Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Title: Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Fabrication & Welding

Location: Hazel Crest, IL – Greater Chicago

Company: The Lanco Group of Companies

Products: Industrial Equipment (IEM) Division – Carry Deck Cranes, RTG Cranes, and Forklifts

Focus: Large steel fabrication, advanced welding and facility start-up

Reports to: Director of Quality

Compensation: Salary, Bonus Eligibility, and Attractive Benefits

Relocation: Yes, Available

Type: Onsite & Full-time

Lanco - our parent company - is strong, large, growing, international, private and family-owned with more than 70 years of cherished history. We are a high-performing team and a great place to work. Our employees are the key to our success and help us stand out from our competitors. We have strong core values, culture and community.

Job Summary: As we expand, we are seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to lead the fabrication and welding strategy and implementation at our state-of-the-art brownfield site in Hazel Crest, IL. The role is critical to scaling the production of our massive steel structures, ensuring that our next generation of products meet the highest standards of quality and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities:

• Facility Start-Up & Brownfield Integration: Lead the manufacturing launch of a new, state-of-the-art site. You will oversee the transformation of the brownfield facility into a production hub for massive structural weldments.
• Equipment Acquisition & Integration: Identify, specify, and integrate heavy-duty manufacturing equipment, including large-scale plasma and laser cutting systems, press brakes, welding stations (MIG/TIG) manual and robotic, and CNC machining centers.
• Process Design & Implementation: Develop and optimize production flows for massive steel components. Design workstations and material handling processes.
• New Product Introduction (NPI): Partner with the engineering team to transition from design to full-scale production, ensuring manufacturability (DFM).
• Technical Documentation: Create and maintain work instructions, welding procedure specifications (WPS), and manufacturing BOMS to ensure repeatable, high-quality output.
• Quality & Compliance: Establish robust quality control processes for welding and fabrication to ensure compliance with AWS and ISO standards.
• Lean & Continuous Improvement: Drive operational excellence using Lean manufacturing principles, focusing on reducing cycle times and eliminating waste.
• Multi-Site Technical Leadership: Function as the subject matter expert and technical lead for fabrication and welding processes across other sites in Tennessee, Kansas, and Canada.

Qualifications Required:

• 5-10+ years of Engineering experience in heavy equipment or automotive including Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical Design, Process, Tooling, etc.
• 3-5+ years of specialized Heavy Structural Steel Fabrication & Welding processes within Manufacturing Engineering Facility commissioning Capital equipment acquisition per the above Process design and optimization
• Implementation of Lean & CI with improved business metric results Metrics, goals, root cause problem solving, visual daily management, VSM, 6S, kaizen g., Safety (injury reduction), Quality (scrap, rework, warranty), Delivery (throughput-capacity, on-time delivery, lead-time), Cost (productivity, headcount), Inventory
• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering - Manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical
• Travel: 10-15% to other manufacturing sites, suppliers, customers
• Technical Skills ERP Systems for Routings and Bills of Material management Data analysis, Excel, Power BI Proficiency in 3D CAD software and 2D CAD plant layout
• Soft Skills: Project management, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Physical: Ability to work on the shop floor for extended periods and lift 50 lbs.
• Preferred: Industry leading companies such as Caterpillar, John Deere, Toyota, Ford, GM, etc.

Compensation/Benefits: We foster a collaborative team environment that values innovation and encourages creative solutions to drive positive organizational impact. Our employees are the key to our success and help us stand out from our competitors. The final compensation offer may vary based on factors such as experience, education, skills, and location. We offer competitive pay, paid time off, and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan.

Lanco is an equal opportunity employer. All employment-related decisions, including but not limited to hiring, compensation, promotion, discipline (including termination), evaluation, training and development opportunities, etc., are made without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender-related identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, military status, protected disability, citizenship, genetic information or any other category protected by applicable law.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.