R&D - Product Development Engineer
Join a scaling deep tech manufacturer and shape product performance and production outcomes
- Shape how a real-world engineered product performs and scales
- Own testing, data, and development in a high-growth environment
- Hands-on role working closely with production to bring products to life
Take your hands-on engineering experience into a role where testing, data, and real-world application come together to shape a product that performs at scale.
About the Company
Tectonus was founded on a unique approach to seismic protection, built on proprietary technology and deep engineering expertise. What began as technical innovation has evolved into a proven, real-world solution, now protecting buildings in some of the world’s most seismically active regions.
The company is now in a scale-up phase, expanding globally and delivering projects across critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
This high-growth New Zealand business has evolved from a project-based operation into a scaling manufacturing environment. With recent investment in new premises and expanded manufacturing capability, the focus has shifted to building repeatable, high-quality solutions at scale.
As the business continues to grow, it is building deeper technical capability across product development and R&D, creating more structure, rigour, and repeatability in how products are designed and delivered. It is a highly technical environment, grounded in real-world performance.
About the Role
This is a hands-on Product Development Engineering role focused on building a deep, data-led understanding of how products perform, and translating that into reliable, manufacturable designs.
You will take ownership of testing and development, determining how products behave under different conditions and identifying what will improve performance, consistency, and cost. This is a highly analytical and detail-oriented role that requires a practical, hands-on approach to problem-solving.
This includes:
About You
You will bring a strong practical foundation. In fact, this is critical. It is essential that you have spent significant time in a manufacturing environment focused on product R&D.
Ideally, you started your career in a hands-on mechanical or manufacturing environment and then moved into product development, R&D, or test engineering. You understand how things are built, how they behave in real conditions, and what actually works on the factory floor. There is never a day when you do not want to be in the factory. It is your happy place, seeing how things are made in reality.
You might bring:
Why this role
This is an opportunity to take your practical experience and apply it in a role where you can genuinely shape how a product performs and scales.
About the Company
Tectonus was founded on a unique approach to seismic protection, built on proprietary technology and deep engineering expertise. What began as technical innovation has evolved into a proven, real-world solution, now protecting buildings in some of the world’s most seismically active regions.
The company is now in a scale-up phase, expanding globally and delivering projects across critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
This high-growth New Zealand business has evolved from a project-based operation into a scaling manufacturing environment. With recent investment in new premises and expanded manufacturing capability, the focus has shifted to building repeatable, high-quality solutions at scale.
As the business continues to grow, it is building deeper technical capability across product development and R&D, creating more structure, rigour, and repeatability in how products are designed and delivered. It is a highly technical environment, grounded in real-world performance.
About the Role
This is a hands-on Product Development Engineering role focused on building a deep, data-led understanding of how products perform, and translating that into reliable, manufacturable designs.
You will take ownership of testing and development, determining how products behave under different conditions and identifying what will improve performance, consistency, and cost. This is a highly analytical and detail-oriented role that requires a practical, hands-on approach to problem-solving.
This includes:
- Designing and running structured test programmes to understand key performance variables
- Capturing and analysing test data to identify performance drivers and interactions
- Building a clear database of learnings and translating these into practical engineering recommendations
- Bringing demonstrated experience in taking a prototype into production, including identifying, understanding, and overcoming the DFM challenges that come with increasing product volumes, manufacturing time, and cost
- Continuously improving product design and assembly processes to achieve consistent performance to specification
- Hands-on assembly, modification, and troubleshooting of test units
- Working closely with the COO, technical team, and production to ensure solutions are practical and scalable
- Working with suppliers to understand their manufacturing processes and constraints, and how these impact product performance and cost
- Maintaining strong health and safety practices across all testing activities
About You
You will bring a strong practical foundation. In fact, this is critical. It is essential that you have spent significant time in a manufacturing environment focused on product R&D.
Ideally, you started your career in a hands-on mechanical or manufacturing environment and then moved into product development, R&D, or test engineering. You understand how things are built, how they behave in real conditions, and what actually works on the factory floor. There is never a day when you do not want to be in the factory. It is your happy place, seeing how things are made in reality.
You might bring:
- 3–5+ years’ experience in product development, R&D, or test engineering
- Strong hands-on mechanical capability, with the ability to build, test, and troubleshoot
- Experience working with prototypes or low- to mid-volume engineered products
- CAD skills. You are not expected to design products from scratch, but you can open drawings, make changes, and check how they operate in the model
- The ability to analyse data, identify patterns, and think in a structured, methodical way
- Comfort working in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment
- Curious and naturally drawn to problem-solving
- High ownership, taking responsibility and moving things forward
- Detail-oriented, with an understanding that small variables matter
- Practical and solutions-focused
- Collaborative and easy to work with
Why this role
This is an opportunity to take your practical experience and apply it in a role where you can genuinely shape how a product performs and scales.