Production Engineer

Vantage • Englewood, OH

8h • Onsite

About The Position

The Production Engineer owns day-to-day manufacturing performance at Vantage’s Englewood site, which manufactures personal care ingredients and active pharmaceutical ingredients. This hands-on, floor-based role works alongside operators, supervisors, Maintenance, and Quality to monitor operations, identify root causes, and improve equipment and process performance. The site’s operations include liquid and solid blending, encapsulation, milling, spray congealing, extrusion, and downpacking, with both automated and manual work.

The role learns manual processes firsthand and develops practical improvements that make work safer, reduce labor, and increase efficiency and consistency. The engineer monitors production, gathers and analyzes operational data, prioritizes improvement opportunities, leads process optimization and downtime-reduction work, and helps improve schedule adherence and Right First Time manufacturing. The position also leads automation opportunities and capital projects, develops standard work and operator training, supports quality and compliance activities, and maintains production performance metrics.

The position is based on-site at the Englewood manufacturing facility and is full-time, five days per week. A flexible schedule is available, with periodic off-shift or weekend support as production needs require. The estimated base pay range is $80,000–$110,000 annually, and the position is eligible for a short-term incentive program.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering.
• At least 2 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, including at least 1 year in process or production engineering.
• Hands-on experience with one or more of the following: liquid or powder blending, encapsulation, milling or size reduction, spray congealing or spray drying, extrusion, or packaging/downpacking operations.
• Strong troubleshooting skills and a structured, data-driven approach to root cause problem solving, including SPC, trend analysis, or designed trials.
• Practical knowledge of powder and liquid processing, including mixing, particle size reduction, heat transfer, and effects of process conditions on product quality and stability.
• Ability to coach, train, and influence hourly teams and supervisors without direct authority, and to develop standard work that people follow.
• Working knowledge of PLCs, HMIs, controls, material handling equipment, mechanical systems, utilities, and reliability practices.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, adjust to production issues, and maintain progress on longer-term improvement and project work.
• Clear communication and ability to work across Production, Maintenance, Quality, Planning, and R&D, and with customers when needed.
• Proficiency with Excel and data analysis tools.
• Ability to work on-site at the Englewood manufacturing facility, five days per week, with periodic off-shift or weekend support as production needs require.

Nice To Haves

• Pharmaceutical or API manufacturing experience, including cGMP, batch records, deviations/CAPA, change control, and validation.
• Experience in personal care, cosmetics, nutraceutical, food, or specialty chemical manufacturing.
• Experience implementing manufacturing automation, such as material handling, dispensing, controls, or packaging automation.
• Lean or Six Sigma training or certification at Green Belt level or higher.
• Experience working with automation integrators and equipment vendors.
• ERP and MES experience.

Responsibilities

• Monitor daily process performance on the production floor across blending, encapsulation, milling, spray congealing, extrusion, and downpacking; review batch records, process parameters, yields, cycle times, and in-process results, and respond to deviations.
• Collect operational data through floor observations, time studies, downtime and deviation records, and operator input; maintain and regularly review a prioritized list of improvement opportunities.
• Specify and conduct plant trials and partner with R&D and technical service to establish and improve process parameters; translate results into updated batch instructions, SOPs, and operating windows.
• Lead structured root cause analysis of equipment failures, process upsets, and batch deviations; work with Maintenance on preventive and predictive maintenance and critical spares, and track downtime causes to prevent recurrence.
• Work with Planning and Production Supervision to remove constraints affecting schedule execution, including changeovers, cleaning, material staging, equipment availability, and staffing.
• Reduce rework, reprocessing, off-spec material, and documentation errors through process controls, error-proofing, and clear work instructions.
• Learn manual operations firsthand alongside operators, map processes, measure labor content and variability, and identify safety, ergonomic, and quality risks associated with manual handling.
• Identify, justify, and implement automation solutions, including material handling and transfer, powder conveying, bulk bag unloading, automated weighing and dispensing, recipe-driven controls, and packaging automation; oversee specification, vendor selection, installation, and startup.
• Develop standard work, visual work instructions, and hands-on training; involve operators in improvement and automation design and support them through changes to their roles.
• Support deviation investigations, CAPAs, and change control with Quality; help ensure processes meet cGMP expectations for API manufacturing and personal care ingredient quality standards.
• Support customer complaint investigations and monitor process capability for critical quality attributes to promote consistent, stable products.
• Coordinate improvement actions across Production, Maintenance, Quality, Planning, and vendors; assign owners and timelines, remove roadblocks, and follow through until changes are sustained.
• Establish and maintain production KPIs, including unplanned downtime, OEE, schedule attainment, RFT, OTIF, and customer complaints; review performance in daily tier meetings and monthly operations reviews.
• Apply Lean and Six Sigma tools, including standard work, 5S, SMED, SPC, and value stream mapping, to improve capacity, cost, and consistency.
• Participate in PHA/HAZOP reviews and Management of Change, with attention to powder handling, dust hazards, and ergonomic risks.
• Scope, justify, and execute capital and expense projects that improve safety, reliability, capacity, or quality, or reduce manual labor; support commissioning, startup, operator training, budgeting, and project close-out.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts (limited purpose, dependent care, and commuter/parking)
• Life and AD&D insurance
• Accident insurance
• Hospital indemnity insurance
• Critical illness insurance
• Short-term disability
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Identity theft protection
• Paid time off
• Parental Leave
• 401(k) with company match
• Eligibility for a short-term incentive program

What This Job Offers

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