Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Type: Direct Hire

Salary: $ based on experience

Schedule: Full-Time, Onsite

Benefits: Comprehensive Benefits Package

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manufacturing Engineer to support and improve manufacturing operations across filling, kitting, packaging, and shipping. This is a highly visible, hands‑on engineering position focused on manufacturing optimization, automation, Lean Six Sigma, process improvement, and capital equipment projects. The Senior Manufacturing Engineer will work directly with production teams and cross‑functional leadership to identify inefficiencies, eliminate waste, increase throughput, and improve overall manufacturing performance.

This position will also play a key role in developing and implementing an automation strategy, including robotics, vision systems, PLCs, collaborative robots (COBOTs), and digital manufacturing technologies.

• Maintain a strong presence on the manufacturing floor, working directly with production employees and leadership to identify process challenges and improvement opportunities
• Identify and eliminate waste, bottlenecks, workload imbalances, unnecessary movement, rework, waiting, and inefficient handoffs
• Investigate manufacturing inefficiencies and develop solutions to improve productivity, quality, throughput, and labor efficiency
• Conduct time studies, standard labor analysis, line balancing, workload analysis, capacity analysis, process mapping, and material‑flow assessments
• Develop and execute manufacturing automation strategies aligned with business objectives
• Lead automation projects through planning, design, equipment selection, build, implementation, and deployment
• Implement advanced automation technologies including robotics, vision systems, PLCs, and collaborative robots (COBOTs)
• Lead manufacturing process optimization utilizing Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement, data analytics, and digital manufacturing tools
• Drive measurable improvements in on‑time delivery, cycle time, yield, throughput, and labor efficiency
• Own capital automation projects from concept through commissioning
• Develop business cases and equipment specifications for capital projects
• Manage vendor selection and coordinate equipment FAT/SAT
• Support and lead equipment validation activities including IQ/OQ/PQ
• Partner with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and R&D teams to industrialize new products and scale manufacturing processes
• Establish and standardize engineering best practices, automation standards, validation protocols, and documentation
• Support digital transformation initiatives involving MES, manufacturing data systems, and smart‑factory technologies
• Troubleshoot manufacturing equipment, automation systems, and processes as needed

• 5+ years of manufacturing engineering and/or automation engineering experience
• Strong manufacturing process‑improvement background
• Experience implementing automation within a manufacturing environment
• Strong mechanical and electrical aptitude
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies
• Experience with manufacturing process analysis, time studies, line balancing, capacity analysis, and workflow optimization
• Experience managing manufacturing or automation projects from concept through implementation
• Ability to troubleshoot manufacturing equipment and automated systems
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, communication, and organizational skills
• Ability to work effectively across Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and other departments
• Strong hands‑on approach with the ability to spend significant time directly within manufacturing operations

• Experienc…