Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Bpp Mfg; Rancho Cordova, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Butcher Power Products seeks a Director of Manufacturing Engineering who will act as the process authority for switchboard and switchgear manufacturing. This hands‑on leader will design, document, and improve processes, lead PFMEA reviews, and mentor engineers to raise technical capability across the team.

The role partners with Product Engineering, Quality, and Planning to ensure manufacturability, process controls, and continuous improvement while aligning with safety standards and capital

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 8+ years of progressive process engineering experience with hands‑on development of manufacturing processes.
• Hands‑on proficiency in SolidWorks for process documentation, line layouts, and reviews; CAD tooling experience a plus.
• Strong proficiency in developing routings, work instructions, process documentation, and process controls.
• Proven ability to lead formal PFMEA reviews and mentor/train engineers and technicians.
• Experience hiring, developing, and managing a manufacturing engineering team.
• Knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, SPC, and process capability (Cpk).
• Deep knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Strong product familiarity and ability to translate design intent to manufacturability.
• Working knowledge of UL 891/NEC/ANSI standards as they relate to manufacturing processes.
• Experience planning and justifying capital equipment investments and budgeting.
• Hands‑on fabrication and machining experience a plus; automation a plus.
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems, particularly Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365).

Responsibilities

• Hands‑On Process Engineering: design, document, and improve manufacturing processes, routings, work instructions, and line layouts.
• Lead process design reviews, PFMEAs, and control plans, enforcing standards for quality and engineering rigor.
• Mentor and develop manufacturing engineers and technicians in process design and Lean/Six Sigma.
• Lead and manage the manufacturing engineering team, hiring and prioritizing work.
• Own process strategy and standardization across product lines; plan tooling and capital roadmap.
• Partner with Product Engineering to ensure manufacturability and smooth transitions to production.
• Own PFMEA and control plans in partnership with Quality; ensure capability and control.
• Drive Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen to improve throughput, cycle time, yield, and cost.
• Plan capital equipment, tooling, and automation investments with budgeting oversight.
• Lead NPI from a process perspective and collaborate cross‑functionally with production, planning, and materials flow.
• Support safety, compliance, and cross‑functional collaboration across departments.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Problem‑solving

Cross‑functional collaboration

Process improvement

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Quality mindset

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

CAD tooling

Dynamics 365 (D365)

Job description

Job Summary:

The Director of Manufacturing Engineering is a hands-on leadership role and the process authority for how Butcher Power Products’ switchboard and switchgear products are built. The person in this role must be the subject‑matter expert who can also do the work — capable of designing and improving manufacturing processes and line layouts, building routings and process documentation, and personally leading process and PFMEA reviews — so they can teach and develop the manufacturing engineering team and set the standard for process quality. This role owns how products are built rather than what is designed; however, deep familiarity with the product and the production floor is essential. The Director must understand the design intent released by Product Engineering and the realities of the floor in order to engineer processes that are efficient, repeatable, and capable. This role works hand in hand with Product Engineering as the manufacturing voice in the design process, partners with Quality on process controls, and supports Production and Planning rather than owning them.

Key Responsibilities:

• Hands-On Process Engineering: Personally design, document, and improve the manufacturing processes, routings, work instructions, and line layouts that build the product. This is a working role: the successful candidate stays actively engaged in process design and technical problem-solving alongside the team rather than delegating all hands‑on work.
• Process Authority & Technical Review: Lead, critique, and approve the team’s process designs, routings, PFMEAs, and control plans; set and enforce the standard for process quality, capability, and engineering rigor through formal process reviews.
• Mentorship & Teaching: Coach, train, and develop manufacturing engineers and technicians in process design, tooling, DFM/DFA, Lean and Six Sigma, time studies, and structured problem‑solving, raising the technical capability of the whole team.
• Leadership & Management: Lead and manage the manufacturing engineering team, including hiring, development, workload balancing, priorities, and performance.
• Process Strategy & Standardization: Own manufacturing process strategy and standardization across product lines, and define the tooling and capital equipment roadmap.
• Product Engineering Partnership (DFM): Work closely and continuously with Product Engineering as the manufacturing voice in the design process — provide manufacturability and assembly feedback at design reviews before release, jointly resolve producibility issues, and ensure released designs transition cleanly into production.
• Process Controls & Quality Partnership: Own the manufacturing side of PFMEAs and control plans in partnership with Quality Engineering; ensure processes are capable, controlled, and continuously monitored.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen across the function to improve throughput, cycle time, yield, and cost.
• Capital, Tooling & Automation: Plan and justify capital equipment, tooling, and automation investments, and provide financial management of the manufacturing engineering capital and tooling budgets.
• New Product Introduction (NPI): Lead the process side of NPI — develop and validate the processes, tooling, and routings that bring newly released designs into production.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Production, Planning, Quality, Project Management, and Product Engineering on capacity, scheduling, and material flow, supporting these functions rather than owning them.
• Safety & Compliance: Ensure manufacturing processes across the function comply with safety, environmental, and regulatory standards, including UL 891, NEC, and ANSI.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 8+ years of progressive process engineering (or directly related) experience, including significant time spent personally developing and improving manufacturing processes.
• Hands‑on proficiency in SolidWorks for process documentation, line layouts, and reviews; the ability to design tooling and fixtures in CAD is a plus.
• Strong proficiency developing routings, work instructions, process documentation, and process controls.
• Proven ability to lead formal process and PFMEA reviews and to mentor and train engineers and technicians.
• Experience hiring, developing, and managing a manufacturing engineering team.
• Strong working knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, SPC, and process capability (Cpk).
• Deep knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Strong understanding of the products being built and of how design intent translates into manufacturing process — sufficient product familiarity to engineer the right processes.
• Working knowledge of UL 891 and related standards (NEC, ANSI) as they affect manufacturing processes.
• Experience planning and justifying capital equipment and tooling investments, including financial management of budgets.
• Hands‑on fabrication and machining experience is a plus.
• Automation experience is a plus.
• Experience with structured problem‑solving methods such as 8D or A3 is a plus.
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems, particularly Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365).
• Excellent leadership, project management, and problem‑solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands‑on manufacturing process design and improvement (CAD)
• Process authority and engineering quality standards
• Technical mentoring, teaching, and team development
• Close partnership with Product Engineering (DFM)
• Process strategy, standardization, and tooling roadmap
• Design-for-manufacturability partnership
• Process controls, PFMEA, and capability
• Continuous improvement and Lean/Six Sigma
• Capital planning, automation, and financial management
• New product introduction (process side)
• Cross‑functional collaboration and communication