New Product Introduction (NPI) Manufacturing Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

New Product Introduction (NPI) Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Chicago, IL 60646 (Northwest Side) · Onsite

Compensation: $100,000–$115,000 DOE · 401(k), medical, dental, vision, PTO, 10 paid holidays

A day in this role

You start your morning reviewing yesterday’s throughput and quality dashboards, then walk out to a vertically integrated shop floor—CNC and manual machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, and hand assembly all buzzing under one roof. A new product is moving through APQP gates, and you’re finalizing fixtures in Autodesk Inventor (your SolidWorks experience maps over perfectly). By mid-morning you’re collaborating with operators to tighten a setup, then you’re back at your desk building routers and BOMs inside a brand-new Infor CloudSuite Industrial ERP instance. No legacy baggage—this is your structure to architect. After lunch, you draft clear work instructions and a test procedure, submit an ECN, and lead a short training huddle so first shift is ready to run.

Why this is the right moment

• 85-year-old, family-owned Chicago manufacturer launching a multi-year product roadmap—several new SKUs every year.
• ERP go-live (Infor CloudSuite Industrial) in January—own APQP, routers, and BOMs from day one in a clean system.
• Hands-on environment—when something breaks, you fix it at the source rather than opening a supplier ticket.

What you’ll do

• Design production fixtures and equipment in Autodesk Inventor (SolidWorks pros are encouraged to apply).
• Own and maintain production routers and BOM structures through and beyond the ERP transition.
• Lead APQP for new product launches, coordinating cross-functional readiness.
• Analyze process data, production KPIs, and manufacturing costs to drive improvements.
• Author work instructions and test procedures that are unambiguous and operator-friendly.
• Initiate and process engineering change notices (ECNs) .
• Provide on-floor technical support and training to production teams.

What you’ll bring

• 5+ years in a machine shop, sheet metal, welding, or hand-assembly environment.
• Fixture design experience for machining and for manual assembly.
• Hands-on experience with ERP-based routers and BOM management.
• Bachelor’s in Manufacturing Engineering (or equivalent practical experience).
• Lean/Six Sigma (Green or Black Belt preferred) or significant, documented continuous-improvement project work.
• Bonus: Bilingual Spanish and familiarity with Power BI.

Schedule & details

• Standard hours: 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday, fully onsite. Flexible start as early as 7:00 a.m.
• Local candidates only—no relocation assistance is available.
• Target start: early October.