Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer – 2nd Shift

Sear; Davenport (IA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Sear is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer / Quality Engineer for the 2nd shift at Davenport facilities. The role provides leadership for quality and manufacturing performance, guiding containment, downtime reduction, and production support across three sites.

The position emphasizes coordinating inspections, supporting ISO activities, and resolving process issues with Maintenance, Production, and Engineering teams to improve OEE and FPY.

Qualifications

• Associate or Bachelor's degree in a technical field preferred.
• Recent graduates, co-ops encouraged to apply.
• Equivalent combinations of education, training and experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day direction to 2nd shift Quality Inspectors.
• Coordinate and prioritize final, receiving, NCM, and rework inspections.
• Troubleshoot MES, PLC, and HMI issues affecting production and quality.
• Support downtime reduction and equipment reliability improvements.
• Communicate quality, manufacturing, and process issues across shifts.
• Assist with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 activities and audits.

Skills

Quality leadership

Manufacturing support

Downtime reduction

MES/PLC/HMI troubleshooting

Communication across shifts

Education

Associate or Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

MES

PLC

HMI

Job description

Location: Davenport, IA

Job Id:320

# of Openings:1

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.

Reporting Structure

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

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.
• 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
• 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.