Engineer Manufacturing 3 - 28281

HII's Mission Technologies division•Pocasset, MA

About The Position

This opportunity is with Uncrewed Systems (UxS), a business group within HII’s Mission Technologies division, which specializes in advanced unmanned solutions for defense, marine research, and commercial applications. HII provides comprehensive services including design, autonomy, manufacturing, testing, operations, and sustainment of unmanned systems like Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs). The company is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer with a strong emphasis on Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement to support the production of advanced UUV systems for defense. This role is crucial for enhancing manufacturing efficiency, quality, cost, and delivery, while ensuring strict adherence to defense, safety, and quality standards. The ideal candidate will be hands-on, data-driven, and adept at working in a regulated, low-to-medium volume, high-mix manufacturing environment. The position involves designing manufacturing processes, procedures, and production layouts for various assemblies, equipment installation, processing, machining, and material handling. It also includes optimizing machine arrangements for efficiency, defining operational sequences, specifying procedures for tool fabrication, adapting equipment designs to production conditions, and incorporating inspection and test requirements into production plans. The engineer will inspect machinery performance, initiate corrective actions for problems, develop processes for statistical process control, provide design guidance to engineering, and ensure all processes comply with regulations.

Requirements

5 years relevant experience with Bachelors in related field; 3 years relevant experience with Masters in related field; 0 years experience with PhD or Juris Doctorate in related field; or High School Diploma or equivalent and 9 years relevant experience.
Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
Strong working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
Experience leading Kaizen events and data-driven improvement projects.
Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and BOMs.
Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and standard manufacturing metrics.
Ability to obtain and maintain a government clearance.

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt).
Experience in low-volume, high-mix, regulated manufacturing environments.
Familiarity with underwater systems, robotics, autonomy platforms, or defense programs.
Experience with process automation, digital work instructions, or MES systems.
Strong project management and facilitation skills.

Responsibilities

Lead and facilitate Lean initiatives including Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Kaizen events, 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, and waste reduction (DOWNTIME).
Drive continuous improvement projects focused on cycle time reduction, labor efficiency, yield improvement, and cost reduction.
Establish and maintain standardized work instructions and best practices across manufacturing operations.
Implement and track KPIs and metrics (OEE, FPY, takt time, throughput, scrap, rework) to measure performance and improvement.
Coach and mentor operators, technicians, and engineers on Lean principles and problem-solving methodologies.
Develop, document, and optimize manufacturing and assembly processes for mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical UUV subsystems.
Create and maintain process flows, PFMEAs, control plans, routings, and work instructions.
Support new product introduction (NPI) from prototype through full-rate production, ensuring manufacturability and scalability.
Identify and implement tooling, fixturing, and automation solutions to improve consistency and productivity.
Ensure manufacturing processes comply with AS9100 / ISO 9001, internal quality standards, and applicable defense requirements.
Support root cause analysis and corrective actions using 8D, A3, DMAIC, and 5-Why methodologies.
Collaborate with Quality, Supply Chain, and Engineering to resolve nonconformances and improve process robustness.
Maintain documentation and traceability required for defense and government contracts.
Partner with Design Engineering to provide DFM/DFA feedback early in the product development lifecycle.
Work closely with Supply Chain to improve supplier quality, lead times, and cost through Lean practices.
Support production planning and operations teams to improve flow and meet program schedules.
Designs manufacturing processes, procedures and production layouts for assemblies, equipment installation, processing, machining and material handling.
Designs arrangement of machines within plant facilities to ensure most efficient and productive layout.
Designs sequence of operations and specifies procedures for the fabrication of tools and equipment and other functions that affect product performance.
Adapts machine or equipment design to factory and production conditions.
May incorporate inspection and test requirements into the production plan.
Inspects performance of machinery, equipment, and tools to verify their efficiency, and investigates and initiates corrective action of problems and deficiencies to ensure product quality.
Develops manufacturing processes that are applicable to statistical process control, and may develop those techniques.
Provides guidance to engineering regarding design concepts and specification requirements to best utilize equipment and manufacturing techniques.
Ensures processes and procedures are in compliance with regulations.