Manufacturing Engineer
Location: Cedar Park, TX (Onsite)
Employment Type: Contract (2–3 months, strong potential to extend)
Travel: Up to 30% to company engineering and production sites
About the Role
The Manufacturing Engineer designs, implements, and improves assembly processes and equipment within the Industrialization team. This position develops the assembly lines, fixtures, and material flow systems that convert prototype and development builds into repeatable, scalable production operations — then works to remove waste, labor content, and variation from those operations.
Working closely with industrialization leadership, design engineering, production, quality, and supply chain, the Manufacturing Engineer owns assigned assembly processes and stations: line and station design, fixture and tooling design, material presentation and handling, process qualification, and continuous waste reduction. This role applies the company’s standards for how assembly processes are designed and documented, participates in design reviews, and contributes to measurable improvement in cycle time, first-pass yield, labor content, and ergonomics across the assembly areas.
How We Work with AI
AI is core to how we work. We equip every team member with leading AI tools and count on you to use them — to move faster, solve harder problems, and realize the full potential of our technology.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Assembly Line and Cell Design: Design and improve assembly lines, cells, and workstations for core, module, and subassembly operations. Establish work sequencing, balance work content to takt, define station layouts and footprints, and design lines that accommodate planned rate increases rather than requiring rebuild to reach them.
- Fixture, Jig, and Tooling Design: Design assembly and inspection fixtures, jigs, and tooling from concept through qualification. Own datum and locating strategy, tolerance stack-up and GD&T, error-proofing (poka-yoke) features, and fixture qualification including repeatability and gage R&R studies.
- Material Handling and Flow Optimization: Design material presentation and handling systems that put the right part at the point of use in the right orientation — kitting strategy, cart and rack design, sequencing, kanban and pull loops, and travel/motion reduction. Partner with Supply Chain and Production Control on line-side stocking, min/max levels, and WIP control.
- Waste Reduction: Systematically identify and eliminate waste across assembly operations — motion, waiting, rework, overprocessing, transport, and excess inventory. Reduce labor content and cycle time through standard work, changeover reduction, error-proofing, and station design. Quantify the value of each change before implementation and verify results afterward.
- Prototype Development and Production Scaling: Collaborate with design engineering to develop prototype build processes and transition them to repeatable production-scale operations, including cross-site process transfer between company facilities.
- Process Development and Optimization: Design, develop, implement, and qualify manufacturing processes for engine, generator, electric machine, and precision electromechanical assembly operations, including high-voltage systems, sealed pressure systems, and additively manufactured components.
- Process Documentation and Control: Author and maintain PFMEAs, control plans, work instructions, travelers, and routings, and ensure the manufacturing BOM reflects how the product is actually built. Verify on the floor that the documented process is the process being followed.
- Technical Collaboration and Support: Provide technical guidance to production teams and technicians, participate in design reviews, and represent Manufacturing Engineering to influence design for manufacturability.
- Capital Equipment and Automation: Support the specification, justification, procurement, installation, and qualification of capital equipment, semi-automated assembly aids, and material handling equipment. Own installation and process qualification through to validated production use.
- Additive Manufacturing: Integrate additive manufacturing technologies into production processes where applicable.
- Problem-Solving and Root Cause Analysis: Lead or support root cause analysis and corrective action using 5-Why, 8D, DOE, and statistical methods, driving corrective actions to verified closure.
- Project Management: Manage assigned industrialization projects and workstreams, ensuring timelines, budgets, and objectives are met, and escalating early with a recommendation attached.
- Safety and Ergonomics: Design workstations, fixtures, and material handling that support safe work. Participate actively in hazard identification, near-miss reporting, and LOTO and electrical safety discipline.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering (or related field).
- 3–5 years of experience in a manufacturing engineering role, preferably with exposure to engine, genset, electric motor, or precision electromechanical assembly operations.
- Hands-on experience contributing to assembly line and cell design, from concept layout through installed and qualified production use.
- Hands-on experience designing, building, and qualifying fixtures, jigs, and tooling — not only specifying them.
- Experience taking prototype and low-volume builds into repeatable production processes.
- Proficiency in 3D CAD. Siemens NX strongly preferred — it is the design platform. Candidates with strong proficiency in another major platform (SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, Inventor, or equivalent) will receive full consideration and are expected to develop working NX proficiency within the first several months; demonstrated willingness and aptitude to learn NX is required.
- Fluency in tolerance stack-up analysis and GD&T, and the ability to read, interpret, and challenge drawings, BOMs, ECOs, and specifications.
Preferred Qualifications
- Aerospace or other precision manufacturing industry experience.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
- Material handling and flow design experience (point-of-use presentation, kitting, kanban/pull systems, line-side stocking).
- Working knowledge of DOE, gage R&R, capability studies, and formal process qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ or equivalent).
- Experience with MES and ERP routing/BOM structures; PLM experience (Teamcenter or equivalent) a plus.
- Familiarity with automotive or aerospace standards (QS9000, ISO 9001, AS9100, NADCAP).
- Experience with additive manufacturing.
- Comfort operating in a pre-commercial environment where product configuration is still changing and the process must be built rather than inherited.
Working Conditions & Physical Requirements
- Salaried, exempt-level position. Primarily an office environment with regular exposure to operations/warehouse/production environments.
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, access equipment in confined or elevated positions, and occasionally lift and move materials up to 40 lbs, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Compliance with all site PPE and safety requirements is mandatory.