Engineering Team Lead

Confidential; Camden (AR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential, located in Camden, Arkansas, seeks an early-career Engineering Lead to take full leadership of an engineering group within a manufacturing operation. You will own the area of responsibility, including budgeting, project direction, and team development in a fast-paced, safety-critical environment.

The role requires 3–5 years in manufacturing with direct leadership experience; proficiency in Excel, Power BI, and Power Automate is valued.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in a manufacturing plant environment, defense/aerospace experience preferred.
• Prior experience managing direct reports or leading a team; not an individual contributor.
• Demonstrated safety-first mindset; experience with hazardous materials or energetic/pyrotechnic systems is a plus.
• Lean Six Sigma background preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary technical point of contact for your Integrated Product Team, coordinating engineering efforts across design, process and automation.
• Lead and mentor team members, including Industrial Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer and other Technical Staff.
• Maintain rigorous documentation and record-keeping standards for projects, expectations and performance tracking.
• Own value stream mapping and lead Kaizen events to identify and eliminate defects, waste and inefficiencies.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective action for process, product and lot acceptance failures; work with Quality for rapid resolutions.
• Analyze production metrics and trends (first-pass yield, scrap, throughput, cost per unit, OEE) to identify KPIs, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Present regular status reporting to leadership.
• Identify, define and vet productivity improvement and cost-savings projects; responsibility spans beyond implemented projects.
• Manage CapEx budget and cost-savings targets for your area and drive productivity gains.
• Review and audit manufacturing procedures for feasibility and program alignment.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality, Safety, Production and Maintenance as part of an integrated leadership team.

Skills

Leadership experience

Team mentoring

Data analysis

Strong communication

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Power Automate

Job description

Are you looking to elevate your career by taking full leadership of a team? This stable organization may be the place to bring your early career experience and give you a place to grow today and continue to build a career into the future, including:

• Build and shape a new engineering leadership structure from the ground up (make hiring decisions)
• Clear ownership over budget, projects and team development
• Opportunity to learn and grow by having a visible role with local and company leadership
• Operate in a small, collaborative team environment (Facility headcount is 200+)
• Stable, mission-critical work supporting national defense programs (current clearance not required)
• Permanent position with competitive salary and benefits

Our client is looking for an early-career Engineering lead (must have experience leading others) to join a growing manufacturing operation at their Camden Arkansas location. They are a leading manufacturer of defense systems.

TEAM LEAD ROLE

In this role, you will serve as the technical authority for an engineering group within an Integrated Product Team, leading 2-3 direct reports. Ready to own your area of responsibility and run it like your own business, including balancing team development, cost improvement and operational excellence in a fast-paced, safety-critical environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 3 – 5 years of experience in a manufacturing plant environment; defense/aerospace manufacturing experience preferred.
• Prior experience managing direct reports or leading a team. This is not an individual contributor role.
• Demonstrated safety-first mindset. Experience with hazardous materials or energetic/pyrotechnic systems is a plus.
• Strong proficiency in Excel is a must, working knowledge of Power BI is a strong plus and Power Automate is a bonus.
• Must be a US Citizen and able to pass a Federal background check and obtain required security clearances (ITAR/CUI).
• Lean Six Sigma background preferred

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as primary technical point of contact for your Integrated product team, coordinating engineering efforts across design, process and automation.
• Lead and mentor team members, including Industrial Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer and other Technical Staff.
• Maintain rigorous documentation and record-keeping standards for projects, expectations and performance tracking.
• Own value stream mapping and lead Kaizen events to identify and eliminate sources of defects, waste and inefficiencies.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective action for process, product and lot acceptance failures; working closely with Quality to ensure rapid, sustainable resolutions.
• Analyze production metrics and trends (first-pass yield, scrap, throughput, cost per unit, OEE) to identify KPIs, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Present regular status reporting to leadership.
• Identify, define and vet your own productivity improvement and cost-savings projects. Responsibility spans beyond implementing projects that come in.
• Manage CapEx budget and cost-savings target for your area and drive meaningful productivity gains relative to team cost.
• Review and audit manufacturing procedures for technical feasibility and program alignment.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality, Safety, Production and Maintenance peers as part of an integrated leadership team.