NPD Manufacturing Engineer

Position Summary
The NPD Manufacturing Engineer supports the New Product Development (NPD) organization by establishing robust production-ready manufacturing processes for new products and supporting a smooth transition into sustaining production. This role combines hands-on manufacturing engineering manufacturing planning and documentation production readiness process improvement and cross-functional coordination.
The successful candidate will work closely with Design Engineering Program Management planning production technicians Document Control Technical Writers suppliers and sustaining Manufacturing Engineering. The role is primarily focused on NPD with sustaining support provided as needed after product handoff.

Key Responsibilities
Develop implement and maintain manufacturing methods operation sequences specifications process routings labor standards and equipment requirements for new and existing products.
Create and maintain manufacturing work orders Manufacturing Procedures (MPs) Special Work Instructions (SWIs) Document Change Notices (DCNs) and other production documentation required to support NPD builds and production readiness.
Develop clear practical work instructions using concise language visual aids and appropriate detail so operators can safely and consistently execute manufacturing processes.
Support applicable phases and toll gates of the Advanced Product Development Process (APDP) including CET DVT qualification and transition activities.
Partner with NPD Design Engineers to review product designs provide manufacturing input support applicable SWO/XWO documentation and identify manufacturability risks while respecting design ownership and approval responsibilities.
Own production readiness planning for assigned programs and facilitate Production Readiness Reviews as products transition from NPD into sustaining production.
Apply PFMEA process capability analysis and other structured manufacturing-engineering methods to identify failure modes reduce risk and improve process robustness.
Identify manufacturing issues and improvement opportunities early in development including inspection requirements operator needs process controls tooling fixtures and downstream production risks.
Coordinate with suppliers and internal partners on tooling fixtures equipment schedules requisitions and delivery status as required.
Support capital equipment definition selection installation validation and start-up based on project needs and experience level.
Support tooling and fixture development in collaboration with other engineering resources; advanced tooling design is not the primary focus of this role.
Develop Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) when required and partner with appropriate subject-matter experts to ensure safe manufacturing processes.
Identify opportunities for automation vision/inspection systems and other manufacturing technology improvements; partner with automation resources on implementation when appropriate.
Use Lean Manufacturing 5S Kaizen and practical continuous-improvement methods to improve safety quality delivery productivity and waste reduction.
Provide responsive hands-on support to technicians and production teams and help resolve manufacturing issues that could affect on-time execution.
Manage multiple programs and priorities simultaneously in a fluid NPD environment adapting plans as technical and program requirements evolve.
Contribute as an informal technical leader through collaboration sound engineering judgment ownership and influence across cross-functional teams.

Minimum Qualifications
Five (5) or more years of relevant manufacturing engineering or closely related manufacturing experience.
Bachelors degree in Manufacturing Engineering Industrial Engineering Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline preferred; equivalent technical education and/or relevant experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.
Demonstrated experience working in a hands-on manufacturing environment and supporting operators technicians or production teams.
Demonstrated ability to develop clear manufacturing procedures work instructions process documentation and/or production work orders.
Strong cross-functional communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with engineering operations program teams suppliers and other stakeholders.
Strong organization and prioritization skills including the ability to manage multiple programs or projects at different stages of development.
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work effectively in an iterative environment where processes and requirements may evolve.
Working proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Excel Word Outlook and PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications
Seven (7) to ten (10) years of relevant manufacturing engineering experience.
Experience supporting New Product Development product industrialization production readiness or transfer of new products into sustaining production.
Experience in aerospace defense medical-device automotive or another technically demanding manufacturing environment.
Experience with PFMEA process capability studies manufacturing risk reduction and structured process-improvement methods.
Experience with SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD tools; advanced tooling design expertise is not required.
Experience coordinating tooling fixtures suppliers and/or capital equipment projects.
Experience identifying opportunities for manufacturing automation machine vision inspection systems or other process technologies; hands-on automation programming is not required.
Practical experience with Lean Manufacturing 5S Kaizen or comparable continuous-improvement methods.

Work Environment & Role Expectations
This position is 100% on-site in Chandler Arizona.
The hiring manager expects early-day coverage with an approximately 6:00 a.m. start time.
Travel is expected to be rare.
The role is highly autonomous after onboarding and requires regular engagement with technicians and manufacturing activity on the production floor.
Approximately 80% of the role is expected to support NPD with approximately 20% supporting sustaining production as business needs require.

Export Control Requirement
Due to U.S. Government contract requirements applicable to this position only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment in this role.

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