Principal Materials Engineer - Polymers (Advanced Engineering)

Principal Materials Engineer - Polymers (Advanced Engineering)

Bring deep technical authority and first-principles rigor to define, mature, and scale polymer materials and processing approaches across Milwaukee Tool's Hand Tools business unit (Hand Tools, Storage, PPE).

As a Principal Materials Engineer, you serve as the subject matter expert in polymer systems , driving material selection, development, validation, processing, and manufacturability decisions for high-impact applications . You define material performance intent, develop validation strategies, and translate results into confident material decisions from early exploration through commercialization .

You operate with high autonomy across Advanced Engineering (R&D) and platform development, independently progressing multiple material efforts in parallel. You also lead direct technical engagement with material suppliers and development partners to solve complex material challenges .

This role emphasizes early-stage material exploration and innovation , requiring the ability to identify emerging material opportunities and generate insights before formal validation pathways exist.

Key Responsibilities

• Define material performance intent tied to end‑use conditions, durability, and manufacturability requirements
• Develop, qualify, and implement polymer systems (plastics, elastomers, coatings, adhesives, composites) from concept through production‑ready specifications, ensuring alignment between design intent, tooling strategy, processing conditions, manufacturability, and field performance
• Define and execute platform‑level material strategies, enabling consistent performance and manufacturability across product architectures
• Translate experimental and field data into material and process decisions by linking processing‑structure‑property relationships to end‑use performance and failure modes, and by driving upfront analysis prior to tooling and trials
• Scout and evaluate emerging polymer, elastomeric, and flexible material technologies – including startup platforms, university‑derived materials, and supplier development pipelines – to expand the organization’s materials and processing capability roadmap
• Design novel test methodologies where standard approaches fail to fully characterize material behavior; treat data exploration as a primary tool for surfacing material and process insights that drive early‑stage decisions
• Apply materials expertise across rigid and flexible polymer systems , including elastomeric components, overmolded interfaces, and protective padding or soft goods applications relevant to PPE and hand tool ergonomics
• Lead direct technical engagement with global material suppliers and development partners to co‑develop and mature advanced material and process solutions
• Lead root‑cause investigations for complex material failures, applying appropriate analytical techniques to identify failure mechanisms and translate findings into design, material, or process changes ; maintain familiarity with relevant test methods and demonstrate willingness to be hands‑on in the lab as needed
• Drive corrective actions that prevent recurrence through changes in material selection, design, or processing conditions
• Provide targeted support to high‑impact production or field issues (~10%), focused on complex or ambiguous failures
• Influence design, manufacturing, and sourcing decisions to ensure alignment between material selection, processing, and product performance
• Apply strong working knowledge of DFM and tooling to polymer material selection – understanding how material, processing, and design impact tooling and vice versa, and using that understanding to influence manufacturability and development decisions
• Develop sufficient fluency in injection molding simulation workflows (e.g., Moldflow, FEA, material models) to define meaningful inputs, interpret outputs, and drive targeted requests in partnership with dedicated simulation resources; direct simulation execution capability is preferred but not required
• Document material intent, assumptions, tradeoffs, and risks in clear specifications and recommendations
• Mentor engineers and elevate technical rigor in materials evaluation and decision‑making
• Operate across a wide range of polymer systems and applications, applying depth selectively where technical risk is highest

Typical Advanced Engineering Flow

• Discovery: Identify unmet performance needs; evaluate materials technologies and external capabilities
• Definition: Translate application requirements into material performance intent, processing strategy, manufacturability considerations , and validation approach
• Exploration: Develop and test material systems; iterate with suppliers and partners; explore process windows and tooling interactions ; quantify tradeoffs and failure modes
• Validation: Confirm performance, durability, and manufacturability; retire material and process risk
• Commercialization: Deliver production‑ready specifications, test methods, and supplier alignment; support launch as SME

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Polymer Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred
• 10+ years of experience in polymer materials engineering across R&D, development, or manufacturing
• Deep expertise in plastics, elastomers, thermosets, adhesives, coatings, and composite systems
• Proven ability to solve complex technical problems and lead root cause analysis
• Experience working directly with material suppliers and development partners
• Strong ability to translate data into decisions and communicate clearly across functions
• Strong working knowledge of polymer processing (e.g., injection molding, overmolding) and the interaction between material selection, tooling, and manufacturing outcomes
• Working knowledge of injection molding simulation concepts sufficient to engage simulation resources effectively, interpret simulation outputs, and recognize where simulation‑informed decisions add value; experience directly running Moldflow or similar analyses is preferred
• Familiarity with polymer characterization methods and willingness to be hands‑on in the lab are expected; experience independently operating polymer analysis equipment to support development and failure investigations is preferred

Milwaukee Tool is an equal opportunity employer.