Advance Manufacturing Engineer

Pentangle Tech Services | P5 Group; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Pentangle Tech Services | P5 Group is seeking an Advanced Manufacturing Sr. Engineer to own end-to-end automation for HVAC products, including heat exchangers and assembly for chillers.

The role blends technical ownership with business impact, identifying high-value opportunities and leading execution from commissioning to sustained performance gains. The ideal candidate has 10+ years in manufacturing automation, strong ROI/cost modeling experience, and a track record of delivering hard savings

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience delivering manufacturing automation in production environments.
• 8+ years of experience building business cases and delivering verified savings (labor, scrap, uptime, FPY).
• 8+ years of experience in commissioning and sustaining automation systems in a live factory.
• Ability to translate manufacturing problems into measurable improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Automation Delivery Across Products & Processes: water cooled and air cooled automation, assembly and testing.
• Own PLC/HMI/safety logic and drive reliability improvements through diagnostics and fault recovery.
• Build/expand automated test capabilities with data capture and LabVIEW-based execution.
• Lead ROI, hard savings, and business-case ownership with vendor/integrator leadership.
• Define run-at-rate metrics, ensure maintainability, and drive traceability across MES interfaces.

Skills

Automation leadership

Cost modeling

ROI analysis

Commissioning

Data-driven improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering

Tools

Rockwell/Allen Bradley PLC

Siemens PLC

LabVIEW

Job description

The Advanced Manufacturing Sr. Engineer owns end-to-end automation for Water-Cooled and Air-Cooled HVAC products, including heat exchangers and full unit assembly for vertical and data center chillers. This role blends deep technical ownership with business impact - identifying high-value automation opportunities, building investment cases, and leading execution through commissioning to deliver sustained performance gains.

RESPONSIBLITIES

1) Automation Delivery Across Products & Processes (Technical Core)

• Water cooled (shell and tube): tube bundle handling, tube to tube sheet joining (expansion and/or seal welding), shell/nozzle welding, and automated pressure/leak test systems.
• Air cooled (finned tube coils): tube insertion/expansion, header/manifold joining (brazing), automated coil leak/pressure testing, and coil handling/fixturing.

Final Assembly Automation

• Implement flexible automation/assist solutions for heavy assembly, refrigerant charging systems, piping/brazing/welding support, sensor installation, control integration, and end of line (EOL) test automation and reporting.

2) Controls, Test Systems & Manufacturing Digital Integration

• Own or support PLC/HMI/safety logic for manufacturing automation systems. Rockwell / Allen Bradley, Siemens are the typical PLC used.
• Drive reliability improvements through enhanced diagnostics, alarm rationalization, and fault recovery.
• Build/expand automated test capabilities (pressure/leak/functional) with recipe based execution and data capture. LabVIEW is typical test automation.
• Enable or improve traceability and test data capture through MES interfaces or structured data collection.

3) Business Case, ROI & Hard Savings Ownership (What Makes This Role Different)

• Identify and quantify hard savings opportunities tied to automation:
  • Labor reduction (direct touch time, overtime reduction, staffing flexibility)
  • Scrap and rework reduction (weld defects, leaks, brazing defects, coil/piping rework)
  • Downtime reduction / uptime gains (availability improvements and reduced lost units)
  • Yield / FPY improvement (fewer retests, fewer escapes, reduced MRB burden)
  • Warranty/field failure reduction where attributable to process improvements
  • Energy and consumables reductions (where meaningful: gas, nitrogen, helium, tooling wear, etc.)
  • Baseline losses and constraints
  • Proposed solution options (buy/build/integrate)
  • Payback period, NPV/IRR (when applicable), and sensitivity analysis
  • Implementation costs (equipment, integration, downtime, training, spares)
• Prioritize project pipeline with focus on:
  • Fast payback (e.g., ≤12-24 months) for many initiatives
  • Scalable solutions that can replicate across lines/products
• Own benefits realization:
  • Create a savings tracking plan with Finance
  • Validate savings post implementation (30/60/90 days and quarterly)
  • Put controls in place to sustain the savings (standard work, training, audits)

• Lead vendors/integrators end to end: requirements, RFQ, technical evaluation, acceptance criteria, FAT/SAT, commissioning, ramp, and handoff.
• Define run at rate metrics and require demonstrable performance (cycle time, uptime, quality).
• Ensure maintainability: documentation, code management, spare parts, PM plans, and training packages.

5) Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Embed safety and compliance into automation design and commissioning:
  • Risk assessments, guarding, interlocks, LOTO readiness, safety validation
• Partner with New Product Introduction Engineers, Manufacturing Engineering and Quality to maintain:
  • PFMEAs, control plans, reaction plans, capability checks for automated processes
• Drive defect reduction and escape prevention across welding/brazing/leak test operations.
• Drive continuous improvement using data based root cause (8D/5 Why/Fishbone) and Lean tools:
  • Preferred sensor types, safety architectures, HMI conventions, test data formats
• Reduce "tribal knowledge" dependence by building repeatable processes and troubleshooting playbooks.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience delivering manufacturing automation in production environments.
• 8+ years of experience building business cases and delivering verified savings (labor, scrap, uptime, FPY).
• 8+ years of experience in commissioning and sustaining automation systems in a live factory.
• Ability to translate manufacturing problems into measurable improvement initiatives.

Experience in the following areas

• Oversee & Lead Controls and test system troubleshooting (PLC/HMI/safety) - Must understand the process, there will be other PLC technicians who will do the hands-on work on the PLC
• Cost modeling and ROI-based prioritization
• Savings identification and validation with Finance ("hard savings" discipline)
• Vendor/integrator technical leadership
• Lead strong safety culture & compliance mindset
• Must be able to travel extensively as the project advances. This will include two trips to China, travel to vendors, and travel to green field sites in the Southern US

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering (or equivalent experience). (Master’s a plus).
• Experience with heat exchanger manufacturing (shell and tube and/or finned tube coils) and/or commercial HVAC chiller assembly.
• Experience with automated welding, brazing processes, and/or automated leak/pressure testing.
• Familiarity with MES/traceability, test data acquisition systems, and industrial networking.
• Lean/Six Sigma certification or equivalent CI leadership experience.
• Control Panel process and automation is a plus: Standardize and automate panel build processes where feasible: wire processing/labeling, poka yoke terminations, torque verification, functional test, PLC/VFD parameter loading, and traceability.