Product Development Lead
About Sunnybrook
Sunnybrook is an Alberta-based agricultural manufacturing company focused on developing practical, innovative solutions for the agricultural industry. We design, test, manufacture, and bring to market products intended to perform in real-world farming conditions.
Our culture is grounded in five core values:
- Growth — We continuously learn, improve, and develop our people, products, and business.
- Grit — We work through difficult problems and do what it takes to deliver results.
- Authenticity — We communicate honestly, take ownership, and operate with integrity.
- Reputation — We understand that the quality of our work and how we conduct ourselves builds the Sunnybrook name.
- Innovation — We challenge existing approaches and turn practical ideas into better solutions.
We are looking for people who demonstrate these values in how they work, solve problems, and collaborate with others.
The Opportunity
Sunnybrook is seeking a Product Development Lead to lead new product development projects from concept and prototype through field validation and transition into production.
This is not a purely desk-based engineering or design position. We need someone who can combine technical knowledge with practical, hands-on problem solving. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable reviewing a design, organizing a development project, collecting prototype data, working with agricultural equipment, and collaborating with the production team to determine how a product can be manufactured successfully.
This individual will also provide leadership to our co-op/student development team and coordinate closely with our field-based combine/harvest specialist.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Project Leadership
- Lead new product development projects from concept through prototype, testing, refinement, and production launch.
- Establish project plans, priorities, timelines, milestones, responsibilities, and deliverables.
- Coordinate multiple development projects and ensure appropriate follow-through.
- Identify technical and project risks and proactively address issues affecting timelines, quality, manufacturability, or performance.
- Maintain appropriate project documentation and communicate project status to leadership and other stakeholders.
Prototype Development & Validation
- Coordinate the development, construction, testing, and refinement of prototypes.
- Establish appropriate testing criteria and ensure prototype results are captured consistently.
- Lead the collection, organization, and analysis of field and prototype data.
- Translate field observations and testing results into practical design improvements.
- Work closely with Sunnybrook's combine/harvest specialist to coordinate field testing and gather meaningful operator and equipment-performance feedback.
- Participate directly in troubleshooting and testing where hands-on technical involvement is required.
Design & Technical Support
- Apply practical mechanical and agricultural knowledge to product design and development.
- Support CAD/design, prototyping, 3D printing, component evaluation, and design-for-manufacturing activities.
- Evaluate designs for functionality, serviceability, manufacturability, durability, and real-world agricultural use.
- Research components, materials, manufacturing approaches, and technologies applicable to product development.
Production Launch
- Work collaboratively with production to transition successful designs from development into repeatable full-scale manufacturing.
- Ensure appropriate drawings, specifications, BOMs, work instructions, testing requirements, and other technical information are available before production launch.
- Incorporate production feedback into product and process improvements.
- Support troubleshooting of technical issues identified during early production.
Student & Team Leadership
- Provide day-to-day leadership and technical direction to Sunnybrook's co-op/student team.
- Define meaningful project scopes and deliverables for student assignments.
- Coach students in project management, technical problem solving, documentation, testing, and practical application of engineering principles.
- Review work for quality, completeness, and alignment with Sunnybrook priorities.
Internal Projects
Support technical and operational improvement initiatives where product-development capabilities can add value, including:
- Manufacturing and production improvements
- Lean manufacturing initiatives
- Tooling and fixture development
- Process improvement
- Technical troubleshooting
- Trade show preparation and technical support
- Other cross-functional projects supporting Sunnybrook's growth
What You Bring
We are interested in candidates who combine technical education with genuine hands-on capability.
Required / Strongly Preferred
- Post-secondary education in mechanical engineering technology, agricultural engineering technology, mechanical engineering, agricultural engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Demonstrated experience managing technical projects from concept through completion.
- Strong mechanical aptitude and hands-on problem-solving ability.
- Experience developing, testing, modifying, or troubleshooting mechanical products or equipment.
- Ability to interpret and work with technical drawings, specifications, measurements, and design documentation.
- Experience working collaboratively with manufacturing or production teams.
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple development priorities.
- Ability to collect, organize, interpret, and communicate technical testing data.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Significant Assets
- Direct experience with combine harvesters or harvesting equipment.
- Experience with agricultural machinery such as combines, tractors, implements, headers, or related equipment.
- Agricultural or farming background.
- Experience with CAD and mechanical design.
- Experience with 3D printing and rapid prototyping.
- Experience with design for manufacturing and/or design for assembly.
- Experience supervising, mentoring, or leading students, junior technical staff, or project teams.
- Experience with lean manufacturing or continuous improvement.
The Person We're Looking For
Technical credentials matter, but this role requires more than textbook knowledge.
The right person is curious enough to ask why something isn't working, practical enough to get their hands dirty figuring it out, disciplined enough to document what they learned, and organized enough to turn that learning into a better product.
You should be comfortable moving between the office, design work, production floor, prototype development, and agricultural field environments.
Location
This is a full-time, on-site position based in Sunnybrook, Alberta.
Regular in-person collaboration with our product development, production, and leadership teams is an essential requirement of the position. Candidates must reside, relocate to, or be within a reasonable daily commuting distance of Sunnybrook.
Field work and occasional travel may be required depending on product testing and business needs.
Why Sunnybrook?
This is an opportunity to have a direct impact on products from the earliest idea through to the equipment our customers use in the field.
At Sunnybrook, product development is practical. You will see what you design, test it, learn from it, improve it, and work with the people who build it.
If you enjoy combining agriculture, mechanical problem solving, project leadership, and hands-on product development, we would like to hear from you.
Pay: $70,000.00-$80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- RRSP match
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
Experience:
Work Location: In person
