Manufacturing / Process Engineer in South Bend, Indiana at Maitland Engineering LLC

Build the Manufacturing Future of Maitland Engineering

For more than 25 years, Maitland Engineering has built a reputation for precision, quality, and engineering excellence manufacturing orthopedic implants for the medical industry.

Now, we're taking that expertise into a new market.

Maitland is expanding into aerospace and defense precision tooling, and we're looking for the leader who can help build the operation that gets us there.

Reporting to the VP of Engineering, the Manufacturing / Process Engineer will lead day-to-day manufacturing operations while building the processes, systems, capabilities, and culture required to grow our aerospace tooling business.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands precision machining, knows how to develop people, and is energized by the opportunity to build something new.

You won't inherit an aerospace operation. You'll help build it.

What You'll Do

• Support daily manufacturing operations, with a strong presence on the shop floor.
• Establish capacity and workflow to achieve safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.
• Guide and develop machinists, engineers, leads, and production personnel while building a culture of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Improve machine utilization, setup efficiency, throughput, cycle times, scrap, rework, and on-time delivery.
• Develop and standardize manufacturing processes, work instructions, routings, setup documentation, and production controls.
• Partner with Engineering to optimize CNC machining, tooling, fixturing, polishing, cutting strategies, and manufacturing processes.
• Support CNC turning and milling operations, including Citizen Swiss CNC lathes, and help transition new projects from development through first article, CPK, GRR to production.
• Use Epicor ERP and production data to manage performance, capacity, and continuous improvement.
• Support equipment selection, capital planning, new technology, automation, and manufacturing capacity growth.
• Establish KPIs and lead Lean/continuous-improvement initiatives focused on productivity, quality, and profitability.
• Work cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Sales, and customers to solve problems and deliver results.

Build Our Aerospace Capability

Maitland is ISO 13485:2016 certified and is actively pursuing AS9100 certification as we expand into aerospace.

This role will be instrumental in making that transition by:

• Developing manufacturing processes aligned with AS9100 requirements.
• Strengthening documentation, traceability, configuration control, and process discipline.
• Supporting First Article Inspection (AS9102) and customer-specific requirements.
• Participating in audits, quality reviews, production-readiness activities, and new program launches.
• Applying the disciplined manufacturing and quality practices that have made Maitland successful in the medical-device industry to the aerospace environment.

What We're Looking For

We want a manufacturing leader first—someone with the technical depth to earn the respect of experienced machinists and the leadership ability to build a high-performing operation.

Required

• Aerospace or defense manufacturing and/or tooling experience.
• 3-5+ years of progressive experience in precision machining, manufacturing engineering, production management, or manufacturing operations.
• Proven experience leading and developing manufacturing personnel.
• Strong understanding of CNC machining and precision manufacturing, preferably in a high-mix, high-volume environment.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications.
• Working knowledge of GD&T / ASME Y14.5.
• Experience with capacity planning, process development, and optimization.
• BOM creation in ERP
• Time studies
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Experience working within a formal quality management system.
• Strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, establish accountability, and develop people.

Preferred

• Experience with AS9100 / AS9102.
• Experience with ISO 13485 or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• ERP/MRP experience; Epicor experience is a plus.
• CNC turning, particularly Citizen CNC lathes.
• CNC milling, including 3-, 4-, or 5-axis machining.
• CNC programming/CAM experience; Mastercam, SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or similar.
• CMM and precision inspection experience.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, or similar methodologies.
• Experience with aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, nickel alloys, or other aerospace materials.
• New Product Introduction and prototype-to-production experience.
• Keyence experience
• Automation experience
• AI utilization

Education

A bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent combinations of technical education, machining experience, and demonstrated manufacturing leadership will be considered.