Job Description Summary

Engineering associated with the manufacturing process. Impacts approaches, projects and programs in the functional area or affected business organization and ways of working. Impacts quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own team. Has significant input into priorities. Guided by professional practices and policies that are shaped by the role. The role has moderate autonomy, requiring high levels of operational judgment.

Job Description

Engineering leadership role focused on developing, industrializing, and continually improving manufacturing processes, with a strong emphasis on special processes, router creation/maintenance, and New Product Introduction (NPI). This role defines and deploys process standards across the value stream, with direct impact on safety, quality, delivery, and cost. Operates with significant autonomy, setting technical direction for complex parts and processes, and provides guidance to junior engineers and cross-functional teams.

Job Description
Roles and Responsibilities

• Leads manufacturing engineering activities with emphasis on special processes and CNC machining (milling and turning) in a high-mix, low-volume environment, including both tactical shop floor support and strategic process development.
• Owns and develops manufacturing process plans and routers for complex components, ensuring robust process sequences, clearly defined special process steps, and appropriate inspection and quality controls.
• Serves as a best practice/quality resource for special processes, CNC processes, tooling, fixturing, setups, and work instructions.
• Ensures special processes (e.g., heat treat, coatings, surface treatments, welding, NDT, or other controlled processes as applicable) are properly qualified, documented, and controlled in accordance with customer, internal, and regulatory requirements.
• Develops, reviews, and optimizes routers for both NPI and legacy parts, defining critical-to-quality (CTQ) and key characteristics and integrating inspection and quality checkpoints.
• Acts as primary manufacturing engineering owner for NPI parts from concept through stable production, translating design intent into manufacturable process flows, router structures, and special process requirements.
• Leads cross-functional NPI activities (engineering, quality, sourcing, production) to ensure on-time, right-first-time launches, control plans, and process validation (FAI, capability studies, PPAP as applicable).
• Provides senior-level technical support for CNC machining and associated special processes, including troubleshooting complex issues and optimizing programs, tooling, and setups.
• Uses technical experience and expertise in CNC machining, programming, and special processes for data analysis (cycle time, scrap, tool life, capability, special process yield) to support recommendations and decision-making.
• Uses multiple internal and external sources (shop floor feedback, quality data, tooling/special process vendors, CAM/tooling best practices) to develop and deploy improved methods.
• Contributes to strategy and policy development for operations and ensures delivery within area of responsibility (safety, quality, delivery, cost), including standardization of routers, tooling, and special process practices.
• Leads continuous improvement projects focused on process capability, variation reduction, productivity, and cost-out, particularly for special processes and complex CNC routings.
• Coaches and mentors machinists, programmers, and less experienced engineers on best practices, standard work, and disciplined process execution.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree accredited college or university + Minimum of 5 years of CNC Manufacturing experience OR  a high school diploma / GED with a minimum of 4 years of Manufacturing experience + a minimum of 5 years in CNC experience

Desired Characteristics

• Strong technical background in manufacturing process development, including special processes and CNC machining in a high-mix, low-volume environment.
• Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining routers, work instructions, and process documentation for complex parts and assemblies.
• Proven experience leading NPI efforts from concept through production.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to clearly document setups, routers, work instructions, and engineering changes.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills working with machinists, programmers, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders on the shop floor.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and resolve complex machining and special process problems u