Manufacturing Engineer - Project Lead

Description

Summary of Position:

The Manufacturing Engineer leads the transition of key production processes from outsourced (buy) to in-house (make) manufacturing, managing insourcing projects from feasibility through implementation. This role drives continuous improvement by identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing process, tooling, and equipment improvement opportunities, while coordinating cross-functionally to ensure transitions are delivered on time, on budget, and to quality standards. 

Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Lead end-to-end project management of buy-to-make transition initiatives, including feasibility analysis, business case development, project planning, execution, and go-live.
• Develop and maintain project schedules, resource plans, and budgets for insourcing and transition projects, tracking milestones, risks, and action items.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize continuous improvement opportunities across production processes, tooling, equipment, and workflows.
• Partner cross-functionally with engineering, quality, supply chain, production, and finance to coordinate transition activities and resolve issues.
• Build and manage business cases for insourcing projects, including capital requirements, headcount, equipment, and facility needs.
• Assess vendor transition readiness across people, process, and equipment, and manage the handoff from outsourced to in-house production.
• Facilitate continuous improvement initiatives to reduce material and labor costs while meeting or exceeding quality and reliability objectives.
• Coordinate capital equipment installation, tooling and fixture development, and facility planning tied to transition timelines.
• Prepare and present project status updates, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• All other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Core Competencies:  

• Leadership: ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive alignment across engineering, quality, supply chain, and production without direct authority.
• Commitment to company values and ethics
• Dependability: personally responsible, completes work in a timely manner, and performs tasks accurately
• Motivation: must maintain a positive attitude and strong work energy
• Analytical skills: must be able to gather information and use data to determine cause and effect for complex problem solving
• Communication: excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including presenting project updates to leadership
• Independent: must have the ability to carry out and follow through on tasks with minimal supervision
• Problem Solving: ability to develop and implement new ideas to improve processes
• Must maintain strict confidentiality and professionalism
• Organization: very detail-oriented and always comes prepared
• Time management: ability to organize and manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Preferred Education and/or Experience:  

• Bachelor's degree (B.S.) from a four-year college or university in Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related field.
• PMP certification or project management experience is preferred
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional projects such as manufacturing transitions, insourcing/outsourcing initiatives, or continuous improvement programs, with measurable results.
• Experience developing business cases, project schedules, and resource plans for capital or transition projects.
• Familiarity with manufacturing processes, tooling, and CAD tools (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, or Pro-E) a plus.
• Fluency in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Project).

ITAR/EAR Requirements:

This position requires access to export control information. To conform to US Export Control regulations, the applicant should be eligible for any required authorization from the US Government. 

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

The position requires that the employee regularly sit and use their hands to handle or feel. The employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, stoop, and kneel. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds without assistance, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds with assistance. Vision requirements include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Employees should be able to adapt to a traditional warehouse environment.