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Nexthop Systems is seeking a Packaging Design & Validation Engineer to drive the design, validation, and procurement of product packaging for next-generation, high-capacity networking systems for AI infrastructures. You will combine technical expertise with innovative problem-solving to plan and execute all qualification activities for cutting-edge packaging designs, ensuring they meet stringent demands of global shipping environments.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop, implement, and oversee cost-effective packaging solutions that ensure data center networking product protection and marketability per client requirements and industry standards.
- Partner with packaging vendors, suppliers, and external labs to deliver packaging solutions on schedule.
- Develop detailed design, develop, qualify, release, and maintain packaging functional activities.
- Create qualification plans to characterize and validate packaging solutions for products, field replaceable units (FRUs), subassemblies, or components per industry or internal specifications, working closely with hardware design teams (mechanical, thermal, electrical).
- Generate innovative ideas for cost optimization, durability during shipping, environmental impact, and compliance with safety regulations.
- Adjust or customize packaging in real time to adopt product design changes.
- Analyze different materials to assess cost per unit, considering durability, weight, sustainability, and product fragility.
- Validate packaging material durability by subjecting them to simulated shipping conditions, ensuring they withstand rough handling and environmental factors such as temperature changes.
- Understand manufacturing plans, processes, machinery, and assembly lines to ensure packaging design aligns with production capabilities and improves operational efficiency.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams to coordinate cost, schedule, and address dependencies (hardware allocation, software readiness, shipment).
- Analyze test results, identify product and package design issues, log bugs using tracking software, recommend corrective actions, drive resolution, and verify fixes.
- Review, edit, and release package design, parts, and documentation.
- Evaluate technical readiness prior to release to manufacturing.
- Proactively learn and improve test cost, consistency, and efficiency.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Packaging or Mechanical Engineering.
- 2–5 years of experience in protective packaging for telecom or data center product packaging development.
- Solid understanding of structural dynamics (shock, vibration, drop) and environmental (temperature, humidity, altitude, acoustic) testing for networking.
- Strong knowledge of industry standards (ISTA, FedEx, IEC, ASTM, ISO).
- Ability to configure various packaging from FRU, single, multipack, pallets, and crates for air, sea, rail, and road transportation.
- Ability to perform fragility analysis with boundary scan testing.
- Experience with mechanical and environmental test equipment (shock & vibration table, acoustic, and other packaging tests).
- Familiarity with MDVT, HALT, & NEBS testing is a plus.
- Proficiency with CAD tools such as Fusion or SolidWorks for design and reviews with vendors or mechanical design engineers.
- Experience with BOM management tools such as Arena or Agile to maintain and release part numbers.
- Ability to conduct operational and non-operational dynamic (shock and vibration) and environmental tests at external and internal labs.
- Experience running tests using standalone diagnostics or traffic tests using OS & traffic generators.
- Experience designing and procuring test fixtures to start qualification early.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills to work effectively across cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.
- Problem-solving mindset with focus on delivering results while managing technical risks and tradeoffs.
- Ability to adapt and thrive in a dynamic and innovative environment.
