Design for Company & Liability
Hey everyone,
I've got kind of an odd question. I never finished my engineering degree (originally computer/electrical), and instead joined the manufacturing industry in order to gather money and experience (and most importantly, the fortitude to deal with life outside of my terms). Over the past near-decade, I've worked for several agricultural manfacturers and a medical electrical equipment manufacturer in various capacities ranging from entry level assembly/machining/testing to quality and engineering technician roles, progressing due to aptitude and work ethic I suppose, as it was normally not my idea.
I find myself now in a position where I am tasked with actually designing end-products for a company (read: being this company's entire "engineering" department from cradle to grave). I am not doing this because of misrepresentation of myself and credentials, just due to opportunity and perceived ability (small company, established presence but looking to start manufacturing).
My question is, are there any liability issues I need to examine before continuing on with this? To my knowledge a P.E. is not required for this type of work (located in U.S.), but I do not want to tread too far into something and realize I'm lacking the credentials to build and sell a product. Am I overthinking this? I suppose a guy could build and sell a product out of his garage without a degree, but I feel like there may be an issue here somewhere.
I should probably go get that degree...:roll
Any input is greatly appreciated, apologies if this is an incorrect place to post this.