Manufacturing Engineer - Assembly Projects and Process Improvement

Caterpillar Inc.•Lafayette, IN

1d•$97,530 - $146,290•Onsite

About The Position

The Manufacturing Engineer, Assembly Projects and Process Improvement will lead the development and implementation of safe, lean, capable, and cost-effective manufacturing processes for current and future Assembly operations. This position will support New Capital Introduction projects and major process improvements from initial benchmarking and concept development through equipment installation, validation, production startup, and sustainment. The engineer will evaluate existing manufacturing methods, develop current-state and future-state processes and layouts, and work with Operations, Quality, Safety, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Product Engineering, Facilities, and external equipment suppliers to deliver manufacturing solutions that improve safety, quality, velocity, and cost. This role requires strong manufacturing engineering fundamentals, project leadership, structured problem solving, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to translate production needs into practical equipment and process solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, or another related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience where permitted.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Lean Manufacturing: Knowledge of philosophy, principles and implementation approaches of lean manufacturing; ability to integrate and implement lean manufacturing philosophy into existing production and management processes.
Manufacturing Processes: Knowledge of existing product manufacturing methods, technologies and processes; ability to execute, plan, manage and monitor the entire manufacturing process.
Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
Project Management: Knowledge of effective project management strategies and tactics; ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects, ensuring efficient utilization of technical and administrative resources to achieve project objectives.
Experience in manufacturing engineering, process engineering, industrial engineering, production engineering, quality engineering, or capital project implementation.
Demonstrated ability to develop or improve manufacturing processes in a production environment.
Experience applying Lean manufacturing, structured problem solving, and manufacturing process-control principles.
Working knowledge of PFMEA, Control Plans, process flow documentation, root cause analysis, and engineering risk reduction.
Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment concepts, manufacturing layouts, specifications, and supplier proposals.
Ability to manage multiple project activities, priorities, stakeholders, risks, and deliverables.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to lead technical reviews and communicate recommendations to different organizational levels.
Ability to collaborate across Operations, Quality, Safety, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Engineering, Facilities, and external suppliers.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading New Capital Introduction, manufacturing industrialization, production launch, capital equipment, or major process implementation projects.
Experience in assembly operations, including workstation design, line balancing, tooling, fastening, material presentation, error proofing, ergonomics, testing, traceability, or automated manufacturing systems.
Experience developing current-state and future-state layouts using AutoCAD, Factory Design Utilities, or comparable layout and modeling tools.
Experience developing technical equipment specifications, requests for quotation, supplier evaluations, design-review documentation, and equipment acceptance criteria.
Experience working directly with OEMs, system integrators, tooling suppliers, or automation providers.
Project management experience involving scope, schedule, budget, risk, supplier coordination, installation, and production startup.
Experience leading PFMEA, Control Plan, process design, safety, ergonomics, or manufacturing-readiness reviews.
Experience with automation, robotics, machine vision, digital manufacturing, simulation, data analytics, or Industry 4.0 technologies.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, Project Management Professional certification, or comparable demonstrated experience.
Experience with statistical analysis, process capability, Power BI, Minitab, or comparable manufacturing analysis tools.

Responsibilities

Lead Manufacturing Engineering activities for New Capital Introduction, equipment replacement, capacity, safety, quality, and process improvement projects within Assembly operations.
Benchmark existing manufacturing processes and technologies to identify best practices, process gaps, risks, and improvement opportunities.
Document current-state processes and develop future-state manufacturing concepts, process flows, workstation designs, material flows, and layouts.
Develop process requirements, equipment concepts, scopes of work, technical specifications, and acceptance criteria for manufacturing equipment and tooling.
Work with original equipment manufacturers and other suppliers to develop, evaluate, quote, and select manufacturing solutions that meet operational and technical requirements.
Evaluate proposed solutions using safety, quality, velocity, cost, maintainability, ergonomics, flexibility, capacity, and lifecycle considerations.
Develop and manage project plans, schedules, budgets, risks, deliverables, design reviews, installation activities, validation plans, and launch-readiness actions.
Coordinate with Operations and organizational support groups to ensure that people, processes, equipment, tooling, material, documentation, quality controls, maintenance resources, and facility requirements are ready for implementation and production startup.
Lead or facilitate cross-functional process and design reviews using PFMEA, Control Plans, process flow documentation, risk assessments, error-proofing principles, and other appropriate engineering methods.
Identify potential process failures and implement effective engineering controls that reduce risk and support safe, repeatable, and capable production.
Apply Lean manufacturing principles, including waste elimination, standard work, visual management, line balancing, flow improvement, mistake-proofing, and workplace organization.
Analyze production and process data to identify variation, bottlenecks, constraints, reliability concerns, and opportunities to improve process capability.
Apply structured problem-solving methods such as A3, 8D, DMAIC, root cause analysis, and corrective action planning.
Support equipment runoff, installation, commissioning, production validation, operator and maintenance training, and transition to the receiving organization.
Monitor project and process performance after implementation and lead corrective actions necessary to achieve safety, quality, velocity, cost, and reliability objectives.
Communicate project status, technical recommendations, risks, decisions, and escalation needs to project stakeholders and leadership.