Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Advanced Input Systems•Coeur d'Alene, ID

12d

About The Position

The Manufacturing Engineering Manager leads the people, processes, and technical systems that connect product design to reliable, efficient production. The role manages the Manufacturing Engineering team and provides leadership oversight for Bench Technicians and Electro-Mechanical Assemblers. It aligns process engineering, production test and equipment support, and assembly resources to support new product introduction (NPI), sustaining production, and continuous improvement. As a hands-on leader, the manager sets priorities, develops team capability, and ensures products move from prototype and pilot builds into production with appropriate processes, documentation, tooling, test systems, and training. The role partners closely with Design Engineering, Operations, Quality, Program Management, Supply Chain, and other 1HMX teams to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost. Work combines office and production-floor activity, with frequent interaction with production teams and equipment in a manufacturing environment. Occasional extended hours may be needed for critical program deadlines or production needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Manufacturing Engineering, or a closely related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
8+ years of progressive manufacturing engineering or related manufacturing technical experience.
At least 2–3 years in a formal people-management role.
Demonstrated experience leading teams or coordinating work across engineering, technical support, and production functions.
Experience supporting NPI, continuous improvement, and production readiness in a precision, high-mix manufacturing environment.
Broad understanding of manufacturing processes relevant to HMX products, including electromechanical assembly, PCBA processing and rework, screen printing, laser cutting/marking, wiring and harness fabrication, and production test.
Ability to lead technical troubleshooting across electrical, mechanical, electronic, and mechatronic systems, including production fixtures and test equipment.
Knowledge of DFM/DFA, Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma concepts, PFMEA, SPC, GD&T, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement methods.
Strong organizational, communication, and prioritization skills, including ability to manage concurrent programs and translate technical issues for non-technical stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to develop employees, set expectations, manage performance, and lead cross-functional teams.
Adherence to applicable ESD and safety protocols in a manufacturing environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in electromechanical, pneumatics, electronics, HMI, or related product manufacturing.
Familiarity with CAD tools such as SolidWorks and eCAD tools.
Experience specifying or qualifying automated manufacturing and test equipment.
Familiarity with test instruments and systems, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and test software such as LabVIEW, programming languages such as Python, or similar platforms.
Familiarity with ERP/MES systems in a production environment; Syteline experience is a plus.
Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification, or equivalent continuous-improvement experience.
Exposure to AS9100, ISO 13485, or other sector-specific quality management systems.
Experience with robotics, motion control, haptics, wearables, AR/VR, or display integration technologies.
Experience with automated test, pneumatics, production automation, or test platforms such as LabVIEW.
Experience supporting multi-site or global manufacturing engineering initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop Manufacturing Engineers, Bench Technicians, and Electro-Mechanical Assemblers; set expectations, accountability, and development goals.
Oversee daily priorities and resource allocation across NPI, sustaining engineering, production troubleshooting, test-system support, assembly needs, and continuous improvement.
Conduct one-on-ones, performance reviews, and career-development conversations; provide feedback and identify training or staffing needs.
Build a collaborative, customer-focused team culture emphasizing safety, quality, technical ownership, problem-solving, and continuous learning.
Coordinate workloads and escalation paths to provide timely production support while advancing longer-term engineering and process-development work.
Support hiring, onboarding, cross-training, and succession planning for the teams under the role.
Lead Manufacturing Engineering activities for NPI, ensuring production processes are mature and validated, documentation is complete, tooling is appropriate, and readiness is demonstrated.
Partner with Design Engineering during development to improve design for manufacturability and assembly, testability, reliability, and production scalability.
Oversee development and maintenance of manufacturing processes, assembly procedures, work instructions, routings, tooling requirements, and other production documentation.
Coordinate prototype builds, pilot runs, process validation, operator training, and handoff to full-rate production.
Support new programs and released products through production changes, troubleshooting, continuous improvement, and process optimization.
Review and approve critical process documentation, including PFMEAs, control plans, validation reports, and tooling or fixture specifications, as appropriate.
Oversee Bench Technician support for production test systems, fixtures, tooling, and equipment, including triage, troubleshooting, repair, upgrades, and preventive maintenance.
Ensure production test systems and fixtures are built, deployed, calibrated, maintained, and validated against applicable technical requirements and documentation.
Coordinate support for product performance testing and design verification testing, including test planning, procedures, reporting, and data analysis.
Maintain clear escalation paths for equipment, fixture, test-system, and product issues; coordinate with engineering teams when additional expertise is needed.
Improve test methods, automation, fixtures, and production support equipment, including use of LabVIEW or related test software where applicable.
Provide leadership and operational coordination for the Electro-Mechanical Assembly team to meet production priorities, quality requirements, and program schedules.
Ensure assemblers have current work instructions, appropriate tools and fixtures, required training, and timely technical support.
Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Bench Technicians to resolve assembly, wiring, test, and equipment issues and improve process repeatability.
Promote adherence to documented processes, workmanship expectations, ESD controls, and applicable safety and quality requirements.
Identify improvements to assembly methods, documentation, training, work-cell readiness, throughput, and first-pass quality.
Provide technical direction across electromechanical assembly, wiring and cable harnesses, PCB assembly and rework, machining, automated equipment, and test-system integration as applicable.
Champion data-driven problem-solving and lead or sponsor root-cause investigations into significant production disruptions, nonconformances, customer escapes, field failures, or recurring quality issues.
Partner with Quality Engineering on MRB and NCM processes, corrective and preventive actions, audit readiness, and applicable IPC, UL, ISO, and customer-specific requirements.
Ensure processes and production documentation are controlled and maintained in applicable systems, including Syteline ERP and manufacturing assembly procedures.
Provide technical training and coaching to engineers, technicians, and production personnel on new or revised processes, equipment, and troubleshooting methods.
Build and sustain a Lean manufacturing culture; lead or sponsor kaizen events, value-stream mapping, waste elimination, and other improvement initiatives.
Identify, evaluate, justify, and manage capital investments in production equipment, tooling, automation, fixtures, and test infrastructure.
Define and monitor performance metrics such as yield, cycle time, scrap, labor efficiency, equipment downtime, test-system availability, and NPI on-time readiness.
Drive measurable results using Visual Management tools and structured problem-solving methodology.
Use performance data and production-floor input to prioritize improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and process capability.
Work with Operations and Supply Chain to address material, tooling, capacity, and equipment constraints affecting production.
Represent Manufacturing Engineering and supporting production technical teams in site leadership discussions, program reviews, and planning activities.
Partner with Design Engineering, Quality, Operations, Program Management, and Supply Chain to resolve issues and align priorities.
Support customer and third-party technical audits and clearly communicate manufacturing-process capabilities, risks, and corrective actions.
Coordinate with 1HMX global engineering teams to share best practices, transfer processes, and align standards across sites.