Equipment & Tooling Engineer

VAC Magnetics LLC•Sumter, SC

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Equipment & Tooling Engineer supports manufacturing equipment reliability, production performance, and continuous improvement at the permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Sumter, South Carolina. The role serves as the technical owner for equipment-related engineering activities throughout the equipment lifecycle, from specification and procurement through installation, commissioning, optimization, and handover to production. The engineer works with Operations, Maintenance, Automation Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, EHS, and external suppliers to help ensure equipment operates safely, reliably, and efficiently while supporting business growth. The position also develops and manages manufacturing tooling, supports capital projects and equipment introductions, coordinates suppliers and contractors, maintains engineering documentation, contributes to equipment safety and regulatory compliance, and provides training and technical support to production and maintenance personnel. The role has no formal direct reports and requires travel of approximately 10% as needed, domestically or internationally.

Requirements

A degree or accredited certification in a relevant technical or engineering discipline.
3–7 years of experience in manufacturing analytics, SPC, process engineering, or industrial data analysis.
Experience working in high-volume manufacturing environments.
Experience implementing SPC methodologies and process capability studies.
Flexibility and a team-oriented mindset, including willingness to support additional tasks and cross-functional needs.
English language skills.
Willingness to travel approximately 10% as needed, domestically or internationally.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Data Analytics, Statistics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
Automotive manufacturing experience.
Experience with MES systems and manufacturing databases.
Experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, or similar reporting tools.
Experience with Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies.
German language skills.

Responsibilities

Troubleshoot complex equipment issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Improve equipment reliability, uptime, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Support root-cause investigations related to equipment failures and production losses.
Identify and implement equipment improvements to increase manufacturing performance.
Support development of preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
Design, develop, and implement equipment modifications and upgrades.
Optimize equipment for safety, quality, yield, throughput, and cost performance.
Evaluate equipment performance and identify continuous-improvement opportunities.
Support machine and process capability studies.
Develop technical solutions to improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce operating costs.
Develop equipment specifications, scopes of work, and technical requirements.
Support equipment selection, procurement, and supplier evaluations.
Lead or support capital projects from concept through production release.
Coordinate equipment installation, startup, commissioning, qualification, and acceptance activities, including FAT/SAT.
Support layout planning, manufacturing capacity planning, and equipment expansion initiatives.
Ensure successful handover of new equipment and technologies to production.
Develop and maintain tooling standards for manufacturing operations.
Coordinate tooling design, procurement, modifications, and lifecycle management.
Support spare-parts strategies and critical tooling inventories.
Ensure tooling supports process capability and product quality requirements.
Coordinate equipment suppliers, contractors, integrators, and service providers.
Review technical proposals and equipment quotations.
Participate in technical risk assessments and mitigation planning.
Ensure supplier deliverables meet technical, quality, safety, and schedule requirements.
Maintain equipment-related engineering documentation, standards, and records.
Ensure OEM documentation, drawings, manuals, and technical data are properly controlled.
Develop and maintain operating, maintenance, and engineering procedures.
Support equipment safety reviews and regulatory compliance activities.
Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Automation Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and EHS.
Support training and knowledge transfer for production and maintenance personnel.
Participate in cross-functional problem-solving and continuous-improvement initiatives.
Serve as a technical resource for manufacturing equipment and tooling systems.