> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/1906362-design-engineer-in-phoenix](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1906362-design-engineer-in-phoenix). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Design Engineer in Phoenix

- **Company:** Energy Jobline
- **Location:** Phoenix, AZ, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $90,000.0 - $130,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Computer-Aided Design, AutoCAD
- **Published:** August 3, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.energyjobline.com/job/design-engineer-phoenix-31322321

## About the Role

* Ten or more years of technical design experience in custom doors, architectural millwork, high-end residential construction, or a closely related premium category.

 * Deep working knowledge of door construction, hardware function, and how doors behave in real installations. Not just familiarity with hardware brands, but genuine understanding of how each piece of hardware works.

 * Working knowledge of woodworking shop equipment - CNC machines, panel saws, edgebanders, finishing equipment - and how those capabilities shape what is buildable.

 * Fluency with AutoCAD.

 * Experience owning drawings from initial concept through approval and into production and installation.

 * Experience mentoring or leading a junior drafter.

## Description

The Design Engineer sits at the technical center of Sonoran Doors. The role owns the drawing function for both doors and millwork - reading the plans, asking the right questions, specifying the hardware, and preparing shop packets that hit the floor complete and accurate.

This is a full workload from day one. Sonoran Doors has a steady pipeline of custom projects, and the Design Engineer will be immediately responsible for keeping drawings moving, resolving technical questions during the design phase, and leading a junior drafter who will report into this role.

Who We're Looking For

The right candidate understands doors as physical objects - not just as CAD symbols. Knows how a jamb meets a wall, which hardware works with which frame conditions, why a strike misaligns.

Understands hardware function at a working level - how locksets engage strikes, how hinges carry weight, how closers regulate swing, how thresholds seal against weather. Specifies hardware with confidence because it is genuinely understood, not just looked up.

Understands what a woodworking shop can and cannot build. Knows the capabilities and limitations of CNC equipment, panel saws, edgebanders, and finishing lines. Designs drawings that respect the shop's actual capabilities so production runs cleanly without workarounds.

Solves problems in the drawing phase. Catches the missing hardware spec, the incompatible swing direction, the frame condition that will not work. Shop packets prepared by this person go to the floor and do not come back.

Leads with judgment, not authority; a junior drafter will report into this role, and the right candidate will raise that drafter's ceiling by teaching through example.

Works skillfully within existing systems rather than trying to reinvent them. Twenty-six years of built-up tools and processes are here to be learned first, improved second.


## Related Videos

- [Design as an algorithm, not as a feature](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/471-design-as-an-algorithm-not-as-a-feature)
- [WebAssembly Revolution: Elevating JavaScript's Reach and Performance](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1149-webassembly-revolution-elevating-javascript-s-reach-and-performance)
- [How to Domain Model – An example from manufacturing](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/742-how-to-domain-model-an-example-from-manufacturing)
- [What If We Designed Employee Experience Like a Customer Journey?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1824-what-if-we-designed-employee-experience-like-a-customer-journey)

## Related Articles

- [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard)
- [Are design and development really just the same thing?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/520-are-design-and-development-really-just-the-same-thing)
- [Top Characteristics of a Software Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/166-top-characteristics-of-a-software-engineer)
- [Where To Find Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/396-where-to-find-software-engineering-jobs)
- [The Ultimate Software Engineer Career Path Guide for 2023](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/146-the-ultimate-software-engineer-career-path-guide-for-2023)
- [What is Software Engineering?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/289-what-is-software-engineering)