Digital Twin Engineer (Manufacturing Simulation)

Overview Onsite – Gastonia, NC. The Manufacturing Digital Twin Engineer owns and builds the plant-level Digital Twin for an IATF-certified automotive manufacturing facility (~375 employees) producing Heavy Duty and Industrial Air and Liquid Filtration. The role develops the capability from the ground up using AutoCAD and FlexSim to model end-to-end production and internal logistics, run mixed-methods simulations, and provide data-driven recommendations to improve throughput, robustness, and investment decisions — while creating reusable standards/templates for global scaling. Responsibilities Own the plant Digital Twin in AutoCAD and FlexSim Establish governed model structure (assets, routings, constraints, assumptions, versioning) Keep the model aligned to real-world conditions (including high-mix/low-volume realities) Update flows, routings, and process steps end-to-end Maintain capacity inputs: cycle times, changeovers, uptime/downtime Maintain shift/labor patterns, buffers/WIP rules, and operating constraints Model internal logistics: warehouse/supermarkets, tugger/forklift routes, replenishment logic Validate and refresh inputs with stakeholders using MED and SAP data Run studies for bottlenecks, constraint behavior, line balancing, and rate changes Evaluate buffer sizing/WIP strategies and material flow improvements Assess staffing concepts and operating policies Support investment/expansion scenarios (new lines, automation, warehouse, redesign) Use DOE/parameter sweeps, heuristic optimization, and structured experimentation Identify new Digital Twin use cases with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, CI/Lean Translate operational problems into simulation questions with defined inputs/outputs Build repeatable templates for recurring analyses Provide recommendations supporting capex justification, investment prioritization, through output improvements, and robustness/sensitivity analysis Communicate results to leadership with clear assumptions, scenarios, findings, and recommendations Validate alternative layouts/logistics concepts/capacity changes through simulation Collaborate with engineering while protecting model integrity and ownership Partner with the Global Digital Twin Program Lead Package reusable standards: templates, modeling conventions, scenario libraries Profile Education Bachelors degree in Engineering preferred Equivalent combinations of education and/or experience will be considered Experience 3 to 5 years of manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, simulation engineering, or related roles in a manufacturing environment Tool/application experience: hands-on building models in FlexSim (or comparable DES tool) and using AutoCAD for industrial/manufacturing layouts Skills & Competencies Discrete-event simulation (DES) capability FlexSim including building reusable model components AutoCAD in manufacturing layout context Strong understanding of manufacturing systems (flows, constraints, variability, bottlenecks) Ability to create models from ambiguous inputs and validate with stakeholders Strong analytical and communication skills; able to explain assumptions/results to non-simulation audiences Provide training and coach team members on the use of FlexSim to support simulation modeling, analysis, and decision-making Preferred Experience Experience working in the automotive industry Basic scripting/analytics exposure: SQL, Python, PowerBI Using MES and SAP data for operational analysis Optimization approaches: DOE, parameter sweeps, heuristic optimization #J-18808-Ljbffr