Sheet Metal DFM Engineer – Precision Fabrication

A day in the life

Your morning starts by reviewing a new customer concept and mapping out the most efficient path to a fabrication-ready design. By mid-morning, you’re modeling components in CAD, applying tolerances and material choices that align with laser cutting, turret punching, brake forming, welding, and powder coating. After lunch, you’re on the shop floor partnering with operators to troubleshoot a forming challenge, then back with sales to refine a quote for a new project. You wrap the day documenting BOMs and manufacturing instructions for a smooth production handoff.

Role snapshot

• Department: Engineering / Manufacturing
• Reports To: Engineering Manager
• Location: Spring Lake, MI
• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Experience Level: Moderate (2–5 years preferred)

What you’ll own

• Convert customer ideas into complete designs and fabrication-ready drawings.
• Apply rigorous Design for Manufacturing (DFM) to balance cost, quality, and throughput for sheet and tube metal parts.
• Develop detailed CAD models and drawings, incorporating process capabilities, GD&T, and appropriate materials.
• Partner with production to resolve design-related issues across laser, turret, forming, welding, and powder coating operations.
• Review/approve designs to ensure feasibility within budget and quality targets.
• Drive continuous improvement to streamline processes and reduce total cost.
• Create and maintain drawings, BOMs, routings, and clear manufacturing instructions.
• Support estimating, quoting, and onboarding of new customers/projects as a subject matter expert.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field.
• 2–5 years of mechanical design experience in sheet and/or tube metal fabrication.
• Working knowledge of fabrication steps: laser cutting, turret punching, brake forming, welding, powder coating.
• Proficiency with CAD (SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or similar).
• Strong grasp of DFM/DFA and tolerance analysis.
• Proven ability to optimize trade-offs among cost, quality, and functionality.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred skills

• ERP or manufacturing systems (Visual preferred).
• GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Understanding of powder coating specifications and finishing standards.
• Hands-on experience on the shop floor within a metal fabrication environment.

Tools you’ll use

• CAD Software (Solidworks, Pro-E / Creo)

Compensation & growth

Range: $85,000 – $110,000 per year based on experience

Join a rapidly growing business serving mission-critical markets. Work across two Spring Lake facilities, including a new state-of-the-art plant equipped with 3D scanning, cobots, robots, and more—giving you access to the latest technology as you transform concepts into manufacturable products.

Core proficiencies

• GD&T
• Bachelor's Degree
• Project Management
• Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA)
• CAD Software
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
• Mechanical Design & Engineering
• Tolerance Analysis
• Mechanical Testing
• Product Design Experience
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
• Blueprint Reading

Equal Opportunity

Sintel Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.