Mechanical Engineer

About the role

This Mechanical Engineer supports large-scale capital projects by focusing on manufacturing equipment performance, qualification, and continuous improvement. The role maintains and enhances engineering knowledge bases, documentation, and processes while ensuring that production equipment and systems operate reliably, efficiently, and in alignment with product and regulatory requirements. The position offers end-to-end exposure to all stages of a major CAPEX project and provides a strong opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to high-impact initiatives.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Edison, NJ, and is fully onsite.

Responsibilities

• Maintain engineering knowledge bases, including processes, documentation, engineering change orders, bills of material, product tables, and system logs to ensure accurate and up-to-date technical information.
• Create and evaluate setup documentation used in production operations to support consistent and efficient equipment use on the manufacturing floor.
• Design equipment utilization plans that meet product requirements while effectively balancing time, cost, and operational constraints.
• Develop equipment and process designs, including detailed drawings and bills of material (BOMs), to support manufacturing and batch processing operations.
• Create design schedules, establish project milestones, and manage design efforts to ensure projects are completed on time and meet quality expectations.
• Inspect incoming equipment and perform Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) prior to shipment to verify that systems meet specifications and functional requirements.
• Create and maintain manuals for equipment and custom job orders to guide operations, maintenance, and troubleshooting activities.
• Establish systems and standards that maximize equipment and process standardization while maintaining flexibility for customized designs when required.
• Build and maintain systems that support continuous improvement in batch processing equipment design, utilization, and overall operational performance.
• Develop policies and procedures that clearly outline responsibilities and recurring tasks within the role to promote consistency and accountability.
• Collaborate with on-site personnel to understand how equipment is being used in production and identify opportunities to optimize performance and reliability.
• Participate in all stages of a major CAPEX project, contributing engineering expertise throughout planning, implementation, and validation phases.

Requirements

• Experience working with manufacturing equipment, including filling equipment and related production systems.
• Practical experience performing Installation Qualification (IQ) and Operational Qualification (OQ) on manufacturing equipment, with at least 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Background in environments such as cosmetics, over-the-counter (OTC) products, or contract manufacturing operations.
• Ability to create, manage, and interpret engineering documentation, including processes, engineering change orders, bills of material, product tables, and system logs.
• Capability to develop and evaluate production setup documentation and equipment utilization plans aligned with operational requirements.
• Skill in inspecting equipment and conducting Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) to ensure compliance with specifications and performance criteria.
• Strong organizational skills to establish and maintain manuals, policies, procedures, and recurring task frameworks.
• Competence in supporting continuous improvement initiatives related to batch processing equipment design and utilization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering-related field.
• Experience in cosmetics, OTC, or contract manufacturing industries, with familiarity in their production processes and quality expectations.
• Ability to manage project timelines, create design schedules, and track milestones for complex engineering initiatives.
• Experience standardizing equipment and processes while accommodating customized designs and special job orders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to identify and implement improvements in equipment performance and utilization.
• Interest in participating in large CAPEX projects and gaining exposure across all project stages.

Work Environment

This role is based on-site in New Jersey and centers on understanding and optimizing existing manufacturing equipment rather than performing new equipment design. The equipment is already designed, and the focus is on how it operates in a real production environment, including qualification, documentation, and continuous improvement activities. The Mechanical Engineer works closely with on-site production and technical teams within a manufacturing setting that may involve batch processing and filling operations, particularly in industries such as cosmetics, OTC products, or contract manufacturing. The position is part of a significant capital expenditure project of substantial scale, providing exposure to all phases of project execution in a dynamic, hands-on environment.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $50.00 - $52.88 per hour.

Benefits

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)