Engineering Manager - Metals

Department: Contract Manufacturing Services (CMS) Engineering - Metals
Reports to: Engineering Manager - Metals

Position Summary

The Engineering Manager is a high-energy, hands-on leader responsible for building and leading a team of engineers and technicians who provide world-class engineering support to 24/7 production operations within Preco’s Contract Manufacturing Services (CMS) division.

This role is intentionally focused on production engineering support, sustaining engineering, and continuous improvement, while a separate team owns NPI/new process development. The Engineering Manager ensures engineering resources are effectively deployed to improve Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Throughput through rapid problem solving, robust process control, error-proofing, and Lean execution.

This leader is expected to be the direct, hands-on Lean leader for the operation—planning and facilitating Kaizen events, coaching standard work, and driving measurable improvements in OEE, uptime, scrap, changeover performance, flow, and labor efficiency

Job Responsibilities

Provide Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Production Support Engineers and technicians focused on sustaining engineering and production support.
• Establish clear team expectations, engineering standard work, priorities, and response models for production support across multiple shifts.
• Build a motivated, team-oriented culture that strengthens collaboration between Engineering, Production, Maintenance, Quality, and Materials.
• Provide daily direction and support to engineers working on active constraints, downtime issues, yield losses, safety risks, and quality escapes.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, training plans, and career development for production support engineering staff.
• Escalate and remove barriers when production performance is at risk; ensure fast containment and permanent corrective action discipline.

Deliver Production Engineering Support (24/7 Manufacturing)

• Own the engineering “system” that supports 24/7 operations—ensuring engineering response, prioritization, and accountability across shifts.
• Lead technical problem solving for repeat downtime, chronic defects, process instability, and capacity constraints.
• Partner with Production and Maintenance to improve equipment effectiveness, reliability, uptime, and changeover execution.
• Drive process control discipline: critical parameter identification, controls, poka-yoke, operator methods, and sustaining documentation.
• Ensure production processes are stable, capable, and supported by the correct work instructions, training, and tooling/fixtures.
• Support troubleshooting efforts on the floor as needed—this role is expected to be visible and engaged in production.

Lead Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement (Hands-On)

• Serve as the site’s primary Lean / CI leader for production support workstreams.
• Plan, facilitate, and execute Kaizen events focused on flow, labor efficiency, scrap reduction, lead-time reduction, and equipment uptime.
• Establish CI operating rhythm: opportunity pipeline, prioritization, charters, before/after metrics, sustainment checks, and standard work.
• Coach leaders and team members in Lean fundamentals (waste identification, root cause, standard work, visual management, 5S, SMED, value stream thinking).
• Drive measurable improvements tied to SQDC: Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People

Documentation, Process Discipline & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Ensure accuracy and control of engineering and shop-floor documents that support stable production (work instructions, routings, process specs, inspection/test methods).
• Ensure lessons learned and improvements are standardized and sustained (training, audits, documentation updates).
• Support Quality and Operations with effective problem-solving systems: containment, root cause, corrective action, verification, and recurrence prevention.
• Collaborate with the NPI team to ensure smooth handoffs from development into stable production (process readiness, tooling readiness, training readiness).

Business, Planning and Administrative Responsibilities 

• Support the Operations leadership team with resource planning, priority setting, and execution against operational objectives.
• Manage projects and initiatives within agreed scope, schedule, and budget.
• Support cost improvement initiatives and productivity improvements with measurable results.
• Coordinate cross-functional communication on engineering priorities, progress, and risks.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical or Industrial preferred) or equivalent manufacturing experience.
• 8+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment with increasing responsibility.
• Demonstrated success leading production support engineering: sustaining, troubleshooting, defect reduction, process control, and uptime improvements.
• Strong working knowledge and hands-on application of Lean Manufacturing tools (Kaizen facilitation, standard work, 5S, visual management, waste elimination, SMED/changeover improvement, root cause).
• Lean certification (or formal training) preferred, but proof of execution is more important than credentials.
• Experience working in an ISO-controlled environment (ISO 9001)
• Strong communication skills with the ability to align across Production, Maintenance, Quality, Materials, and leadership.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, customer-driven CMS environment with shifting priorities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to travel up to 10%.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years leading engineers/technical teams in a production environment. 
• Ability to meet role-specific visual and color-acuity standards annually. 

Physical Demands

• Repetitive back, wrists, arm, shoulder, elbow, and finger movements occur continuously.
• Extended hours of sitting, viewing a computer screen, keyboard/mouse operation.
• Direct communications with company personnel and external customers.

All Preco, LLC employees are empowered to stop production and notify their supervisor/manager if an unsafe act or product quality concern is occurring.  Also, each member of the Preco – Somerset team is responsible for identifying continuous improvement opportunities and participating in problem-solving teams as necessary