Engineering Manager

Location: Leitchfield

The Engineering Manager is responsible for leading all engineering functions within an automotive injection molding manufacturing facility, including Process Engineering, Tooling Engineering, Automation, Manufacturing Engineering, and New Product Launch activities. This position provides technical leadership for both current production and future program launches, ensuring manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling, and technical resources consistently meet safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.

The Engineering Manager serves as the primary technical liaison between customers, suppliers, operations, quality, and corporate teams. This role is responsible for managing engineering personnel, new product launches, tooling development, manufacturing process optimization, capital projects, and continuous improvement initiatives. Additionally, the Engineering Manager ensures production equipment is properly set up, validated, and operating within established process parameters while maintaining compliance with IATF 16949 requirements, customer-specific requirements, and internal engineering standards.

Job Responsibilities:

* Lead and manage all plant engineering functions, including Process Engineering, Tooling Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Automation, and technical support personnel.

* Direct and coordinate all new product launch activities from customer award through production readiness, ensuring programs meet customer timing, quality, and cost requirements.

* Develop, maintain, and manage the master launch schedule to ensure successful execution of all engineering projects and customer programs.

* Serve as the primary engineering contact for customers regarding new product launches, engineering changes, process development, tooling development, and technical concerns.

* Support customer design and development teams by participating in design reviews, manufacturability assessments, tooling reviews, and engineering feasibility studies.

* Oversee the design, procurement, validation, launch, and ongoing performance of molds, tooling, automation systems, fixtures, and manufacturing equipment.

* Manage tooling suppliers, equipment vendors, and engineering service providers to ensure project objectives, timelines, and budgets are achieved.

* Lead mold trials, process development activities, capability studies, engineering validations, and production readiness reviews.

* Ensure injection molding machines, auxiliary equipment, tooling, automation systems, and manufacturing processes are properly set up, validated, and operating within approved process parameters.

* Provide technical leadership and support to production teams to ensure molding processes achieve safety, quality, productivity, scrap, cycle time, and OEE targets.

* Lead troubleshooting efforts for molding defects, tooling issues, automation failures, machine performance concerns, process variation, and customer quality issues.

* Drive root cause analysis and corrective action activities using structured problem-solving methodologies to resolve technical and operational issues.

* Establish, maintain, and continuously improve process standards, setup sheets, work instructions, engineering specifications, and manufacturing documentation.

* Ensure all engineering documentation complies with IATF 16949 requirements, customer-specific requirements, APQP standards, and internal quality management systems.

* Ensure PFMEAs, Control Plans, Process Flow Diagrams, standardized work instructions, and process documentation are developed, maintained, and updated as required.

* Support and lead PPAP activities, process validations, capability studies, and customer approval requirements for new and existing products.

* Monitor and improve manufacturing performance through analysis of KPIs including OEE, cycle times, scrap rates, downtime, machine utilization, labor efficiency, and productivity.

* Partner with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain teams to identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities.

* Drive cost reduction initiatives through process optimization, material utilization improvements, cycle time reductions, automation enhancements, and tooling improvements.

* Support production scheduling and capacity planning by evaluating equipment, tooling, staffing, and process requirements.

* Manage departmental budgets, capital expenditures, tooling investments, engineering resources, and project spending.

* Review, approve, and issue purchase orders (POs) for tooling, equipment, engineering services, maintenance projects, and departmental expenditures.

* Develop capital appropriation requests and business cases for new equipment, automation, tooling, and facility improvements.

* Support customer audits, IATF audits, internal audits, and technical reviews while ensuring compliance with applicable standards and requirements.

* Lead engineering change management activities to ensure process, tooling, and product changes are properly reviewed,…