Mechanical Engineer

Job Title: Mechanical Engineer Job Description This Mechanical Engineer role focuses on improving production machinery performance, reliability, and uptime within a tier-one automotive manufacturing environment. The position analyzes equipment issues, leads redesign and retrofit projects, and drives process improvements to enhance quality, productivity, and cost efficiency. The role also provides technical support to maintenance and operations teams, ensuring robust preventive and predictive maintenance programs and effective spare parts management. Responsibilities + Lead, coordinate, and set priorities for mechanical engineering activities within the assigned area to support production and maintenance needs. + Analyze and define machinery and equipment problems to improve product quality, increase productivity, repair damaged equipment, reduce costs, and maximize production line uptime. + Re-design, re-engineer, and retrofit machinery and equipment that require upgrading, are damaged, are poorly designed, or are incorrectly used in order to improve quality, productivity, and equipment reliability. + Define and scope engineering projects, including preparing engineering drawings or layouts, writing engineering reports, and developing detailed cost estimates. + Obtain bids, write work orders, make recommendations to management, and secure approvals for the purchase of necessary equipment and materials. + Collaborate with Maintenance and Operations personnel to plan, coordinate, and support the retrofitting and installation of machinery and equipment. + Study machinery requirements, maintenance manuals, and maintenance procedures to design and establish preventive maintenance programs that increase equipment uptime. + Coordinate all predictive and preventive maintenance activities and ensure all assigned maintenance work is completed satisfactorily and on schedule. + Communicate and coordinate with Maintenance personnel to provide technical expertise and support across maintenance projects and programs, with the goal of reducing maintenance costs, avoiding costly downtime, and increasing equipment utilization. + Define, prepare, and control work order jobs, including preparing detailed work instructions and ordering and securing spare parts required for maintenance activities. + Review completed maintenance work for proper completion to ensure efficient use of maintenance labor and materials. + Administer and control the spare parts program to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient availability of essential spares needed for the orderly and efficient operation of the plant. + Ensure that all critical spare parts are either inventoried on site or readily available through equipment vendors to avoid unnecessary downtime. + Assist Operations personnel by providing mechanical engineering support to improve processes, resolve equipment issues, and support continuous improvement initiatives. Essential Skills + BA/BS degree in Industrial Engineering is preferred. + 1 to 2 years of related experience in mechanical or manufacturing engineering, preferably within an automotive or industrial environment. + Advanced knowledge of production machinery, manufacturing processes, and relevant industry standards. + Strong equipment troubleshooting skills with a high level of attention to detail. + Proficiency in MS Office applications for reporting, documentation, and project tracking. + Proficiency in AutoCAD for creating and modifying engineering drawings and layouts. + Ability to effectively communicate with cross-functional teams and clearly convey technical information. + Ability to lead projects and guide people assigned to those projects. + Experience with automotive manufacturing or manufacturing engineering. + Experience in equipment troubleshooting and process improvement within a production setting. Additional Skills & Qualifications + Experience in automotive manufacturing environments, including exposure to stamping, welding, molding, and related processes. + Familiarity with process improvement methodologies and structured problem-solving approaches. + Experience with statistical process control (SPC) and time studies to analyze and improve production processes. + Experience working with Japanese-owned or international manufacturing organizations is beneficial. + Strong problem-solving mindset and the ability to identify root causes and implement practical engineering solutions. + Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced production environment. Work Environment This role is based in a tier-one automotive manufacturing facility. The environment includes working on or near the plant floor, closely interacting with production and maintenance teams and being regularly around stamping, welding, molding, and other automotive manufacturing processes. The company maintains a casual dress environment, where polo shirts and similar attire are common, and work on the plant floor rarely results in getting dirty. The organization follows practices influenced by Japanese manufacturing culture, with an emphasis on efficiency, continuous improvement, and collaboration. Travel requirements are minimal, as most customer and supplier interactions occur over the phone. Job Type & Location This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Shelbyville, KY. Pay and Benefits The pay range for this position is $38.00 - $43.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave) Job Type & Location This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Shelbyville, KY. Application Deadline This position is anticipated to close on Nov 15, 2026. Workplace Type This is a fully onsite position in Shelbyville,KY. About Actalent Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service. The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options. San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. 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