Manufacturing Engineer

Plastic Executive Recruiters; Wilmington (DE); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Plastic Executive Recruiters is seeking a hands-on Manufacturing Engineer to support floor operations, optimize equipment, and drive continuous improvement initiatives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This role emphasizes uptime, process reliability, and collaboration with operations teams.

The ideal candidate brings direct plant experience, strong troubleshooting skills, and knowledge of lean methodologies such as 5S to reduce downtime, improve throughput, and ensure quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Plastics, Manufacturing, or related discipline) preferred, or equivalent hands‑on technical experience.
• Proven hands‑on engineering experience directly within a manufacturing plant setting; pure design or product development backgrounds will not be considered.
• Solid technical background operating within controlled manufacturing environments, such as medical device cleanrooms or high‑precision plastics processing facilities (e.g., injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, or extrusion).
• Strong mechanical aptitude with demonstrated experience troubleshooting production equipment, automation, and auxiliary equipment.
• Practical understanding of root‑cause analysis, scrap reduction, and cycle time optimization.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a desire to spend time on the plant floor working directly with technicians and operators.

Responsibilities

• Support day‑to‑day manufacturing operations, serving as the technical expert to resolve equipment and process issues on the plant floor.
• Evaluate existing production processes and implement continuous improvement project strategies to reduce downtime, increase throughput, and ensure high quality standards.
• Collaborate closely with maintenance, quality, and production staff to troubleshoot equipment failures, establish root causes, and implement preventive measures.
• Assist in establishing standard operating procedures, cycle time targets, and tooling/equipment setups for existing and new product launches.
• Drive floor‑level efficiency using Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and structured problem‑solving methodologies.
• Work with external equipment vendors and internal teams on equipment installations, upgrades, and floor layout optimizations.

Skills

Hands-on engineering

Troubleshooting

Lean Manufacturing

5S

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Injection molding

Thermoforming

Blow molding

Extrusion

Job description

A leading manufacturing facility is seeking a hands‑on Manufacturing Engineer to support floor operations, optimize production equipment, and drive continuous improvement initiatives. This is an excellent opportunity for a floor-focused engineering professional who thrives in a fast‑paced environment and enjoys troubleshooting, process optimization, and working directly alongside operations teams.

We are specifically looking for candidates with strong, direct manufacturing plant experience - this is an operational role focused on floor execution, uptime, and process reliability, not a product design position.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support day‑to‑day manufacturing operations, serving as the technical expert to resolve equipment and process issues on the plant floor.
• Evaluate existing production processes and implement continuous improvement project strategies to reduce downtime, increase throughput, and ensure high quality standards.
• Collaborate closely with maintenance, quality, and production staff to troubleshoot equipment failures, establish root causes, and implement preventive measures.
• Assist in establishing standard operating procedures, cycle time targets, and tooling/equipment setups for existing and new product launches.
• Drive floor‑level efficiency using Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and structured problem‑solving methodologies.
• Work with external equipment vendors and internal teams on equipment installations, upgrades, and floor layout optimizations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Plastics, Manufacturing, or related discipline) preferred, or equivalent hands‑on technical experience.
• Proven hands‑on engineering experience directly within a manufacturing plant setting; pure design or product development backgrounds will not be considered.
• Solid technical background operating within controlled manufacturing environments, such as medical device cleanrooms or high‑precision plastics processing facilities (e.g., injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, or extrusion).
• Strong mechanical aptitude with demonstrated experience troubleshooting production equipment, automation, and auxiliary equipment.
• Practical understanding of root‑cause analysis, scrap reduction, and cycle time optimization.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a desire to spend time on the plant floor working directly with technicians and operators.