Manufacturing Project Engineer

Job Description

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.

Manufacturing

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.

• Number of concurrent projects: 3-5
• Scope of projects:
  Workgroup to BU
• Project budget: $5M to $25M

• 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.

College degree in a technical curriculum.

• 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.

• 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.

• A commitment to inclusion. Our common values and focus on inclusion and respect drive the decisions made by our company, teams, and people. Here, you can apply your unique life and job experiences, and work in a team environment where your ideas are heard, your contributions are celebrated, and your whole-self matters.
• You earn more than just a salary because we value your performance. We offer a total rewards package that provides benefits on day one (medical, dental, vision, RX, and 401K) along with the potential of an annual bonus.
• Additional benefits include paid vacation days and paid holidays (prorated based upon hire date).

• Travel requirements may be less than 10%.
• This position will be located in Lafayette, IN.
• Domestic relocation is…