Staff Engineer – Continuous Product Development

Company: Kohler
Apply for the Staff Engineer – Continuous Product Development
Location: Cheltenham
Job Description:

Overview

As a Staff Engineer in CPD, you lead cross-functional design projects across brands to improve products throughout their lifecycle. You will provide technical direction, drive improvement initiatives, and ensure compliant, auditable changes. The role combines hands-on engineering with mentoring to raise capability within the team, while coordinating with Manufacturing, SQA and Approvals to deliver impactful cost and performance benefits. It’s a collaborative, innovative role in a market-leading, customer-focused company.

Pay / Benefits

  • base salary up to 62k
  • company bonus
  • private health care
  • generous pension scheme
  • hybrid working (on-site 3 days per week)
  • career growth opportunities

Responsibilities

  • Lead cross-functional design projects from concept to implementation and benefit realisation
  • Identify and prioritise product and business improvements with stakeholder support
  • Own value engineering and lifecycle cost activities to deliver savings without compromising safety or performance
  • Lead technically complex product changes and investigate root causes to implement proportionate solutions
  • Act as product-development technical authority for current portfolio, guiding urgent issues with manufacturing, SQA and approvals teams
  • Ensure engineering changes are compliant, controlled and auditable with proper documentation
  • Collaborate with suppliers and external partners to set technical expectations and implement cost improvements
  • Use customer feedback and field performance data to prioritise updates and measure effectiveness
  • Support handover from NPD to CPD, retaining design intent, risks and lessons learned
  • Improve CPD and NPD methods, maintaining technical rigour and efficiency
  • Provide technical leadership through coaching, design reviews, and knowledge sharing

Key requirements

  • Degree, apprenticeship or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant engineering discipline
  • >6 years engineering experience with complex product or design changes in a regulated or quality-controlled environment
  • Proven ability to lead design projects from concept to implementation with technical guidance to others
  • Structured root cause analysis, risk assessment and validation planning experience
  • Experience producing and reviewing controlled engineering documentation aligned with standards and approvals
  • Strong decision-making and stakeholder management skills across multiple projects
  • Clear communication and ability to influence decisions across the business
  • Desirable: CPD or lifecycle environment experience
  • Desirable: 3D/2D CAD with Creo Parametric, DFx understanding
  • Desirable: knowledge of electrical/electronic interactions with mechanical design
  • Desirable: product approvals, supplier technical management and engineering change processes
  • clear communication
  • stakeholder management
  • mentoring and coaching
  • Creo Parametric (3D/2D CAD)
  • design for manufacture and assembly
  • electrical/electronic systems interaction with mechanical design

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Posted: September 25th, 2026