Principal Manufacturing Engineer

About the role

The Operations Engineering organization at Cognex is responsible for delivering world-class cost, quality, and delivery performance to customers globally. We partner closely with product design teams, supply chain, sourcing, and product marketing to develop and support innovative machine vision products throughout their lifecycle from component level to the vision system that is delivered to the customer. These teams and our suppliers are located all over the world, requiring adaptive, collaborative, and succinct communication to execute.

Essential Functions

• Lead manufacturing-focused initiatives that improve cost, quality, delivery, and manufacturability across mass-production products
• Apply strong understanding of supplier capabilities and limitations to influence design decisions, sourcing strategies, and cost-reduction opportunities
• Support and improve assembly, test, and inspection processes, including fixture design and process optimization
• Influence materials selection and product designs to achieve an optimal balance of performance, cost, risk, and manufacturability
• Lead and execute structured prototyping and manufacturing experiments to evaluate design, process, and material changes, and successfully transfer validated solutions into high-volume mass production environments
• Serve as a technical leader for small functional teams, guiding others through complex manufacturing and quality challenges
• Investigate and resolve complex quality issues using structured problem-solving methodologies, drive corrective and preventive actions across suppliers and internal teams
• Analyze production and quality data, identify systemic issues, and lead initiatives that deliver sustainable efficiency and yield improvements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent discipline
• 10+ years of experience supporting mechanical or electro-mechanical products in manufacturing engineering or a similar role

Pay

A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this role is $98,000 – 182,000 USD. Please note that actual salaries may vary within the range, or be above or below the range, based on factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, professional achievement, business need, and location.

Benefits

This position provides a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance; a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching; employer-paid disability, family leave, and life insurance; paid time off (including holidays); optional voluntary benefits; and recognition and wellness programs.