Manufacturing Efficiency Manager

Munters Corporation (MUS); Daleville (VA); On-site; USD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

Munters Corporation seeks a Manufacturing Efficiency Manager to lead the engineering team, optimize production systems, and ensure safe, cost-efficient output that meets demand. The role interfaces with Operations, R&D, Design, Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Safety, Test, and Finance to align people, materials, tooling, and processes before takt begins.

Ideal candidates have 8+ years in manufacturing/engineering, strong Lean Six Sigma Black Belt expertise, and experience in automation and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Operations, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years in manufacturing, engineering, operations, or continuous improvement.
• 3+ years leading technical teams.
• Lean, line design, productivity, capacity, financial analysis, and cross functional leadership capability.

Responsibilities

• Protect takt by setting demand-based requirements, validating cycle time and staffing for every phase, maintaining capacity models, identifying constraints early, and establishing leading indicators, escalation, and recovery plans.
• Lead Manufacturing Engineers as assigned manufacturing system owners for product, line, process, labor, layout, standard work, readiness, waste, capacity, and improvement projects.
• Implement and govern the approved product playbook. Strict adherence is mandatory; Production may not unilaterally change the defined resource allocation, process sequence, standard work, takt logic, quality controls, testing method, or approved build method.
• Enforce a production readiness gate covering engineering release, BOM and materials, wire data and harnesses, tested panels, piping jigs, subassemblies, tools, software, test equipment, staffing, standard work, layout, and takt validation. Every red condition requires an owner, countermeasure, and due date.
• Drive parallel manufacturing with a target of completing 70 to 80 percent of practical work offline through subassemblies, kits, harnesses, panels, piping modules, and tested assemblies before final build.
• Design efficient manufacturing systems including process flow, layout, work balance, takt, cycle time, manhours, staffing, tooling, material presentation, unit start and finish dates, bottleneck analysis, capacity, and risk controls.
• Participate early in New Product Introduction and apply design for manufacturing, assembly, testing, automation, and serviceability before production release.
• Lead elimination of the Seven Wastes using one piece flow, standard work, line balancing, SMED, kanban, JIT, 5S, visual management, DMAIC, root cause analysis, error proofing, and automation.
• Develop capital and automation business cases using investment cost, engineering cost, labor savings, capacity and revenue exposure, quality improvement, risk reduction, ROI, and payback.
• Convert daily production abnormalities into permanent countermeasures by separating execution issues from process design issues and assigning action to the correct functional owner.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Leadership

Manufacturing systems design

Cross-functional leadership

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Automation equipment

Job description

Compensation Range: $ 80,000 Manufacturing Efficiency Manager One Page Job Description Mission Primary ownership Team led Make production success predictable. Manufacturing efficiency and protection of takt. Manufacturing Engineers supporting production lines, Electrical, Mechanical and Piping, Subassembly, Material Flow and Warehouse, Test, NPI, readiness, and automation. Position Summary Leads the Manufacturing Engineering team in designing, validating, and improving production systems that safely meet customer demand at the lowest practical labor, cost, complexity, footprint, and risk. Connects Operations, R&D and Design Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Safety, Test, Maintenance, and Finance so people, material, information, tooling, subassemblies, and test systems are ready before the takt clock starts.

Core Responsibilities

• Protect takt by setting demand based requirements, validating cycle time and staffing for every phase, maintaining capacity models, identifying constraints early, and establishing leading indicators, escalation, and recovery plans.
• Lead Manufacturing Engineers as assigned manufacturing system owners for product, line, process, labor, layout, standard work, readiness, waste, capacity, and improvement projects.
• Implement and govern the approved product playbook. Strict adherence is mandatory; Production may not unilaterally change the defined resource allocation, process sequence, standard work, takt logic, quality controls, testing method, or approved build method. Any proposed deviation requires documented review, validation, and approval before implementation.
• Enforce a production readiness gate covering engineering release, BOM and materials, wire data and harnesses, tested panels, piping jigs, subassemblies, tools, software, test equipment, staffing, standard work, layout, and takt validation. Every red condition requires an owner, countermeasure, and due date.
• Drive parallel manufacturing with a target of completing 70 to 80 percent of practical work offline through subassemblies, kits, harnesses, panels, piping modules, and tested assemblies before final build.
• Design efficient manufacturing systems including process flow, layout, work balance, takt, cycle time, manhours, staffing, tooling, material presentation, unit start and finish dates, bottleneck analysis, capacity, and risk controls.
• Participate early in New Product Introduction and apply design for manufacturing, assembly, testing, automation, and serviceability before production release.
• Lead elimination of the Seven Wastes using one piece flow, standard work, line balancing, SMED, kanban, JIT, 5S, visual management, DMAIC, root cause analysis, error proofing, and automation.
• Develop capital and automation business cases using investment cost, engineering cost, labor savings, capacity and revenue exposure, quality improvement, risk reduction, ROI, and payback.
• Convert daily production abnormalities into permanent countermeasures by separating execution issues from process design issues and assigning action to the correct functional owner.

Responsibility Boundaries

Manufacturing Efficiency Production Quality and Functions Designs, validates, releases, governs, improves, trains, measures, audits, and protects the manufacturing system and approved product playbook. Owns 5S and waste elimination standards, scoring, visibility, and coaching. Executes and sustains the approved playbook. Supervisors and line teams own daily personnel and output but may not independently alter resource allocation or process steps. Quality independently validates requirements. Design, Supply Chain, Planning, Test, Safety, Maintenance, and other functions retain their technical accountabilities.

Key Performance Indicators

• Takt and schedule attainment
• Units per day
• Labor hours and cost per unit
• Capacity and revenue capacity
• First pass yield
• Rework and downtime
• Readiness gate performance
• 5S and standard work compliance
• Lead time, WIP, and floor space
• Cost savings, cost avoidance, ROI, and payback

Authority

May challenge manufacturing methods and product designs, establish and govern the approved product playbook, require takt and readiness validation, reject unauthorized deviations, elevate unresolved risks, initiate cross functional corrective action, recommend capital and automation, and recommend holding a release when critical manufacturing requirements are not validated. Immediate deviation is permitted only when required for safety, legal or regulatory compliance, or product quality and must then enter formal review.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Operations, or equivalent experience; 8+ years in manufacturing, engineering, operations, or continuous improvement; 3+ years leading technical teams; demonstrated Lean, line design, productivity, capacity, financial analysis, and cross functional leadership capability. Preferred: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, engineered product or HVAC and refrigeration experience, automation, capital projects, NPI, electrical manufacturing, and global manufacturing experience.

NORTH STAR Engineer manufacturing systems that let Operations safely build the right product at the required takt, every day. Join Munters and become part of a dynamic team shaping the future of climate solutions. Embrace the opportunity for personal and professional growth in an inclusive, forward-thinking environment. At Munters, your journey is our journey — let's innovate for a brighter future together. A diverse and inclusive organization spurs innovation, lifts performance and creates greater business value. That’s why DEI is the foundation of our long‑term strategy. We are commited to building a workplace for everyone and work to counter systemic bias, prevent harassment and discrimination and ensure employee health, well‑being, work‑life balance, community involvement and more. Research & Development Design Engineering & Science Production Purchasing & Sourcing Quality Supply Chain & Logistics Product Management Marketing Sales Service & Support Sustainability Communications Finance Human Resource IT Legal Project & Program Management Business Excellence