Manufacturing Engineer

Ambient Recruiting is partnered with a leading aerospace manufacturer to identify a Manufacturing Engineer for its Whitehall, MI operation. This onsite opportunity is ideal for an engineering professional who enjoys problem-solving, continuous improvement, and developing innovative solutions to improve manufacturing performance.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement manufacturing methods that consistently meet or exceed customer requirements.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on increasing production yields, reducing labor costs, and improving operational efficiency.
• Identify and implement cost-reduction opportunities and process improvements.
• Investigate customer quality issues, identify root causes, and develop corrective action plans.
• Collect and analyze production data to support technical requests and manufacturing decisions.
• Develop material, scrap, and labor cost estimates for quotations.
• Participate in new product introduction (NPI) meetings and provide input on bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and project timelines.
• Support tooling, fixture, and die development.
• Develop manufacturing processes for prototypes and support process documentation and data analysis.
• Troubleshoot, validate, and qualify manufacturing equipment.
• Conduct time studies and develop standardized work, cell layouts, and labor standards.
• Analyze scrap, production yields, labor efficiency, and process performance to identify improvement opportunities.
• Conduct regular production floor walkthroughs to identify issues and support daily operations.
• Evaluate manufacturing processes and implement tooling or equipment changes to improve cycle times, productivity, and workflow.
• Review scrap and nonconforming parts to support appropriate disposition decisions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement safe, ergonomic, and scalable manufacturing solutions.

Qualifications:

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering, or Manufacturing Technology.
• Experience with Kaizen, continuous improvement, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Strong analytical, verbal, and written communication skills, including the ability to develop standard operating procedures.
• Experience conducting time studies and establishing standardized work and labor standards.
• Ability to develop capacity analysis tools using machine cycle times, workloads, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Experience implementing manufacturing process improvements, including equipment selection, vendor quotes, budgeting, installation, startup, and project management.
• Experience with manufacturing cell layouts, plant layouts, and ergonomic workstation design.
• Familiarity with export control regulations.
• Experience identifying non-value-added activities, reducing cycle times, and improving material and product flow.
• Ability to provide technical leadership and collaborate with cross-functional manufacturing teams.
• Ability to read and interpret blueprints.
• Experience with 2D and/or 3D CAD software.

Ambient Recruiting - an entirely employee-owned company - is the largest independent employer in West Michigan. Our mission is to match people with meaningful, long-lasting, and enjoyable careers, not just a job. Since 1988, we've helped match over 300,000 people just like you with top employers across West Michigan.