CÉCILE, PRODUCT ENGINEER AT NABAIJI

CÉCILE
PRODUCT ENGINEER
AT DECATHLON | NABAIJI

Meet Cécile, product engineer at DECATHLON | NABAIJI.
Discover the different challenges of his profession in the design of a product.

Meet Cécile, product engineer at DECATHLON | NABAIJI.
Learn about the various challenges of his job in product design.

Can you explain your job to us in a few words?

I design products, mainly swimwear but also some sun protection products. My aim is to abide by the trinity: cost, quality, lead time; to which we can now also add environmental impact.

There are several phases in product design:
- Transcribing what the Product Manager tells me, i.e., their product brief, which emerges from a user need. For example, their brief might be "I need to dress children aged 6 months to 2 years; I need a product that dries quickly and is easy to get on and off". My objective will then be to convert these needs into technical characteristics. I then move on to the research phase.
- At the same time, I collaborate with the Product Manager, Pattern Makers and Designers who work on the product drawings.
- Technical feasibility is then assessed by a prototyping phase followed by tests. We then agree together on which solutions we will choose for our product.
- Then comes another test phase: large-scale testing. The goal is to perform these tests at an industrial scale and then draw up specifications. If, in production, they are able to recreate what we have done but on a large scale, then this means that the specifications are good to go and can be approved. It is very important to have a product suitable for large-scale manufacturing because these specifications, once approved, will be used and replicated by other countries.
- We can then move on to the design of the product! We develop the colours, the graphics, the shape. When we move to this phase, the "aesthetic" phase, the components of the product have already been determined and will not change.

The challenge is to manage to do all this while following all the regulations. Our aim is for the final product to be made available to as many users as possible, anywhere in the world. Since each country has its own regulations, we must ensure that our product complies with as many of these restrictions as possible.

If you were away from work, what would the consequences be?

There would be no product!
The product would not be approved. From a manufacturing perspective, the product would be difficult to replicate. There would be no in-depth study of each parameter of the product. We would no longer have control over costs or quality, etc.

If we look at the product development phase as a whole, at which point do you get involved?

Everywhere! That's what I love about being a Product Engineer: we are there from start to finish. So I'm there at the very beginning, during the brief, and it's also me who gives the green light to launch production at the end of the development cycle.

I subject the product to the toughest tests possible and imaginable in order to approve it (especially with Joey the Field Test Engineer)! It is my responsibility to set the quality requirements of the product.

What are your key performance indicators?

I am mainly motivated by:
- Customer reviews.
- CO2 impact versus the turnover of our products (such as the number of eco-designed products within a scope, for example).
- Product return rate, and therefore the rate of customer dissatisfaction with the product.

CÉCILE, PRODUCT ENGINEER AT NABAIJI

Which teams do you interact with in your job on a daily basis?

I am in daily contact with the people in charge of production. I also work with my project group every day, i.e. the team made up of Product Managers, Designers, Pattern Makers and Supply Managers.

What do you think are the three qualities you need to have to do this job?

Undeniably: organisation (lots of organisation)! In this job, you have to manage schedules, draw up specifications... We've always got several tasks to manage at the same time and lots of things to keep in mind.

Also, it's important to be a good team player, because we do not work alone. So you need to be a people person!

Speaking fluent English is essential. For example, I use more English than French during my day.

Lastly, you need to be adaptable. In this job, there are a lot of unforeseen events and the Product Engineer is often the one who has to find solutions! So you need to be able to take a step back in certain situations but also with the people we work with. Adaptability in every sense.

Organised.
Team player.
Adaptable.

What do you love about your job and what got you to where you are today?

The thing I love the most is interacting with people and designing products together. I wouldn't want to do it on my own.

I trained as a textile engineer. So I wanted to do a job related to textiles. I was also a swimmer, so I said to myself: why not do both! When I saw that there was an opening here, I met the right people and seized the opportunity. Funnily enough, I always used to say "if I don't know what to do with my life, I'm a textile engineer, I could always design swimsuits". And now it's my job!

WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST MEMORY AT NABAIJI?

The best memories are those shared with others. We are all nice to each other here, we work hard all year round and our annual team meetings are a chance to shine a light on everything we have accomplished. We are proud, everyone listens to one other, congratulates one other and that's when we say to ourselves "I know why I'm here". We are all able to give one another recognition.

Production trips are also some of my fondest memories, because we travel to the production site, accompanied by the "Production Leaders" with whom we are in daily contact throughout the year. This is when we get to meet them and see with our own eyes what is happening in production.

ANY FINAL WORDS?

NABAIJI is a little family that supports one other no matter what.

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