Position Summary:

Coordinate and direct process development and process improvement activities. Interface as necessary with production employees, production supervisors, product engineers, plant and design engineers, quality engineers, management, vendors, and customers. Seek optimum balance between process robustness, process cost and product quality.

Position Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Lead, plan and direct the process development and process improvement activities.

2. Perform research, design and development of manufacturing processes including production flow, assembly methods, and production equipment.

3. Coordinate the manufacturing launch of new/revised products including establishing goals, training team members and evaluating results.

4. Provide expert technical assistance and on-the-job training to the production employees and production coaches, and ensure all work is performed in an expeditious, complete, cost effective and safe manner.

5. Review and evaluate in process and final cost reports on assigned projects. Advise departments, as necessary, for cost control. Develop methods to meet cost targets prior to hand-off to Production

6. Develop a list of qualified vendors for procured items. Determine technical requirements and initiate purchase orders for raw materials, manufactured sub-components and services.

7. Act as a customer liaison through correspondence including; manufacturing schedules, submittal of manufacturing procedures, status reports, requests for nonconforming product acceptance, revisions to drawings, specifications and contracts in conjunction with the Sales Department.

8. Provide the following product development planning;
• Develop a manufacturing, implementation and process control plan
• Develop a list of required tools for specific jobs and issue tool orde
• Document new process procedures, including process standards. Perform FMEA as required
• Coordinate with customer's technical representative for product approval

9. Oversee critical lean manufacturing, process improvement and process control activities. Review the work of others for accuracy, completeness and quality.

10. Develop long range process development and process improvement plans based on cost, quality and delivery needs.

11. Interface with production coaches, other engineers, management and external customers to develop necessary understanding of improvement needs, assess priorities and provide status updates.

12. Plan process improvement activities in advance, when possible, coordinating with the Customer Service Supervisor and in consideration of the manufacturing schedule to ensure economic and efficient use of material, people and manufacturing resources.

13. Develop an understanding of current and potential process capabilities and process control limits. Implement statistical process control (SPC) where appropriate. Provide on-the-job SPC training to the production employees and production coaches. Work with product engineers and quality engineers to systematically ensure product quality through process control techniques.

14. Identify and order material, tooling and equipment necessary to support process. Recommend new equipment when justified by quality and/or cost benefits. Seek optimum balance between the value of the tooling inventory and development cycle time.

15. Provide constructive input to production management related to the production development specialists' performance through formal and informal, written and oral means. Help process development specialists set goals for improvement. Provide feedback, support and encouragement between formal performance reviews to assist employees in reaching their goals.

16. Support and participate in the organization's lean and Six Sigma Continuous Improvement initiatives.

17. Perform other related duties as assigned by management.

Position Requirements

Education: A four year college degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy or a related science. An advanced degree in one of the disciplines is preferred but not necessary.

Experience: 5 or more years engineering experience in the metal fabricating industry, specifically related to heat treating, cleaning, forming, drawing, rolling and/or welding stainless steel tubes.

Knowledge: Knowledge of manufacturing techniques and process development. Knowledge of Statistical Process Control, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and Lean tools. Knowledge of personal computers and various software applications. Analyze process capability and develop and implement improvement plans. Actively develop lean principles in manufacturing and transactional processes. Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with our Quality System. Recommend revisions and improvements to the Quality Systems.

Skills: Verbal, written and listening communication skills. Organization skills. Mechanical skills. Interpersonal skills.

Abilities: Organize and prioritize work and make appropriate decisions. Operate a computer workstation and related hardware and software. Lead and coach production personnel. Read, write, speak and comprehend the English language. Provide and accept constructive criticism. Work as an effective team member. Work in a production oriented environment. Work effectively with customers and company personnel. Travel throughout the plant, and capable of reaching around and over equipment to perform job responsibilities. Work under frequently changing priorities. Maintain mental concentration for entire shift in order to complete job duties and responsibilities.

[APPLY] for this career opportunity in confidence. Please provide your cover letter and attach your resume.

We observe the provisions of the Drug Free Workplace Act and are an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.