solutions

• Identify engineering trends and drive strategies to guide the organization’s technical direction

• Review intellectual property and technical publications to identify opportunities for development

• Provide technical leadership, direction, guidance and engineering expertise to the organization

• Provide analysis, expertise & recommendations for material selection, tooling, and processing

• Perform root cause failure analysis of field & test failures

• Self-motivation to lead material/process investigations to solve and/or prevent quality issues

• Provide as-needed support to suppliers & production facilities for engineering builds, product launches, mass production, quality issues and continuous improvement activities

• Recognize inefficiencies in materials applications and sponsor improvement and cost/weight-saving activities

• PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Independently schedule, develop agendas for, facilitate and document technical project meetings and formal presentations

• Draw concise, logical, written conclusions from experiments and present recommendations to a variety of company levels and educational disciplines

• Effectively identify and communicate issues to upper management in a clear, concise and timely manner while driving action based on urgency

• Manage external relationships with university research teams, start-up companies, professional societies & associations and external testing experts

• Mentor and train junior engineers in their design, material selection, and failure analysis

• What TOOLS you’ll bring with you:

• BS in Materials Science/Engineering with polymers focus. Master’s degree preferred, but not required

• 8+ years hands-on, practical experience in polymer manufacturing, testing, R&D, and design

• Experience with various materials, manufacturing & applications - emphasis on plastics, elastomers, thermoset resins, adhesives & coatings

• Understanding & experience with rapid prototyping, injection molding & overmolding technologies

• Excellent problem-solving skills and a hands-on attitude

• Excellent written & verbal communication skills

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision

• High proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, especially Excel and Power Point

• Ability to travel 10% of the time to suppliers, development partners, production facilities & conferences

• Travel between local buildings (Menomonee Falls & Brookfield) for use of analysis equipment

• Experience with failure analysis & fractography

• Preferred thermal analysis knowledge – TGA, DSC, DMA

• Preferred compositional testing knowledge – FTIR, SEM/EDS, GCMS, XRF, MFR

• Preferred mechanical testing knowledge – Tensile/Flex, Fatigue, Creep & Impact

• Proficiency in CAD (NX, Fusion 360) and FEA (Ansys) software is preferred

• Competency in Moldflow simulation is desirable, but not required

• Milwaukee Tool is an equal opportunity employer.

Nice to Have

• Master’s degree in Materials Science/Engineering (polymer focus) or equivalent
• Additional experience with advanced polymer composites, coatings, or adhesives
• Strong project leadership experience in cross-functional teams

Compensation & Benefits

• Milwaukee Tool offers generous benefits including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and 401k matching
• On-site cafeteria, state of the art fitness facility, recreational sports leagues, and company outings