Senior Automation and Manufacturing Engineer

Who We Are

Alene Candles LLC & Midwest is a private label, contract manufacturer that produces high-quality candles for some of the world’s most recognized retail, boutique, and cosmetic brands. With our headquarters in New Hampshire and locations in Ohio, we’ve been in business for over 25 years. We are passionate about making the best products in the world, making safety our number one priority, and being an insanely great place to work.

The Position

We are seeking a Senior Automation & Manufacturing Engineer to serve as the site leader for manufacturing technology, capital project execution, and new product commercialization. You will act as the primary engineering liaison between customers, Business Development, Sales, R&D, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and external vendors to ensure successful introduction of new products and manufacturing capabilities. You will be responsible for developing and implementing equipment, automation, material handling, and process solutions that support the site's long-term growth strategy.

We are unable to provide employment visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.

The Location

We are located at 8860 Smith's Mill Road, New Albany, OH. This is an onsite position.

Additional Job Details

Responsible for driving operational performance through continuous improvement and engineering excellence. This role identifies, develops, and implements initiatives that improve any/all facets of the organization through process optimization, lean manufacturing practices, automation, and advanced manufacturing technologies. The Senior Automation & Manufacturing Engineer is accountable for delivering measurable business results including cost reduction, labor productivity improvements, waste elimination, throughput gains, and overall equipment effectiveness.

• Develop and execute manufacturing technology strategies that improve productivity, quality, safety, and operational performance.
• Identify, justify, and implement automated equipment, robotics, vision systems, and control systems
• Assist in establishing equipment standards and best practices for manufacturing systems across all facilities.
• Partner with Operations teams to improve equipment reliability, uptime, throughput, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Identify and execute projects that reduce labor dependency, material waste, scrap, rework, downtime, and energy consumption.
• Develop financial justifications and ROI analyses for process improvement and automation projects.
• Establish and monitor KPIs related to labor efficiency, cost savings, throughput, quality, and asset utilization.
• Develop capital project scope, specifications, budgets, schedules, and implementation plans.
• Manage equipment procurement, vendor selection, contract negotiations, installation, commissioning, and operational transitions.
• Lead Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), Site Acceptance Tests (SAT), startup activities, and performance validation.
• Ensure capital projects achieve targeted business objectives and financial returns.
• Serve as the site’s engineering lead for all new product introductions and customer commercialization activities.
• Evaluate manufacturability of new products and packaging designs to ensure efficient production and cost targets can be achieved.
• Assist in executing customer trials, production qualifications, and launch readiness reviews.
• Ensure successful product launches through structured stage-gate commercialization processes.
• Support Operations teams in troubleshooting technical issues and implementing corrective actions.
• Conduct process capability studies and optimize manufacturing processes.
• Improve line balancing, material flow, changeover efficiency, and labor utilization.
• Build strong relationships with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
• Present project updates, technology strategies, and business cases to senior leadership

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors ‘s degree in Engineering or related disciple
• 5+ years for engineering experience in a manufacturing environment
• Experience in manufacturing industry
• Experience with a capital implementation projects

Preferred Qualifications

• Customer focused, both internal and external
• Strong communication, leadership, presentation and interpersonal skills are required
• Demonstrated successful performance with independent and team problem solving, presentations, leadership, and coordinating and completing multiple tasks within and across departments to meet changing deadlines
• Project Management and Implementation
• Lean Manufacturing (Black Belt)
• Manufacturing with assembly line and packaging experience
• Automation and robotics
• Candle industry experience a big plus
• High level of organizational ability
• Strong communication, leadership, presentation and interpersonal skills are required
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and coordinate with other departments within the Company
• Ability to lead and manage Contract resources and Company resources for projects
• Self-motivated with the ability to work without close supervision

Benefits

Alene offers a host of competitive benefits for full-time employees, some of which include: Medical, Dental, and Vision with a Healthcare Reimbursement Account, 401(k) with company match, Basic Life Insurance (100% company paid), Employee Assistance Program, Flexible Spending Account, Paid Holidays, Paid Time Off, Tuition Reimbursement and “Alene Gives Back” – our paid volunteer program.

Alene Candles 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.

Should you require assistance completing this application or during any phase of the interview process, please contact recruitment@alene.com or call 614-933-4005 and ask to speak to Human Resources. We will make every effort to accommodate your needs in a reasonable amount of time.