Design Engineer Jobs in Elkhart, IN (NOW HIRING)

Description

DESIGN ENGINEER

POLYWOOD | On-site | Syracuse, IN
Department: Product Development / Design
Reports To: Director of Product Design

At POLYWOOD, we believe great products start with great people.  The kind of people who can take an idea, think through the details, solve the practical challenges, and help bring something beautiful and durable to life.

If that sounds like you, you might be the next Design Engineer to join our Product Development and Design team in Syracuse, Indiana.

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About Us

POLYWOOD makes sustainable outdoor furniture that is built to last for generations. Our products are designed with purpose, manufactured with care, and made using recycled plastics, including our genuine POLYWOOD lumber.

Our Product Development and Design teams play an important role in shaping what comes next. They help turn new ideas into products that are beautiful, durable, manufacturable, and ready for real life outside.

Joining POLYWOOD means joining a company driven by sustainability, thoughtful design, innovation, and growth. It also means being part of a team that values collaboration, problem solving, and building something meaningful together.

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The Work You'll Love Doing 

Every POLYWOOD product begins as an idea. In this role, you will help turn those ideas into manufacturable, sample-ready outdoor furniture designs. You will work at the intersection of industrial design, engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing, developing 3D CAD models, technical drawings, assemblies, prototypes, and design-for-manufacturing solutions that support our product development pipeline. This is a hands-on, highly collaborative role where your work will help move new products from concept through costing, sampling, testing, documentation, and production handoff.

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What Makes This Role Special

• Your work becomes real. The models, drawings, and design solutions you create help shape products customers will enjoy for years.
• You will collaborate across the business. This role partners closely with design, product development, manufacturing, CNC, fabrication, engineering, operations, quality, and costing teams.
• You will solve meaningful problems. From prototype feedback to manufacturing constraints, your ideas will help improve products before they move into production.
• You will help protect design intent. Your work helps ensure new products are not only beautiful, but also manufacturable, durable, efficient, and aligned with POLYWOOD standards.
• You will be part of what is next. POLYWOOD continues to grow, innovate, and expand what is possible in outdoor furniture

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Where You Will Make an Impact

• Translating sketches, renderings, design direction, and early concepts into engineered models
• Developing 3D CAD models, technical drawings, assemblies, and production-intent design details
• Creating and refining models for sampling, prototyping, costing, testing, and cross-functional review
• Evaluating concepts for manufacturability, assembly, structural performance, material efficiency, and long-term production viability
• Partnering with manufacturing, engineering, CNC, fabrication, costing, and product development teams to resolve design challenges
• Supporting prototype development with accurate model files, drawings, cut files, assemblies, and documentation
• Reviewing prototype builds, identifying fit and function issues, recommending corrections, and documenting design revisions
• Participating in product reviews before handoff to help ensure design intent, construction details, manufacturing requirements, and documentation are aligned

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What You Bring 

• You are someone who enjoys the details, but you also understand the bigger picture. You can move between creative concepts and practical manufacturing requirements, and you know how to collaborate with the teams who bring products to life.
• You likely have experience with CAD modeling, technical drawings, product development, prototyping, and design-for-manufacturing. You are comfortable working through design challenges, asking good questions, and helping improve products before they reach production.
• Experience with SolidWorks, Mastercam, or similar CAD/CAM tools would be especially valuable. Experience supporting CNC, routing, tube laser, fabrication, assembly, or production documentation would also help you stand out.
• Familiarity with Jira or other project/workflow management systems is a plus.

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POLYWOOD is an equal opportunity employer. POLYWOOD evaluates qualified applicants without regard to characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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