Principal Manufacturing Engineer

Exciting career opportunity to jump on board with a very well-established, yet rapidly growing electronics manufacturer due to a recent acquisition. If you are a senior Manufacturing Engineer who is looking to apply your knowledge and skills to an organization that will recognize and reward your hard work and efforts, you'll want to apply and interview for this role!

Job Purpose

The Principal Manufacturing Engineer is a key technical leader responsible for developing, optimizing, and sustaining manufacturing processes for production in a defense environment. This role focuses on driving operational excellence through advanced failure analysis, continuous process improvement, and rigorous adherence to military-grade quality standards. The Principal Manufacturing Engineer will ensure efficient process transitions, maintain product integrity, reduce production costs, and uphold strict compliance with defense manufacturing protocols.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary manufacturing representative on cross-functional engineering teams to lead and coordinate the smooth transition of new products from design to production.
• Design, organize, and continuously improve product assembly areas to meet evolving product specifications, Department of Defense (DoD) requirements, and production throughput goals.
• Lead initiatives to streamline and optimize manufacturing workflows, enhancing product quality, reducing cycle time, minimizing scrap, and maximizing output.
• Define requirements for specialized production equipment, tooling, fixtures, and test setups specific to high-reliability, mission-critical manufacturing.
• Drive compliance with defense quality standards (e.g., MIL-STD, AS9100, IPC) across all manufacturing processes and work instructions.
• Develop and deliver technical training to production teams to ensure full compliance with documented procedures, quality standards, and engineering requirements.
• Manage manufacturing engineering and act as a subject matter expert for product-specific manufacturing processes, materials, and technologies.
• Support audits, customer inspections, and quality assurance activities as needed to maintain defense manufacturing certifications.
• Determine the requirements for equipment, tools, fixtures and fulfill real-time production needs for our manufacture operations.
• Monitor rework and repair operations, consistently monitor and report yield issues, and regularly highlight significant findings.
• Conduct failure analysis, identify root causes, and pursue effective solutions to minimize in-process defects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, with 3+ years specifically in electronic products production, defense manufacturing, or other mission-critical industries strongly preferred.
• In-depth experience with root cause analysis methodologies (e.g., 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram, FMEA) and corrective action implementation (CAPA).
• Hands-on experience with designing and optimizing manufacturing processes, production lines, tooling, and fixtures.
• Familiarity with defense manufacturing standards and compliance requirements (e.g., MIL-STD, AS9100, ITAR).
• Proficient in statistical process control (SPC), lean manufacturing, Six Sigma tools, and continuous improvement principles.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, schematics, specifications, and work instructions.
• Strong technical writing skills to create clear work instructions, reports, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.

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Nesco Resource offers a comprehensive benefits package for our associates, which includes a MEC (Minimum Essential Coverage) plan that encompasses Medical, Vision, Dental, 401K, and EAP (Employee Assistance Program) services.

Nesco Resource provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.