Material Flow Engineer

Job Title: Material Flow Engineer

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Contract

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Material Flow Engineer to lead end-to-end warehouse design, material flow optimization, and automation integration within high-volume manufacturing environments. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in warehouse layout design, buffer planning, material handling equipment, automated material transport systems, and discrete event simulation.

The role involves developing scalable material flow solutions, optimizing manufacturing logistics, evaluating automation technologies, and managing projects from concept development through commissioning and handover to operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end warehouse design, material flow planning, and process equipment integration.
• Design and optimize warehouse layouts, aisle sizing, storage systems, lineside buffers, and finished goods buffers.
• Perform buffer analysis, capacity planning, throughput modeling, and material flow optimization.
• Evaluate, specify, and support procurement of material handling equipment, carts, conveyors, lifts, and automated transport systems.
• Design and deploy automated and semi-automated material flow solutions, including AGVs, AMRs, AGCs, VRCs, ASRS, conveyors, and robotic cells.
• Develop mechanical, electrical, and controls requirements in alignment with factory layouts, safety standards, and ergonomic guidelines.
• Create system architectures and capacity models to evaluate throughput, resource utilization, CAPEX, and OPEX.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Operations, Controls, Facilities, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, and Finance teams.
• Integrate material handling automation with PLC-based controls, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
• Develop and execute Discrete Event Simulation (DES) models using FlexSim or equivalent tools to evaluate material flow, system capacity, and resource utilization.
• Define and optimize AGV/AMR fleet management, routing, traffic control, docking, and path optimization strategies.
• Lead project execution, including scope definition, RFQ development, vendor selection, procurement, schedule tracking, budget management, FAT, SAT, commissioning, and production handover.
• Monitor manufacturing KPIs, including OEE, throughput, downtime, and equipment utilization, to identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to improve material flow efficiency, equipment reliability, safety, and scalability.
• Provide technical guidance and subject-matter expertise in automation, material handling, and long-term factory automation strategy.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in manufacturing, material handling, warehouse engineering, or industrial automation.
• Proven experience in warehouse layout design, material flow planning, buffer sizing, and aisle optimization.
• Hands-on expertise in AGV, AMR, AGC, VRC, conveyor systems, robotics, and ASRS design, integration, or commissioning.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and factory simulation tools such as FlexSim or equivalent.
• Experience in capacity planning, throughput analysis, line balancing, and discrete event simulation.
• Strong understanding of PLC, MES, WMS, and industrial automation integration.
• Experience managing projects from concept development and detailed design through installation, commissioning, and production readiness.
• Knowledge of vendor management, RFQs, procurement, FAT/SAT, project scheduling, and budget control.
• Familiarity with industrial safety standards, ANSI/ISO/IEC requirements, and ergonomic guidelines.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, PFEP (Plan for Every Part), Just-in-Time (JIT), and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ability to analyze manufacturing KPIs, identify operational bottlenecks, and implement data-driven improvements.
• Excellent analytical, communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Python, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, or other data analytics and visualization tools.
• Exposure to digital twins, IoT-enabled automation, and real-time equipment performance monitoring.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
• Experience in battery manufacturing, energy storage, or other high-tech manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in project budgeting, scheduling, vendor coordination, and automation strategy development.