Manager, Process Engineering - Automotive Manufacturing

Flex•Coopersville, MI

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Flex is seeking a Manager, Process Engineering for their Automotive Manufacturing division. This is a newly-created, full-time position responsible for leading and developing a team of process engineers and technicians focused on SMT manufacturing processes and continuous improvement. The role involves providing technical and organizational leadership to enhance manufacturing process capabilities, increase capacity and throughput, reduce costs, improve quality and reliability, and support new product introductions. The position requires close collaboration with Operations, Quality, Product Engineering, NPI, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and other functional teams to ensure manufacturing processes meet customer, quality, delivery, cost, and capacity requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience and training.
Typically requires 7 years of engineering experience, including experience leading or supervising engineering personnel.
Experience in high-volume electronics manufacturing and SMT processes is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated functional, technical, and people-management skills, with the ability to lead engineers and technicians in a manufacturing environment.
Strong knowledge of SMT manufacturing processes, including solder paste printing, SPI, pick and place, reflow, AOI, X-ray, and related manufacturing processes.
Demonstrated understanding of process capability, statistical process control, root-cause analysis, DOE, PFMEA, Control Plans, and structured continuous improvement methodologies.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence decisions across Engineering, Operations, Quality, NPI, Product Engineering, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and other functions.
Ability to establish priorities, allocate resources, manage competing projects, and make sound engineering and business decisions.
Demonstrated ability to use manufacturing and engineering data to identify problems, establish facts, determine root causes, and drive measurable improvements.
Strong understanding of manufacturing economics, including cost reduction, capacity, throughput, capital investment, and return on investment.
Demonstrated ability to develop, coach, and retain engineering talent and build a high-performing team.
Strong interpersonal, communication (verbal and written), presentation, and organizational skills.
Ability to communicate complex technical information effectively to engineers, technicians, operations personnel, customers, and senior management.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret complex technical, engineering, financial, and business documents.
Ability to respond effectively to sensitive inquiries and complaints and resolve complex issues using sound judgment and appropriate communication.
Ability to make effective and persuasive presentations regarding technical recommendations, business cases, project status, and complex engineering issues.
Ability to work with mathematical concepts including probability, statistical inference, process capability, and statistical analysis and apply them to practical manufacturing situations.
Ability to define problems, collect and analyze data, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, and develop practical solutions.
Demonstrated proficiency with common engineering and business software, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, data analysis, and other applicable manufacturing/engineering systems.
Working knowledge of applicable employment laws, company policies, and HR practices.

Nice To Haves

A Master's or MBA degree is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, develop, and manage a team of process engineers and technicians supporting SMT manufacturing, including board printing, SPI, pick and place, reflow, AOI, X-ray, and other back-end operations, excluding Box Assembly.
Establish clear goals, priorities, performance expectations, and development plans for engineering team members. Provide regular coaching, feedback, performance management, and career development.
Establish, maintain, and continuously improve process capabilities to achieve required levels of quality, reliability, throughput, capacity, and cost.
Develop and maintain process documentation, including work instructions, PFMEA, Control Plans, process specifications, and other applicable manufacturing documentation.
Lead engineering efforts to identify and eliminate process variation, defects, scrap, rework, downtime, and other sources of manufacturing inefficiency.
Use data-driven problem-solving and appropriate engineering methodologies, including statistical analysis, SPC, DOE, root-cause analysis, and structured corrective action, to resolve complex manufacturing issues.
Develop and maintain appropriate engineering and manufacturing performance metrics, such as OEE, scrap, and yield.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, collaboration, problem solving, and ownership within the engineering organization.
Identify opportunities to improve engineering processes, tools, standards, and best practices and share lessons learned across the organization.
Ensure engineering activities comply with applicable safety, environmental, quality-system, regulatory, customer, and company requirements.
Build effective relationships with internal and external customers, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and other technical partners as required.
Communicate engineering priorities, project status, risks, resource requirements, and recommendations effectively to site and senior leadership.
Implement appropriate HR strategies and actions to recruit, retain, develop, and motivate a qualified and high-performing engineering workforce.