Senior Process Improvement Engineer

GE Appliances • Camden, SC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

GE Appliances’ Camden plant is seeking a Senior Process Improvement Engineer to drive operational excellence within a production area. The role owns equipment performance, leads continuous improvement initiatives, and ensures high standards in safety, quality, delivery, and cost. It serves as a technical and leadership resource, partnering with cross-functional teams to optimize processes, improve equipment reliability, and promote continuous improvement.

The engineer owns equipment and tooling, leads troubleshooting, develops maintenance plans, evaluates upgrades and capital projects, and ensures calibration and process control compliance. The position also leads problem-solving and lean initiatives, supports quality and safety, provides technical leadership and training, and represents manufacturing during new product introductions.

The position is based at GE Appliances’ Camden plant in Camden, South Carolina. Work takes place in both office and manufacturing environments. Manufacturing work requires safety equipment, including safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves, and work shoes or boots. The role may involve lifting materials and products weighing up to 25 pounds. Working hours may need to adjust to production demands, including early starts, extended shifts, or occasional weekend work.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, or currently pursuing a degree, in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Electrical), a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, or Quality support roles.
• Flexibility to adjust working hours to support production demands, including early starts, extended shifts, or occasional weekend work.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams in a high-volume manufacturing environment and working effectively with salaried and union hourly employees.
• Six Sigma certification and strong knowledge of Lean, DMAIC, and other improvement methodologies.
• Technical expertise in manufacturing processes such as thermoforming, extrusion, metal fabrication, and automated equipment operations.
• Hands-on experience with PLC controls, robotics (including Fanuc and end-of-arm tooling), servo systems, and preventive maintenance of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems.
• Experience applying Lean Manufacturing principles, standard work, and time studies to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and optimize high-volume manufacturing equipment and material flow.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, and ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and excellent interpersonal and leadership abilities.

Responsibilities

• Own and optimize equipment and tooling in the assigned production area, ensuring reliable operation and compliance with specifications.
• Lead troubleshooting with maintenance and engineering teams to improve Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).
• Develop and maintain Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Preventive Maintenance (PM) plans to maximize uptime and minimize unplanned downtime.
• Evaluate, recommend, and justify equipment or tooling upgrades and capital projects to improve performance and safety.
• Ensure calibration and process control compliance in assigned manufacturing areas.
• Lead root cause analysis and problem-solving to eliminate waste, reduce variation, and improve throughput.
• Facilitate Kaizen events, implement Poka-Yoke and other lean methodologies, and drive standard work implementation.
• Champion Appliance Production System principles and promote continuous improvement and accountability.
• Collaborate across functions to identify, document, and share best practices.
• Identify and address potential defects and process deviations to maintain process and product quality.
• Partner with Quality and Operations teams on defect tracking, corrective actions, and process audits.
• Promote a safety-first culture and ensure compliance with PPE, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), and environmental health and safety (EHS) standards.
• Support and lead accident investigations, ergonomic assessments, and safety improvements.
• Provide technical leadership to production teams and foster collaboration between hourly and salaried personnel.
• Partner with operations, maintenance, and manufacturing engineering on long-term equipment and process improvement projects.
• Support training and development for team leaders, operators, and maintenance staff on new processes, standards, and performance expectations.
• Promote fairness, inclusion, and open communication to contribute to positive employee relations.
• Represent manufacturing during new product launches and provide feedback on manufacturability, capacity, and process design.
• Coordinate equipment qualification, installation, and process validation for new models or technologies.
• Partner with vendors and cross-functional teams to integrate new products into production.

What This Job Offers

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