Engineer, Senior II (ME Lead - Machining)

About the role

Location: Seneca, SC – On-site / Hybrid (Manufacturing Environment). Position Type: Full-time. Travel Required: Up to 5%.

Position Summary: This position is primarily responsible for production floor support and process improvement for the machining of complex, tight-tolerance components utilizing CNC-controlled lathes, mills, and grinding equipment. Additional responsibilities include procurement of new equipment to support capacity uplifts and new programs, as well as quoting new business. This position plans and conducts work requiring judgment in independent evaluations, selection, and substantial adaptation and modification of standard techniques, procedures, and criteria, requiring new approaches to complex engineering problems. This role leads a group of manufacturing engineers and hourly technicians.

Work Environment & Physical Demands: Primarily a manufacturing plant floor environment. Physical Ability: Occasional lifting up to 35 lbs. shoulder high. Safety: Compliance with safety rules and proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in designated campus areas.

Responsibilities

• Process Ownership & Operational Support: Serve as process owner of a designated departmental process, holding full responsibility for delivering a reliable, stable, and sustainable process across machinery, gaging, quality, tooling, capacity, and documentation.
• Provide daily technical support to production and maintenance to resolve machine downtime through troubleshooting mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and coolant systems.
• Troubleshoot and solve downtime caused by tooling issues, collaborating with tooling vendors to design and supply optimal departmental tooling.
• Address quality-related downtime using structured problem-solving methodologies (e.g., 8D, 6 Sigma).
• Disposition parts on hold regarding rework or scrap, and support incoming material suppliers on quality issues.
• Maintain equipment post-launch for continuous improvement, efficiency, and safety troubleshooting, ensuring proper 5S standards.
• Collaborate with the Area Production Leader (APL) through daily meetings and joint initiatives to drive departmental financial performance.
• New Product Launch & Equipment Procurement: Lead the new product launch team responsible for designing manufacturing plans, including operator work content, machine capability, quality checks, and information flow.
• Lead departmental capacity planning and capital forecasting activities.
• Determine parts, tools, and gaging required to meet manufacturing goals according to product specifications.
• Evaluate machine builders through site visits, demonstrated capability, and financial health to select and purchase replacement or capacity-expansion equipment.
• Write purchase requisitions, lead quoting, and qualify new machining, assembly, and test equipment at machine builder sites.
• Direct equipment installation plans, floor layouts, robotic integration, runoffs, and formal handoffs to production.
• Process Improvement, Quality & Documentation: Analyze equipment layouts, workflows, assembly methods, and workforce utilization to design manufacturing processes that reduce costs and maximize efficiency.
• Write Appropriation Request (AR) narratives to justify capital funding for cost-reduction projects.
• Leverage GD&T, metrology, metallurgy, and assembly/test knowledge to provide manufacturability feedback to product development teams and lower costs on current and future programs.
• Develop, update, and maintain all process documentation, including process sheets, control plans, FMEAs, FPPAs, tool sheets, and job instructions.