Manufacturing Process Engineer

Pickles Recruitment Limited; Wythenshawe; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Pickles Recruitment Limited is seeking a Manufacturing / Process Engineer to strengthen production in a plastics-focused operation in the UK. The role emphasizes hands-on problem solving, process standardisation and waste reduction on the shop floor.

You will work with operators and the Operations Manager to implement improvements, develop work instructions, monitor scrap and downtime, and drive productivity gains across manufacturing processes.

Qualifications

• / 5-10 years in manufacturing/process engineering
• Experience in plastics manufacturing (injection moulding / extrusion / thermoforming) would be an advantage
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement principles
• Familiarity with production data capture, SPC, OEE or ERP/MRP systems would be beneficial

Responsibilities

• Develop and introduce production packs and work instructions for manufacturing jobs
• Document existing processes and establish consistent ways of working
• Improve machine set-up and process consistency
• Establish standard cycle times, output expectations and quality checks
• Monitor production performance, scrap and downtime
• Investigate production problems and identify root causes
• Work with operators to reduce recurring quality issues and waste
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity and machine utilisation
• Improve shop-floor organisation and accountability
• Support first-off and in-process quality checks
• Work closely with production staff to ensure jobs are manufactured correctly and consistently
• Collaborate with the Operations Manager to implement and monitor process improvements

Skills

Hands-on

Practical

Analytical

Shop-floor communication

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

SPC / OEE

Job description

Manufacturing / Process Engineer

We're looking for someone who is practical, hands-on and has experience within a manufacturing environment. The main focus of the role will be to help us improve our production processes, introduce more structure and consistency, and reduce the amount of scrap and inefficiency within the operation.

We're not looking for a senior engineer with 20+ years' experience. Ideally, we're looking for someone with around 5-10 years' relevant manufacturing/process engineering experience, who is keen to develop their career and take ownership of process improvement.

Main responsibilities

• Develop and introduce production packs and work instructions for our manufacturing jobs.
• Document existing processes and establish consistent ways of working.
• Improve machine set-up and process consistency.
• Establish standard cycle times, output expectations and quality checks.
• Monitor production performance, scrap and downtime.
• Investigate production problems and identify root causes.
• Work with operators to reduce recurring quality issues and waste.
• Introduce better methods of recording and reporting scrap.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity and machine utilisation.
• Improve shop-floor organisation and accountability.
• Support first-off and in-process quality checks.
• Work closely with production staff to ensure jobs are manufactured correctly and consistently.
• Work alongside the Operations Manager to implement and monitor process improvements.

We're looking for someone who is practical, organised, analytical and confident dealing with people on the shop floor. They need to be comfortable getting involved rather than being purely office-based.

They don't need to have all the answers from day one. We're looking for someone with the right manufacturing experience, attitude and potential who can grow into the role and make a real difference to the business.

Experience

Experience within plastics manufacturing, injection moulding, extrusion, thermoforming or a similar process-driven manufacturing environment would be a strong advantage.

Experience with Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, production data, SPC, OEE or ERP/MRP systems would also be beneficial.

Salary

£40,000-£45,000 depending on experience