Manufacturing Engineer

The Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for leading the plant’s engineering support functions and strategic improvement initiatives to drive operational excellence, cost reduction, quality performance, and safety. This role serves as a key change agent in building a culture of continuous improvement, Lean thinking, and data-driven decision making. The Manufacturing Engineer partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Corporate Engineering to ensure robust processes, reliable equipment, and successful product launches.

• Provide technical direction and support for all plant engineering activities including process design, equipment modifications, tooling, and automation opportunities.
• Ensure manufacturing processes comply with EHS regulations, internal quality systems, and customer requirements.
• Partner with Maintenance to improve equipment reliability, uptime, and preventive maintenance effectiveness.
• Support Quality in improving process capability, defect reduction, and compliance to customer specifications.
• Lead capital projects including justification, budgeting, installation, validation, and commissioning.
• Develop and maintain engineering standards, technical documentation, and process specifications.
• Collaborate with Corporate Engineering and CI resources to implement best practices and standard methodologies.
• Serve as the Tenneco Manufacturing Systems (TMS) Plant Lead, driving deployment and sustainability of CI standards.
• Champion Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, and Six Sigma methodologies across all plant functions.
• Lead structured problem solving and root cause analysis using A3, 5-Why, Fishbone, SPC, and other CI tools.
• Identify, prioritize, and execute waste elimination and productivity improvement initiatives.
• Track, analyze, and report CI metrics including productivity, scrap, safety, and delivery performance.
• Facilitate CI events and workshops aligned with annual plant objectives.
• Coach and mentor supervisors, engineers, and operators on CI tools, behaviors, and expectations.

• Serve as the plant lead for APQP activities for new and transferred programs.
• Lead development and execution of PFMEAs, Control Plans, Process Flow Diagrams, and Work Instructions.
• Ensure compliance with customer-specific requirements, particularly Ford manufacturing and quality standards.
• Support PPAP preparation, run-at-rate activities, and launch readiness.
• Drive launch discipline to ensure safety, quality, cost, and delivery targets are achieved.

• Lead and develop a small team of engineering and CI support personnel.
• Partner with plant leadership to develop and execute the annual strategic plan and CI roadmap.
• Support production planning and manufacturing readiness for new programs and process changes.
• Drive standardization and documentation of processes, work instructions, and training materials.
• Promote accountability, ownership, and engagement across all departments.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Industrial Technology, or a related technical discipline required.
• Minimum of 5 years of manufacturing or engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a CI or leadership-focused role.
• Strong working knowledge of APQP and Core Tools, with advanced proficiency in PFMEA development and facilitation.
• Lean or Six Sigma certification preferred (Green Belt or Black Belt).
• Automotive or Tier 1 manufacturing experience strongly preferred.

• Deep understanding of manufacturing processes, automation, and equipment optimization.
• Strong knowledge of APQP, PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, and customer-specific requirements.
• Ability to translate engineering theory into practical, shop-floor solutions.
• Demonstrates a passion for Lean principles and CI culture building.
• Uses data and KPIs to drive decisions and sustain improvements.
• Actively seeks out inefficiencies and improvement opportunities.

• Applies structured problem-solving methodologies effectively.
• Analyzes…