Manufacturing Project Engineer

Manufacturing Project Engineer

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live.

Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Job Summary:

Join a world-class manufacturing team as a Manufacturing Project Engineer in Lafayette, Indiana, where you will support process development projects that improve safety, quality, velocity, and cost across manufacturing operations. In this role, you will partner with internal teams and external suppliers to drive productivity, implement plant-wide systems, and strengthen process capability. You will help assess product and process feasibility, support automation and robotics initiatives, and guide engineers and operators toward smarter, more efficient production outcomes.

What you will do:

• Lead or support major manufacturing projects that improve productivity, cost effectiveness, and plant performance.
• Implement and coordinate major systems across the plant to improve manufacturing flow, output, and operational effectiveness.
• Partner with suppliers to evaluate current and proposed product or process designs and determine feasibility, manufacturability, and improvement opportunities.
• Provide technical guidance to manufacturing engineers, technicians, and operators to help develop high-quality products and repeatable processes.
• Develop project scopes, estimates, schedules, contingency plans, and reporting methods to keep initiatives on track.
• Support capacity planning by translating production demand into resource, equipment, and process requirements.
• Use CAD tools and technical drawings to support layouts, schematics, process changes, and equipment or component updates.
• Identify automation opportunities, assess robotic solutions, and support troubleshooting of hardware, software, process, and application issues in the manufacturing environment.

Education Requirement:

College degree in a technical curriculum

Skills you must have:

• Manufacturing project engineering experience in a plant, production, assembly, fabrication, machining, automotive, heavy equipment, or industrial setting.
• Strong project management capability, including project planning, estimating, scheduling, resource coordination, stakeholder communication, risk identification, and progress reporting.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing engineering practices, process design, implementation, and continuous improvement methods.
• Working knowledge of decision-making and critical thinking with the ability to organize data, assess alternatives, and recommend sound actions.
• Experience with capacity planning and translating demand forecasts into production or resource requirements.
• Working knowledge of CAD/design tools and technical drawings to support manufacturing layouts, components, or schematics.
• Working knowledge of robotics/computer-controlled machinery, industrial automation, or related production technologies.
• Strong technical troubleshooting skills with the ability to recognize, analyze, and resolve manufacturing or system issues.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills for working across engineering, operations, quality, maintenance, supply base, and leadership teams.

Top candidates will also have:

• Experience with lean manufacturing, kaizen, waste reduction, line balancing, or continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with industrial robotics, automation implementation, or computer-controlled manufacturing systems.
• Background in cost estimating, contingency planning, and cross-functional project leadership in plant operations.
• Experience supporting supplier collaboration, manufacturability reviews, and process optimization.
• Familiarity with manufacturing metrics related to safety, quality, throughput, utilization, and cost.

What you will get:

• A commitment to inclusion. Our common values and focus on…