Lead Mechanical Engineer

About the role

Join the team behind iconic brands like Huggies®, Kleenex®, Cottonelle®, Scott®, Kotex®, Poise®, Depend®, and Kimberly-Clark Professional®. At Kimberly-Clark, it’s all here for you—innovation, growth, and the chance to make a real impact. You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference.

Responsibilities

The Lead Mechanical Engineer role will provide leadership and creativity in the design, development, optimization, problem solving, and operation of assigned assets & supporting processes in a manner that meets safety and operational performance expectations. This position will focus on driving continuous improvement, reducing obsolescence, and improving reliability for the assets they support.

• Develop and deliver equipment and processes that meet safety requirements, policies, and guidelines.
• Manage multiple medium-to-large initiatives to deliver improvements to asset performance or plant systems; lead major initiatives for breakthrough improvements, solving higher level problems for the plant.
• Identify cost savings opportunities and manage expense spending to asset budget.
• Develop knowledge and skills in leadership of the application of engineering principles, scientific analysis, LEAN principles, and project management.
• Seeks, recognizes, defines, and solves complex technical issues to root cause to achieve objectives.
• Participates in the development of others within the area of the incumbent's expertise, including the creation of knowledge transfer documentation materials.
• Support maintenance personnel when troubleshooting complex issues.
• Identify and document issues and opportunities with existing equipment.
• Lead a safety work team.
• Partner with maintenance on reliability projects.
• Assist in developing and managing strategic obsolescence replacement plan.
• Assist team with trial planning and trial preparation.
• Support assets using engineering knowledge, including being on-call and potential shift coverage.
• Provide input to plant expense and capital plans.
• Provide input to capital teams so proposed changes are in-line with the 5-year vision.
• Involved with early design, technology, equipment selection, sizing, location, etc.
• Oversight and support during installation and commissioning.
• Liaison with utilities/facilities teams so impact of operational changes is understood, and solutions are in place when needed.

Qualifications

To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:

• Requires a Bachelor or advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• 3 plus years industrial experience in a variety of technical or operational assignments in a high-speed consumer product manufacturing and/or staff environment.
• A demonstrated ability to perform in cross-functional teams to achieve objectives within required timeframes.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive knowledge with tissue making production equipment, materials, and processes is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability of writing and presenting updates to leadership.
• Multiple years of experience in a variety of plant manufacturing and staff support or capital project assignments, including maintenance, utilities, and asset support.
• Experience working with external technical service providers.
• Familiarity with high-speed manufacturing equipment machine startups.
• Experience and expertise with Kimberly-Clark engineering procedures and processes is beneficial.

Working Conditions

Normal scheduled hours will vary based on the need to support a 24/7 Operation. Flexibility to travel up to 15% for benchmarking and best practice sharing across KCNA. Ability to work in a manufacturing environment. Potential of shift coverage to support assets, projects or initiatives.

Benefits

We believe that our employees are our greatest asset, and we're committed to providing them with the resources they need to be successful. If you're looking for a rewarding career with a company that cares about its employees, then Kimberly-Clark is the place for you.

Pay

Salary Range: 87,260 – 107,780 USD. At Kimberly-Clark, pay is just one aspect of our total rewards package, which also includes a variety of benefits and opportunities to achieve, thrive and grow. Along with base pay, this position offers eligibility for a target bonus and a comprehensive benefits suite, including our 401(k) and Profit Sharing plan.

Schedule

Full time, with flexibility to work in a manufacturing environment and potential shift coverage to support assets, projects or initiatives.