Mechanical Engineer (Associate, Professional, Senior)

Bridgestone Americas • Aiken, SC

16d • Onsite

About The Position

At Bridgestone Americas, we are committed to creating a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. We are seeking talented Mechanical Engineers at the Associate, Professional, and Senior levels to join our engineering team at the Aiken PSR Plant. Whether you are an early-career engineer looking to grow your technical skills, an experienced engineer ready to lead significant projects, or a seasoned engineering professional passionate about driving plant performance, we offer opportunities to make an immediate impact while developing your career. As a Mechanical Engineer, you will support the design, development, installation, optimization, and reliability of manufacturing equipment and systems. You will partner with production, maintenance, quality, and engineering teams to improve safety, reliability, productivity, and cost performance across the plant.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering field.
• Internship, co-op, or up to 2 years of engineering experience. (Associate Mechanical Engineer)
• 3-5 years of engineering experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment. (Mechanical Engineer - Professional Level)
• 7+ years of engineering experience with increasing technical and project leadership responsibilities. (Senior Mechanical Engineer)
• Demonstrated problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and teamwork abilities.
• Desire to learn manufacturing processes and project management.
• Experience managing engineering projects and driving continuous improvement initiatives. (Professional Level)
• Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, and project management skills. (Professional Level)
• Ability to work independently and lead cross-functional initiatives. (Professional Level)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. (Professional Level)
• Demonstrated success leading capital projects, equipment installations, and reliability initiatives. (Senior Level)
• Experience providing technical leadership and mentoring less experienced engineers. (Senior Level)
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, machine design, and engineering project execution. (Senior Level)

Nice To Haves

• Manufacturing experience in a high-volume production environment.
• Experience with machine design and equipment modernization.
• AutoCAD, Inventor, SolidWorks, or other CAD software experience.
• Knowledge of industrial automation, robotics, hydraulics, pneumatics, and mechanical systems.
• Experience with SAP or similar systems for procurement and project cost management.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement experience.
• Project management experience managing budgets, schedules, and resources.
• Strong technical curiosity and a passion for solving complex problems.
• Ability to balance technical detail with business objectives.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to build partnerships across departments.
• Commitment to safety, quality, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Research, plan, design, develop, and implement mechanical systems, equipment, and manufacturing processes.
• Provide mechanical engineering support for production equipment, utilities, and auxiliary systems.
• Analyze equipment performance and identify opportunities to improve safety, reliability, efficiency, quality, and throughput.
• Develop solutions for equipment-related issues through troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on waste reduction, scrap reduction, downtime reduction, and process optimization.
• Provide technical support and guidance to manufacturing, maintenance, and operational teams.
• Lead or support capital and continuous improvement projects ranging from equipment modifications to major machine installations.
• Develop project scopes, budgets, schedules, and implementation plans.
• Coordinate internal and external resources to ensure projects are completed safely, on time, and within budget.
• Manage procurement activities including vendor selection, RFQs, capital requests, and project cost tracking.
• Oversee equipment installation, startup, testing, validation, and project closeout activities.
• Promote a strong safety culture by ensuring safety requirements are incorporated into all engineering activities.
• Participate in risk assessments, machine safeguarding evaluations, and implementation of safety improvements.
• Ensure compliance with company standards, regulatory requirements, and engineering best practices.
• Support contractor safety and quality compliance during project execution.
• Evaluate existing equipment and systems to identify opportunities for performance improvement.
• Lead reliability improvement efforts and corrective action projects.
• Utilize engineering principles and data analysis to improve operational performance and reduce losses.
• Support preventative and predictive maintenance initiatives.
• Responsible for Mechanical expertise in manufacturing
• Lead continuous improvement and corrective action activities & projects with emphasis on Scrap & Waste improvement activities.
• Provide technical support to internal customers.
• Provides input into the design for new or modified systems, processes or technologies.
• Manage major projects such as New Machine installation, upgrades, etc. The Projects range from $50K to $1M.
• Analyze project requirements, identify and address design parameters, engineering challenges and to ensure solutions are implemented accurately, timely and within budget. Serve as technical lead, planning and organizing portions of a project. Budget, manpower and equipment utilization.
• Oversee project workflow and support internal and external resources to ensure on-time delivery of projects, meeting quality standards and within budget.
• Ensure all relevant safety objectives and legal requirements, for all activities, are observed and implemented.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluating the performance of existing systems, processes and technologies and recommends modifications and enhancements to improve quality and/or efficiency.
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.
• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.
• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.
• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.
• An effective and inclusive team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level