Industrial Engineering Manager

Industrial Engineering Manager

Dauch is seeking an experienced Industrial Engineering Manager to join our team in Mebane, North Carolina at our Alamance Manufacturing Facility. This fully onsite individual serves as a key strategic partner to plant leadership is responsible for leading manufacturing process optimization, labor efficiency initiatives, capacity planning, and continuous improvement activities within a Tier 1 automotive manufacturing environment. This person drives operational excellence by implementing lean manufacturing principles, improving productivity, reducing costs, and ensuring efficient utilization of labor, equipment, and facility resources.

The Industrial Engineering Manager leads a team of industrial engineers and collaborates closely with production, quality, maintenance, supply chain, and program management teams to meet customer, safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.

Job responsibilities include:

• Leading and developing a team of Industrial Engineers and continuous improvement professionals.
• Establishing departmental goals aligned with plant and corporate objectives.
• Managing workload prioritization and resource allocation across projects and programs.
• Providing coaching, mentoring, and performance management for engineering staff.
• Developing and maintaining labor standards, production rates, and staffing models.
• Conducting time studies, work measurement analyses, and line balancing activities.
• Identifying and implementing opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, and throughput.
• Supporting manufacturing launches and production ramp-up activities.
• Driving ergonomic assessments and workstation optimization initiatives.
• Driving Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives including value stream mapping, Kaizen events, 5S programs, standard work, visual management, and waste elimination.
• Facilitating continuous improvement projects focused on safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
• Monitoring and reporting key operational performance indicators.
• Developing capacity models to support business growth and customer demand.
• Analyzing labor utilization and recommending staffing adjustments.
• Supporting annual budgeting, capital planning, and workforce planning activities.
• Conducting bottleneck analyses and propose corrective actions.
• Supporting new product launches and engineering changes.
• Developing labor and equipment requirements for new programs.
• Participating in APQP activities and launch readiness reviews.
• Collaborating with customers and cross-functional teams to ensure successful program execution.
• Developing performance dashboards and plant metrics.
• Preparing reports and presentations for leadership review.
• Utilizing engineering and ERP systems to monitor operational performance.
• Ensuring compliance with OSHA, environmental, and company safety requirements.
• Promoting a culture of safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Supporting compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 14001, and customer-specific requirements.
• All other duties as assigned.

Required skills and education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of manufacturing experience in an automotive or Tier 1 supplier environment, along with experience managing a team.
• Experience implementing Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Excel, Power BI, and manufacturing reporting tools.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and leadership abilities.

Preferred qualifications:

• Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or Lean Certification.
• Experience with automotive OEM customer requirements.
• Knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plans, and IATF 16949 standards.
• Experience with ERP and MES systems.
• Familiarity with automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0 technologies.

About Dauch:

Dauch Corporation is a premier Driveline and Metal Forming supplier serving the global automotive industry with a powertrain-agnostic product portfolio that supports electric, hybrid, and internal combustion vehicles. The company is headquartered in Detroit, MI, with operations that span 24 countries and more than 175 locations. Formed through the acquisition of Dowlais Group plc and its subsidiaries - GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy, Dauch unites deep engineering roots with global manufacturing capabilities and an entrepreneurial spirit to move mobility forward.

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Dauch will not discriminate against any Associate or applicant for employment because of age, race, color, gender, religion, weight, height, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic history or information, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, national origin, or other characteristic protected by law. Dauch will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that Associates are treated equally during…