Director of Manufacturing Engineering

The Planet Group; Villa Rica (GA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Planet Group is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Engineering to lead technical manufacturing capability, drive enterprise ERP usage, and optimize processes across six branches. You will translate sales inquiries into actionable, profitable production plans and build the business cases for tooling investments.

You will oversee the technical authority for manufacturability, guide project managers, and champion lean practices such as 5S and visual controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or 10 years of related metal fabrication experience or equivalent.
• Experience with ERP or production-scheduling systems is required.
• Lean Manufacturing philosophy and tools: visual controls, 5S, waste reduction, root cause analysis.
• Prior application engineering or customer-facing technical solutions experience preferred.
• Project management experience leading equipment installs, software deployments, or similar capital initiatives.
• CAD familiarity is a plus.
• Experience in metal forming and welding environment is essential.
• Experience in Commercial Construction Building Products is a plus.
• Must have excellent communications skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as final technical authority on manufacturability for in-house fabrication and finish before quotes or declines.
• Act as the application engineering escalation point to find buildable paths to yes.
• Train and equip Project Managers for standard manufacturability decisions.
• Assist with scheduling and guide staff on maintaining accurate production schedules.
• Identify and recommend tooling and capital equipment investments to expand in-house capability.
• Develop business plans for near-term revenue opportunities requiring tooling or equipment.
• Manage engineering projects as needed, including new machine installs and software deployments.
• Configure and maintain ERP functionality under executive direction, with multi-branch routing.
• Directly manage Compliance Management, CAD Services, and Quality Assurance functions.
• Own engineering aspects of regulatory compliance management.
• Promote Lean culture and continuous improvement with Lean tools.
• Monitor product quality, safety hazards, and remakes to drive corrective actions.
• Provide staff training and development; mentor and develop team members.

Skills

ERP systems experience

Lean manufacturing

Project management

Manufacturing process optimization

Application engineering support

CAD familiarity

Metal forming and welding knowledge

Education

B.S. in engineering

Tools

CAD

Job description

Title: Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Starting Pay: Up to 160k depending on experience

Onsite position

Direct Hire

The Director of Manufacturing Engineering exists to turn technical uncertainty into revenue. When Sales brings a hard inquiry, this role's job is to know our true capability better than anyone on the floor, actively find the honest, buildable path to yes rather than defaulting to a cautious no, and build the investment case when winning the work requires new tooling. And when the honest answer really is no, this role says so — the goal is more revenue we can actually deliver on.

A Director of Manufacturing Engineering responsible for being the technical authority for how, where, and when shop orders are manufactured. This role owns enterprise-wide equipment and process capability knowledge, applying sound engineering judgment grounded in OEM specifications and hands‑on manufacturing expertise to replace operator assumption and overly cautious decision‑making.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (B.S.) from a four‑year college or university; or ten years of related metal fabricating experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with ERP or production‑scheduling systems is required.
• Well versed in Lean Manufacturing philosophy and have experience with Lean tools such as visual manufacturing controls, 5S, waste reduction, and root cause analysis.
• Prior application engineering or customer‑facing technical solutioning experience is strongly preferred.
• Project management experience leading equipment installations, software deployments, or similar capital or process initiatives from planning through completion is required.
• Familiarity with CAD is a plus.
• Experience in a metal forming and welding environment is essential
• Experience in Commercial Construction Building Products, especially aluminum window, door, skylight, curtain wall, and storefront would be a big plus.
• Must have excellent communications skills

Job Responsibilities:

• Serve as final technical authority on manufacturability: determine whether and how Company can fabricate and finish a given job in‑house before sales quotes or declines work.
• Serve as the application engineering escalation point: when Sales or a Project Manager brings a ‘can we make this?’ inquiry, actively work the problem — with Production personnel and customers as needed — to find an honest, buildable path to yes rather than defaulting to a cautious no, and equip Sales with what they need to convert a viable inquiry into a sale.
• Train and equip Project Managers across all locations to make first‑line manufacturability and solution decisions independently for standard requests, reserving engineering escalation for non‑standard or complex jobs.
• Assist with scheduling as needed: understand how Company Enterprise generates production schedules from quoted operations and standard time data, and guide General Managers, Project Managers, and administrative staff across all six branches on how to use and maintain accurate schedules.
• Identify and recommend tooling and capital equipment investments that expand in‑house capability, including cost and payback justification.
• When Company is close to winning a job but cannot yet fulfill it without additional tooling or equipment, build a business plan for the CEO specific to that opportunity — investment required, cost, and payback — so capital decisions are made against real, near‑term revenue rather than speculative capability building.
• Serve as engineer‑project manager for significant, approved engineering projects as needed — including new machine installations, software deployments, and other major process enhancements — owning scope, timeline, and budget from planning through completion.
• Execute, configure, and maintain Company Enterprise's manufacturing ERP functionality under the CEO's product direction, including multi‑branch job routing; document system logic and configuration so scheduling and routing knowledge does not depend on any single individual.
• Directly manage the Compliance Management, CAD Services, and Quality Assurance functions.
• Own the engineering aspects of regulatory compliance management.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and high performance using Lean tools — visual manufacturing controls, 5S, waste reduction, and root cause analysis.
• Monitor product consistency, customer complaints, safety hazards, and remakes across locations to identify systemic technical issues and drive corrective action.
• Ensure staff receive timely, appropriate technical training and development. Mentor and develop staff through a supportive, collaborative approach.