WHAT DOES A DEVELOPMENT TECHNICIAN DO?

Published: Oct 28, 2024 – The Development Technician develops, maintains, and tests electrical systems and components, ensuring they meet established specifications through extensive design verification testing of analog and digital circuits. Constructs and assembles prototypes, utilizing a variety of measuring and diagnostic tools to modify electronic parts and provide detailed performance reports. The technician also organizes the lab environment, maintains equipment in optimal condition, and manages the ordering of supplies and components for future builds.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Development Technician

1. Development Technician Overview

  • Testing and Development: Perform new product assembly testing and development, and provide feedback to the Innovation design team.
  • Demonstration: Prepare for and perform machine demonstrations and trials for customers.
  • Documentation Support: Assist the Tech Pubs team when creating documentation for new products and features.
  • Customer Needs Analysis: Gather customer design needs through Menlo-style high-tech anthropology customer visits.
  • Market Participation: Participate in Market Requirement Events (MREs) for New Product Development efforts.
  • Event Attendance: Attend Innovation release planning events, sprint planning, scrums, and reviews.
  • Design Feedback: Provide feedback on design tasks before, during, and after completion by the engineers.
  • Training: Train Sales and Service teams on new products and features as part of the structured launch plan for newly developed products.
  • Beta Testing: Participate in NPD project beta builds, both in the factory and at customers, and provide pertinent feedback to the design teams.
  • Problem-Solving: Evaluate complex problems while generating and identifying new and improved methods of solving those problems.
  • Equipment Maintenance: Dismantle, clean, and reassemble equipment, ensuring it is well maintained.
  • Safety Promotion: Actively promote safety awareness and improvements.
  • Process Identification: Identify initial process Routings for addition to SAP.
  • Bill of Materials: Identify the initial process Bill of Materials for addition to SAP.

2. Development Technician Job Description

  • Experimental Design: Develop experimental procedures and methodologies for cell product characterization, including preparation of protocols and working documents.
  • Analytical Testing: Execution of analytical tests for cell product characterization and process development.
  • Cellular Characterization: Cellular characterization of raw material, in-process, and final product based on protein and cellular morphology.
  • Flow Cytometry: Flow cytometry analysis and development of cytometry-based assays.
  • Immunoassays: Development and performance of immunoassays (ELISA, immunofluorescence).
  • Cell Culture Preparation: Preparation of cell cultures using aseptic techniques.
  • Potency Assays: Support in the development of potency assays (migration, proliferation, tubulogenesis).
  • Documentation: Documentation of procedures and experimental results according to GLP and GMP standards.
  • Equipment Maintenance: Responsible for periodic checks, calibration, and maintenance of equipment.
  • Technology Transfer Support: Support on technology transfers, comparability, and stability studies, process validation, and materials management.
  • Regulatory Documentation: Assist with the analysis and preparation of materials documenting cellular and functional characterization to support EMA, FDA, and other regulatory filings.
  • Program Coordination: Coordination with the management team to perform development programs.
  • Statistical Analysis: Keeping accurate documentation and performing statistical analysis.
  • Audit Support: Assisting external auditors and inspectors.
  • Project Management: Manage projects according to agreed timelines and budgets.

3. Research And Development Technician Functions

  • Experiment Design: Design experiments, conduct trials, and see them to completion or termination.
  • Data Analysis: Know how to use statistical tools and other data analysis tools and be able to translate research and experimental data into a readable format for formal presentations and reports.
  • Technical Expertise: Create technical specifications on products and processes and support the organization by applying technical expertise to troubleshoot and resolve operational CI initiatives and opportunities.
  • Collaboration: Collaborate with external and internal partners concerning research, development, innovations, and support of cannabis research.
  • Process Optimization: Innovate and review current processing methodologies, collaborate with other departments, and seek ways to optimize in-house processes.
  • Formulation Knowledge: Understand the concept of cannabinoid formulations with other bases for cannabis product development.
  • Subject Matter Expert (SME): Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in cannabinoid formulations with other ingredients for cannabis product development.
  • Documentation Review: Review and complete documentation related to Research and Development, such as SOPs, WIs, and PCP.
  • Compliance Adherence: Ensure all SOPs and WIs are followed, maintaining a high sense of adherence to GPP and GDP.
  • Project Coordination: Coordinate research and development activities on time and work closely with internal customers to ensure research and development are performed per cGMP standards.
  • Goal Execution: Ensure the effective execution of goals, targets, and objectives are established.
  • Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate with Cultivation Operations, Primary, and Secondary Operations on in-house and external projects that are executed on time.
  • Reporting: Write weekly processing and production reports.

4. Research and Development Technician Accountabilities

  • Equipment Operation: Responsible for operating baseline metrology and production equipment.
  • Product Testing: Test and qualify new products by using polishing equipment and metrology in a clean room environment.
  • Hazardous Waste Management: Understanding of how to handle and manage hazardous waste and regulate chemical products.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Follow environmental, governmental, and work-site rules and regulations.
  • Data Communication: Communicate the performance of data and use supporting statistical evaluations.
  • Procedure Adherence: Follow procedures/recipes for lab and customer samples.
  • Report Writing: Write reports detailing procedures, outcomes, and observations.
  • Equipment Logging: Maintain equipment logs for operations and services.
  • Tool Proficiency: Work with hand tools, meters, and other related tools.
  • Data Documentation: Document work using data acquisition and other resources to summarize collected data for basic statistical analysis.
  • Business Conduct Compliance: Review and comply with the Code of Business Conduct and all applicable company policies and procedures, local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
  • Laboratory Notebook Maintenance: Maintain a laboratory notebook following standard procedures and cGMP.

5. Research and Development Technician Job Summary

  • Inventory Accountability: Accountability over the raw material inventory of the test kitchen.
  • Material Management: Ensure that the Research and Development team has the materials and tools to efficiently do their job.
  • Sample Shipment Ownership: Ownership over the sample shipment process in conjunction with sales/marketing and the warehouse.
  • Ingredient Organization: Assist in the organization and review of new ingredients.
  • Storage Organization: Organization of the fridges, freezers, and dry storage.
  • Kitchen Maintenance: Washing dishes and general organization/cleaning of the test kitchen and all storage areas.
  • Sample Preparation: Pull samples from the freezer for review/sign-off.
  • Raw Material Management: Pulling raw materials/components from the production floor and warehouse.
  • Sample Packaging: Packaging/labeling/entering samples.
  • Warehouse Coordination: Working closely with the warehouse to receive any Research and Development ingredients, labeling, and storage.
  • Sensory Setup: Setting up any new raw materials for sensory review.
  • Competitive Review Organization: Organizing any competitive product reviews, including documentation and graphics.
  • Housekeeping Maintenance: Maintain general housekeeping of the working area and plant.
  • Communication: Responsible for communicating business-related issues or opportunities to the next management level.

6. Research and Development Technician Responsibilities

  • Project Assistance: Assist in various projects as assigned by the lead technician/supervisor.
  • Product Development Support: Assist with the development of product builds.
  • Specification Generation: Assist in the generation of developmental specifications/documentation such as MPSs, BOMs, and SOPs following applicable procedures.
  • Equipment Operation: Set up, adjust, and operate various types of equipment and instruments.
  • Experimental Research: Perform experiments for development research projects under the guidance and supervision of the immediate lead technician/supervisor.
  • Laboratory Maintenance: Maintain order and cleanliness of laboratories and warehousing space, including inventories of developmental materials.
  • Product Testing: Test samples of manufactured products to verify conformity to specifications.
  • Documentation Practices: Record test results on standardized forms and maintain good documentation practices.
  • Policy Application: Exercise professional capability to properly apply company policies and procedures.
  • Relationship Building: Build productive working relationships.
  • Design Support: Provide design support for research and development.
  • Change Order Support: Provide support for engineering change orders.
  • Complex Problem Referral: Refer to senior-level staff for assistance with complex problems that may arise.
  • Issue Escalation: Escalate issues to the supervisor/manager.

7. Research and Development Technician Details and Accountabilities

  • Device Building: Builds new devices based on engineering designs and/or verbal instructions.
  • Engineering Support: Supports basic engineering activities to effect high-quality processes and design guidelines for dissemination throughout the division.
  • Layout Checking: Checks basic layouts and drawings for clarity, completeness, conformity to standards, procedures, specifications, and accuracy of calculations and dimensions.
  • Equipment Requisitioning: Requisitions equipment and materials, and performs vendor and equipment analysis for engineers to determine feasibility.
  • Experimental Support: Supports designed experiments and capability studies, collects documents, and files records on process specifications.
  • Documentation Collection: Collects design documentation and puts together training packets on new processes, materials, and equipment.
  • Safety Compliance: Adheres to all company safety policies and procedures and other safety precautions within the work area.
  • Engineering Assistance: Provides support to engineers in matters related to the discipline.
  • Standard Procedure Adherence: Follows standardized procedures to perform tasks, when applicable.
  • Work Area Maintenance: Maintains a clean and organized work area.
  • Equipment Operation: Initiates, adjusts, and operates basic laboratory and manufacturing equipment.
  • Solution Determination: Determines a solution and performs the necessary operations, documenting all changes.
  • Calibration Management: Ensures that the tools and testing equipment are properly calibrated and repaired according to the standardized operations procedures.

8. Research And Development Technician Additional Details

  • Electrical System Construction: Constructs, maintains, and tests electrical systems and components.
  • Prototype Development: Testing and building of prototypes.
  • Diagnostic Tool Usage: Use measuring and diagnostic tools to test and modify electronic parts.
  • Specification Compliance: Ensures systems and components meet established specifications.
  • Design Verification Testing: Extensive design verification testing of analog and digital circuits.
  • Software Testing Responsibility: Take responsibility for software testing, including user interfaces.
  • Cable Harness Assembly: Assemble cable harnesses for prototypes.
  • Engineering Testing: Perform engineering testing with instructions/guidance from an Engineer.
  • Test Result Logging: Log test results from engineering testing.
  • Circuit Board Assembly: Assemble printed circuit boards with through-hole and surface mount components; place components, ICs, fine-pitch parts, solder, hot-air rework, SMT, debug, and test engineering prototypes.
  • Schematic Interpretation: Work from schematics, assembly drawings, diagrams, and written, and verbal instructions.
  • Tool Utilization: Use multimeters, power supplies, data loggers, assembly microscopes, mechanical tools, signal generators, oscilloscopes, PSUs, and test and data acquisition equipment.
  • Test Reporting: Provide written test reports that clearly show how prototypes perform to specifications.
  • Laboratory Organization: Maintain the lab in an organized manner.

9. Design and Development Technician Essential Functions

  • Documentation Management: Prepare and maintain documentation for Engineering change controls.
  • BPCS Utilization: Utilize BPCS to determine changes needed and complete changes in BPCS on an individual or batch basis.
  • Change Review: Use system e-mail to have changes reviewed and verified.
  • Quotation Development: Assist in developing and issuing quotations, customer drawings, and manufacturing specifications.
  • Product Analysis: Utilize BPCS to determine if a similar product exists, work from existing specs to modify, and prepare new manufacturing specifications for quotation.
  • Part Number Creation: Create part numbers for new manufacturing specifications and standard work for the cost sheet.
  • CAD Design: Build customer drawings from specifications using a CAD system-based application.
  • Order Verification: Check orders entered for assigned groups and prepare manufacturing specifications for new product orders.
  • Sample Coordination: Coordinate and maintain documentation for Engineering samples.
  • Cross-Department Collaboration: Work with Design and Development Engineering in support of design activities and requests from Sales, Quality, and Production.
  • Database Management: Assist Design and Development Engineering in developing and maintaining the electronic database files used for design activity.
  • Project Execution: Conduct assigned projects typically where guidelines, direction, and instructions are provided by the supervisor.
  • Sample Monitoring: Monitor and collect samples from the shop floor to provide to the intended department for testing.
  • Product Testing: Perform basic product testing, where the test method is documented, to support development activities.

10. Research And Development Technician General Responsibilities

  • Recipe Testing: Test chocolate and confectionery recipes for scale-up capability and transform them into tasting samples for customers by utilizing pilot-sized mixers, refining, conching, and tempering machines.
  • Product Prototyping: Produce prototype chocolate and confectionery products including truffles, clusters, bars, bark, panned items, and enrobed items, by hand or by machine as determined by the innovation project.
  • Sample Analysis: Analyze and test confection samples and ingredients using the test kitchen laboratory equipment including a viscometer, refractometer, pH meter, moisture analyzer, micrometer, colorimeter, and tempermeter.
  • Equipment Management: Organize, calibrate, maintain, clean, and arrange for the maintenance of all test kitchen processing equipment and laboratory equipment.
  • Inventory Control: Maintain and replenish inventory of raw materials and consumables used in the test kitchen.
  • Results Communication: Collaborate and communicate test results on new formulations that meet the needs of the Research and Development and innovation projects.
  • Recipe Optimization: Provide recommendations for optimizing recipes for operational efficiencies.
  • Documentation Management: Maintain equipment manuals, SOPs, and MSDS files for lab equipment.
  • Technical Communication: Communicate technical and complex information to peers, industry, and academic collaborators.
  • Application Testing: Conduct bake or application tests as required by innovation projects.
  • Validation Support: Support the cleaning validation function for new product or process changes.
  • Internal Liaison: Liaise with Internal Customers including Corporate, Regulatory, QPs, QA Audit, Production, Validation, QC, QA Documentation, Technical, Purchasing, Planning, Engineering, IT.
  • Policy Compliance: Comply with all relevant employment policies.
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