Manufacturing Engineer (Assembly)

Summit Polymers•Sturgis, MI

About The Position

This is hands-on technical work involving assembly of injection-molded plastic parts for automotive interior trim, full center consoles, and kinetic parts such as air-conditioning outlets, cup holders, glove boxes, and bins. The Manufacturing Engineer provides technical support and leadership to manufacturing production teams, with a focus on operational excellence. The role is responsible for assembly equipment activities related to new product launches and for supporting assembly machines and cells in production. It works with product development and corporate manufacturing technical leaders to support manufacturability, quality, machine standards, standardized work, capacity planning, equipment design and validation, packaging, and continuous improvement. The position also troubleshoots process and equipment issues, supports preventative maintenance planning, and performs engineering changes to assembly equipment. The position typically does not require travel. The job description states that management may assign or reassign duties and responsibilities, and that the employee must complete all required post-hire training.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a similar technical discipline, or five years of experience in an automotive manufacturing or assembly machine supplier environment in lieu of a degree.
Proficiency in Omron PLC programming.
Basic machine shop skills and ability to fabricate simple components.
Ability to read electrical and pneumatic prints.
Ability to view assembly machines in software such as SolidWorks eDrawing, cut sections, and measure dimensions.
Knowledge of plastic welding processes for injection-molded parts, including sonic, vibration, hot plate, and IR welding.
Knowledge of secondary decoration processes, including hot stamping, pad printing, laser etching, and laser marking.
Knowledge of and ability to use a variety of sensors and vision systems to create robust assembly machines and processes.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Independent thinking with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Flexibility and ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
Ability to gather and analyze information and make decisions from a limited number of choices.
Minimum score of 50 on the Wonderlic Select Assessment, or a traditional score of 26 on the cognitive portion.
Agreement to complete all required post-hire training.

Nice To Haves

Experience with SolidWorks.
Experience with VisMockup.
Experience programming six-axis robots and collaborative robots, including Fanuc and UR.

Responsibilities

Participate with product development and corporate manufacturing technical leaders to ensure products are designed for manufacturability and quality.
Specify robust assembly machines that include effective error-proofing, good ergonomics, and support efficient standardized work.
Provide feedback to corporate manufacturing technical leaders to improve assembly machine standards.
Develop standardized work, machine quote specification sheets, capacity analyses, work balance tables, and assembly cell layouts from NBA through the end of the program.
Participate in machine design review meetings and monitor assembly machine construction to ensure program and plant timing requirements are met.
Participate in machine reviews and validation runs of assembly equipment before shipment to the manufacturing plant.
Work with corporate packaging engineers and packaging suppliers to develop external packaging and internal work-in-process packaging for safe, defect-free transportation to subsequent operations and customers.
Work with the SLMS engineer to develop flow racks for the assembly cell.
Write standardized work instructions so operators can perform work safely, to the required quality, and within the proper time.
Lead and perform engineering changes to assembly machines involving electrical and pneumatic systems, servo motor controls, PLCs, machining, sensors, and vision systems.
Assist maintenance with developing effective preventative maintenance schedules.
Support manufacturing operations for assembly machines and cells in production.
Help production teams improve efficiency, quality, and safety using standardized work tools, practical problem-solving methods, and kaizen opportunities.
Troubleshoot process- or equipment-related problems and provide timely solutions.
Develop justifications for process improvement projects.
Conduct process audits to ensure standardized work and quality-system compliance in assembly.
Perform other duties as assigned.