Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Loar Group (NYSE: LOAR) is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer for one of its business units in the Midwestern US. Loar Group specializes in acquiring and growing companies that design and manufacture highly engineered products for the global aerospace and defense market. To date, Loar has acquired 20 niche aerospace and defense manufacturing businesses across the U.S. and Europe.

The successful candidate must have an excellent technical aptitude, be analytical and detail oriented, and be able to thrive in a fast-paced environment with a diverse product line. This role combines hands-on engineering, Lean process design, equipment maintenance and safety strategy, and technical troubleshooting with a focus on production, repair, and testing systems.

The Senior Manufacturing Engineer will:

• Support product design from proposal through manufacturing, qualification testing, and product introduction.
• Lead engineering activities for a full-site relocation, including layout design, logistics planning, and workflow optimization using Lean principles.
• Develop and maintain Manufacturing Orders (MO), Bill of Operations (BOO), and Bill of Materials (BOM) in the ERP system.
• Apply Lean tools (5S, Kaizen, VSM, SMED, standard work, visual controls) to improve efficiency and reduce variation.
• Create, maintain, and train on SOPs, work instructions, and inspection processes.
• Work with operations to maintain or improve KPIs including turnaround time (TAT), first pass yield (FPY), and scrap/rework.
• Support root cause analysis and corrective actions with quality for performance and safety issues.
• Establish and improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs for production equipment.
• Troubleshoot complex equipment, tooling, and process issues, including MRB-related evaluations.
• Support capital equipment evaluation, justification, installation, commissioning, and safety approval.
• Lead facility safety coordination, including inspections, hazard mitigation, incident investigation, and employee training.
• Maintain compliance with workplace safety standards and procedures.

Competencies:

• Ability to design and optimize manufacturing layouts and workflows using Lean principles.
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment, tooling, and process issues to maintain uptime and product quality.
• Ability to develop and maintain manufacturing documentation within ERP systems.
• Ability to analyze production data and drive improvement in KPIs (TAT, FPY, scrap/rework).
• Ability to lead safety programs including inspections, incident investigation, and compliance activities.
• Highly collaborative team player.
• Agile, able to thrive in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of manufacturing engineering experience, preferably in aerospace or aviation.
• Experience supporting or leading a facility move, production line relocation, or layout redesign.
• Hands-on experience with equipment maintenance, troubleshooting, and reliability.
• Experience applying Lean manufacturing tools and driving continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of aerospace quality systems and regulatory standards (AS9100, NADCAP, FAA).
• Working knowledge of OSHA safety requirements and safety engineering practices.
• Experience with CAD, ERP/MRP systems, and data analysis.

Preferred:

• Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt).
• Experience with CMMS systems and reliability programs.
• Background in CNC machining, composites, welding, aerospace assembly, or test systems.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, 8D, or structured problem solving.
• Safety training or certification (OSHA 30, NEBOSH, CSP, or equivalent).