Senior Manufacturing Engineer in Lawrence, Massachusetts at Big Belly Solar LLC

We are seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to join our Operations Team. Bigbelly is pursuing an ambitious product roadmap, and this position plays a visible, cross-functional role as the company builds its internal manufacturing and development capabilities. It is expected that the evolving needs of the growing Operations Team will lead to new opportunities for personal and professional growth.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing, implementing, and improving manufacturing processes and systems. This role involves working closely with the production teams to produce our products efficiently, safely, and to the established quality standards. You will be involved in (and oftentimes leading) projects related to troubleshooting production issues, developing process documentation, and reducing costs. You will work with the Development Engineering team to introduce new technologies and products into the Assembly manufacturing lines. Ideally, you have had experience working in both the manufacturing and development environments, having brought multiple products into production while managing them through their product life cycle. You will also have a proven track record working with cross-functional teams, working on Assembly Manufacturing process improvements.

This position reports to the Sr. Ops Engineering Manager and will provide the necessary methods and processes to drive the production team to achieve excellence in: Quality, Execution, Cost, Flexibility and Process Innovation.

Responsibilities

Safety

• Champion adherence to safety rules throughout the operation to protect self and others from injury.
• Ensure all manufacturing equipment (jigs, fixtures, material handling, tools, etc) are designed and deployed to be operated safely.
• Assist the Plant’s Assembly and Engineering teams by ensuring common practice safety guidelines are followed daily.

Cost Management

• Leveraging Lean tools, initiate and lead projects that improve manufacturing costs by driving improvements in areas such as manufacturability, “touch time”, Value Stream Mapping, part flow, fixturing, packaging, etc. Lead frequent “Gemba” walks.
• Lead cost-benefit analysis for deployment of new equipment
• Sample time studies for tasks, to maintain labor time estimates in manufacturing routings, driving efficiencies and productivity.
• Participate in the auditing of the Training / “competency” matrix as a permanent member of the evaluation board.

Design and Implementation

• Collaborate with Engineering and suppliers to ensure manufacturability of new products utilizing DFX, PFMEA, DFMEA, GD&T, Tolerance analysis, etc.
• Manage the installation and commissioning of new equipment and processes to support NPI (New Product Introduction).
• Create and oversee the development of new manufacturing processes, systems, and technologies to expand Big Belly’s Assembly management capabilities.
• When production equipment is required, coordinate collaborative project builds with Engineering.
• Troubleshooting and Problem Solving
• Provide engineering support to production teams to resolve technical issues.
• Support analysis of field failures and other quality escapes from Manufacturing lines
• Support resolution of quality issues through root cause analysis and implementing preventative and corrective actions.

Documentation

• Support the creation and maintenance of manufacturing work instructions and process control plans for all products. This includes deploying and maintaining the appropriate tools for conveying the instructions and training of technicians.
• Adapt the current and future creation of documents to be in line with ISO 9001, QMS, to support the ongoing effort of Big Belly to be certified.
• Coordinate requests for engineering changes; after evaluating, lead the implementation of ECO’s at suppliers and in-house production.
• Deploy Rev-controlled workflows for Manufacturing Engineering documents generated and released by the department, bringing the processes into line with ISO 9001 compliance

Project Management and Leadership

• Lead mid- to high-level manufacturing projects, providing direction, guidance, and engineering expertise to team members while delivering formal presentations to leadership regarding regular project status updates.
• Develop and maintain plans for new tooling and equipment to enhance production capabilities.

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering
• 8+ years of experience in an electromechanical manufacturing environment
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills (DOE design experience preferred)
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma DMAIC methodologies (Greenbelt certification preferred)
• Experienced using SolidWorks 3D CAD design software for tool and fixture development
• Proficiency using PLM tools (Arena preferred)
• Lean-Six Sigma Greenbelt certification utilizing DMAIC principles a plus.
• Proficiency in using and understanding GD&T