Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer – 2nd Shift

Sears Seating; Davenport (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Sears Seating in Davenport, IA is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer for 2nd shift to support off-shift operations across three facilities. You will lead quality efforts and manufacturing performance, focusing on containment, downtime reduction, and timely issue resolution.

The role reports to the Quality Manager with dotted-line to Manufacturing Engineering and includes supervising 2nd shift Quality Inspectors.

Qualifications

• Associate or Bachelor's degree in a technical field preferred.
• Manufacturing, maintenance, quality or technical support experience encouraged.
• Equivalent education or training considered.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day direction to 2nd shift Quality Inspectors.
• Coordinate and prioritize inspections: Final, Receiving, NCM and Rework.
• Initiate containment activities and escalate quality concerns as needed.
• Support investigations into customer, supplier and internal quality issues.
• Collaborate with Maintenance, Production and Engineering to reduce downtime.

Skills

Quality leadership

Manufacturing support

Downtime reduction

Containment actions

Root cause analysis

Education

Associate or Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

MES

PLC

HMI

Job description

Position Summary

Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer – 2nd Shift serves as the primary technical support resource for off-shift operations across three manufacturing facilities located more than one mile apart. This position provides leadership and direction related to manufacturing performance, downtime reduction, product quality, containment activities, and production support while ensuring operational issues are identified, communicated, and resolved in a timely manner.

Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer – 2nd Shift serves as the primary technical support resource for off-shift operations across three manufacturing facilities located more than one mile apart. This position provides leadership and direction related to manufacturing performance, downtime reduction, product quality, containment activities, and production support while ensuring operational issues are identified, communicated, and resolved in a timely manner.

Reporting Structure

• Reports directly to Quality Manager
• Dotted-line reporting to Manufacturing Engineering
• Dotted-line supervision of 2nd Shift Quality Inspectors

Essential Responsibilities

Quality Leadership

• Provide day-to-day direction to 2nd Shift Quality Inspectors.
• Coordinate and prioritize:
  • Final Inspection
  • Receiving Inspection
  • NCM Processing
  • Rework Processing
• Initiate and execute containment activities as required.
• Ensure quality concerns are properly communicated and escalated.
• Support customer, supplier, and internal quality issue investigations.
• Support corrective action teams through problem definition, containment, and root cause activities.

Manufacturing & Production Support

• Provide technical support to production personnel during 2nd shift operations.
• Troubleshoot manufacturing issues affecting safety, quality, delivery, productivity, or efficiency.
• Support rapid resolution of manufacturing downtime events.
• Work with Maintenance, Production, and Engineering to reduce recurring downtime and improve equipment reliability.
• Provide direction when manufacturing methods, work instructions, specifications, or process requirements are unclear.
• Support operator training and process implementation activities as requested by Production, Manufacturing Engineering, or Quality.
• Troubleshoot and support Manufacturing Execution System (MES), PLC, Human Machine Interface (HMI), and related automation system issues affecting production, quality, traceability, and equipment performance.

Shift Coordination & Communication

• Serve as the primary liaison between 1st and 2nd shift Manufacturing Engineering and Quality teams.
• Communicate ongoing quality, manufacturing, downtime, containment, and process issues across shifts.
• Ensure open quality concerns, manufacturing issues, engineering trials, corrective actions, and improvement activities are properly handed off between shifts.
• Provide feedback to 1st shift Manufacturing Engineering and Quality personnel regarding recurring production issues, process concerns, and improvement opportunities identified during 2nd shift operations.
• Coordinate follow-up activities to ensure issues identified on either shift are effectively communicated, addressed, and closed.

Operational Excellence

• Attend daily startup, stand-up, and production review meetings.
• Provide quality and manufacturing communications to production teams.
• Conduct routine Gemba walks to identify:
  • Quality risks
  • Downtime risks
  • Process inefficiencies
  • Standard work deviations
  • Safety concerns
• Promote a culture of safety, quality, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement through active engagement with UAW-represented employees.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, and process performance.

Continuous Improvement

• Support improvement initiatives focused on:
  • OEE
  • Productivity
  • Efficiency
  • Downtime reduction
  • Process stability
• Assist Manufacturing Engineering and Operations with implementation of process improvements.

Documentation & Compliance

• Ensure required quality and manufacturing records are completed.
• Support ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management system activities.
• Support audit activities and follow-up actions as required.

Decision-Making Authority

• Initiate containment activities.
• Direct inspection priorities for 2nd shift.
• Escalate significant quality, manufacturing, and safety concerns.
• Recommend production stoppage when product quality or safety is at risk.

Key Performance Indicators

• On-Time Delivery
• Order Position
• Labor Efficiency
• Productivity
• Internal First Pass Yield (FPY)
• Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)

Education & Experience

• Associate or Bachelor's degree in a technical field preferred.
• Recent graduates, co-op students, and candidates with manufacturing, maintenance, quality, or technical support experience are encouraged to apply.
• Equivalent combinations of education, training, and experience will be considered.