Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Role Overview

The Senior Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for owning and improving manufacturing processes, equipment readiness, and software systems that support safe, efficient, and scalable operations. This role leads manufacturing engineering activities at the Garden Grove site and mentors manufacturing engineers, ensuring engineering rigor, documentation discipline, and continuous improvement are embedded into daily operations.

This is a hands-on role that bridges design engineering to high volume manufacturing with a strong emphasis on execution, standardization, consistency, and reliability.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing Engineering

• Own manufacturing processes from introduction through sustained production
• Design and develop bespoke tooling and fixtures to support product manufacturing
• Ensure production equipment, tooling, fixtures, and work instructions are capable, documented, and controlled
• Lead root cause analysis for process, quality, and yield issues using structured problem-solving tools
• Support new product introductions (NPI) and product transfers with clear readiness criteria and handoffs

Process Control & Documentation

• Develop, maintain, and enforce standard work, manufacturing procedures, control plans, and process documentation
• Ensure manufacturing changes follow proper change management and documentation control
• Partner with Quality to ensure compliance with ISO 9001 and our internal QMS

Engineering Mentorship

• Mentor manufacturing engineers, setting expectations for technical rigor, ownership, and professional growth
• Review and guide manufacturing engineering work to ensure completeness and quality before release
• Build manufacturing engineering capability across the site through coaching and standard practices

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Production, Supply Chain, Quality, Automation, and Design Engineering to support operational priorities
• Translate production needs into engineering solutions that are practical and scalable
• Support capacity planning, layout optimization, and labor efficiency initiatives

Continuous Improvement & Automation Support

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity
• Support automation projects by defining requirements, validating process capability, and ensuring smooth integration into production
• Drive data-based decisions using production metrics and process performance indicators

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field required
• Advanced degree preferred but not required

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing or production engineering within a regulated or industrial environment
• 2+ years of experience leading or mentoring engineers strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience supporting production operations, not just project-based engineering work

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, fixtures, tooling, and equipment validation
• Experience with ISO-based quality systems and documentation control
• Proficiency in structured problem-solving (RCCA, 5 Whys, Fishbone, DOE)
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement tools
• Ability to translate technical detail into clear, usable production documentation

Leadership & Behavioral Skills

• Comfortable setting direction, holding accountability, and making technical decisions
• Able to coach and develop engineers while maintaining high standards
• Strong communicator across technical and non-technical audiences
• Organized, disciplined, and detail-oriented with a bias toward execution
• Calm under pressure and effective in a fast-paced production environment

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Manufacturing processes are stable, documented, and owned
• Manufacturing Engineering changes are deliberate, controlled, and well-communicated
• Production issues are addressed systematically, not reactively
• Manufacturing engineers are growing in capability and confidence
• Manufacturing Engineering is viewed as a reliable partner to production and site operations, not a bottleneck