Lead Engineer - Pumps

JOB ROLE: Lead Engineer - Pumps

REPORTING TO: Vertical Head- Center of Excellence

LOCATION: Mahape, Navi Mumbai

BU / DIVISION: R&D

JOB PURPOSE

To lead the design, development, validation and specification of residential pump products and water-solution systems. The role will build differentiated pump and subsystem capabilities, solve complex product and field challenges through cross-functional collaboration, and define capability and technology roadmaps that enable future expansion beyond standalone pumps into integrated water solutions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead end-to-end development of residential pumps and pump-based water solutions from requirement definition and concept selection through design, prototyping, validation, industrialization and product launch.
• Own system-level and subsystem-level engineering for hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, motor, controls, sealing, thermal, NVH, materials and packaging interfaces, ensuring robust integration and performance.
• Develop product, subsystems and validation specifications by translating consumer needs, application conditions, regulatory requirements and business targets into measurable engineering requirements.
• Drive design calculations, hydraulic sizing, pump and system curve interpretation, selection of operating points, efficiency optimization, reliability improvement and cost-performance trade-offs.
• Define and execute design verification and validation plans covering performance, endurance, safety, environmental robustness, misuse conditions and field-relevant duty cycles; ensure closure of gaps through structured engineering actions.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of design, manufacturing, supplier and field failures using data-driven problem-solving, simulation, testing and design-of-experiments approaches.
• Leverage cross-functional team capabilities across motors, electronics and controls, simulation, materials, tooling, manufacturing, quality, sourcing, consumer insights and service to develop first-time-right solutions.
• Guide NPD, advanced development, value engineering and cost-out projects while balancing performance, quality, manufacturability, serviceability, sustainability and total product cost.
• Identify and mature future opportunities in water solutions such as pressure boosting, water transfer, smart monitoring and control, protection features and integrated pump-system offerings, aligned with validated consumer and market needs.
• Develop and maintain pump capability and technology roadmaps covering people, methods, design tools, simulation, test infrastructure, supplier ecosystem, intellectual property and emerging technologies.
• Build organizational capability through design guidelines, calculation methods, specifications, test standards, lessons-learned repositories, technical reviews, mentoring and structured training of engineers.
• Lead technology scouting, benchmarking, IP landscaping and concept maturation through a structured TRL-based process, with clear technical risks, learning plans and decision gates.
• Collaborate with suppliers and manufacturing teams to establish critical-to-quality parameters, process capability, component specifications and scalable industrialization solutions.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Essential: BE/BTech/ME/MTech in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Fluid Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering or a related discipline.

Desirable: Postgraduate specialization in turbomachinery, fluid mechanics, product design or a related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE

10-15 years of experience in pump design and development, hydraulic systems, fluid machinery or related product engineering fields.

Demonstrated end-to-end experience in residential centrifugal pumps, monoblock pumps, submersible pumps, booster/pressure systems or comparable pump applications.

Experience in pump selection, hydraulic design, system integration, validation, failure resolution and industrialization with cross-functional teams and supply partners.

Experience in converting consumer/application needs into product specifications and in taking concepts through prototype, validation and production maturity.

CERTIFICATIONS

Preferred: DFSS/Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent structured product-development/problem-solving certification.

Desirable: Relevant training in pump testing, computational fluid dynamics, reliability engineering, project management or intellectual property.

PREFERRED/ ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT

Preferred: Hands-on design and development experience across residential pump families and pump-based water systems, including selection and integration of motors, impellers, diffusers/volutes, shafts, bearings, seals, controls and protection devices.

Desirable: Working knowledge of CFD/FEA, tolerance analysis, reliability methods, statistical tools, Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, value engineering and design thinking.

Desirable: Exposure to smart/connected pumps, variable-speed control, sensing, diagnostics, energy efficiency and water-management applications.

INTERNAL / EXTERNAL INTERFACE

Internal - Engineering Design, Motors, Electronics and Controls, Simulation, Materials, Consumer Insights, Product Development, Advanced Development, Quality, Manufacturing, Tooling, Sourcing, Service and Product Management teams.

External - Consumers and installers, test laboratories, technology partners, suppliers, manufacturing partners, academic/research institutions and industry experts.

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Technical and process skills:

• Strong command of fluid mechanics, centrifugal pump theory, hydraulic design, pump/system curves, cavitation/NPSH, efficiency, priming, suction and delivery characteristics, and application sizing.
• Ability to architect pump systems and decompose requirements across hydraulic, mechanical, motor, electrical/electronic control, sealing, thermal and structural subsystems.
• Proficiency in product specification development, requirement flow-down, design reviews, DFMEA, risk management, tolerance analysis and verification/validation planning.
• Hands-on knowledge of pump components and materials, including impellers, volutes/diffusers, shafts, bearings, mechanical seals, bushings, housings and corrosion/wear considerations.
• Ability to interpret and use simulation and engineering tools such as CFD, FEA and 1D/system modelling to predict performance and support design decisions.
• Expertise in pump performance testing, endurance and reliability validation, instrumentation, data analysis, test correlation and field-failure replication.
• Working knowledge of motor-pump matching, starting and running behaviour, protection requirements, controls, variable-speed operation and basic electrical safety interfaces.
• Understanding of manufacturing processes, tooling, supplier capability, critical-to-quality controls, design for manufacturability and product industrialization.
• Excellent structured problem-solving capability using RCA, 8D, fault-tree analysis, DOE, statistical methods and evidence-based decision making.
• Knowledge of NPD, advanced engineering, TRL-based technology maturation, value engineering, IP processes and technology scouting.
• Ability to define and execute capability and technology roadmaps with priorities, milestones, infrastructure needs, competence gaps and measurable outcomes.

BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES

• Think Beyond
• Put Customers first
• Collaborate to Win
• Develop Talent
• Be the Best
• Be Agile