Manufacturing Engineering Leader, NPI & Lean Excellence

ISU Research Park; Ames (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Ag Leader is seeking a Manufacturing Engineering Manager to lead the people, processes, equipment, and continuous improvement necessary to safely and efficiently manufacture high-quality Ag Leader products. The role demands a strong leader who can build a capable team, drive root-cause problem solving, and ensure readiness for new product launches.

You will represent Manufacturing in product development, lead 3P events, PFMEA, DFMA, and develop a scalable manufacturing strategy with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• Five+ years of engineering leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience with new product introduction, Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and structured problem solving.
• Experience with 3P or comparable production preparation methods, PFMEA, and DFMA.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling, fixtures, automation, and process development.
• Experience with ERP/MRP and quality management systems, preferably EPICOR.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop Manufacturing Engineering employees through clear goals, priorities, feedback, accountability, and development plans.
• Develop problem solvers who use direct observation and data to address root causes, implement solutions, and verify results.
• Manage team capacity across production support, new product introduction, continuous improvement, equipment, automation, and longer-term initiatives.
• Serve as the primary Manufacturing liaison for new product development, representing Manufacturing requirements, capabilities, and risks.
• Lead 3P events to develop safe, efficient, repeatable, and scalable manufacturing processes.
• Coordinate PFMEA activities to identify manufacturing risks and establish prevention, detection, and process controls.
• Champion DFMA to simplify assembly, reduce complexity and waste, and improve quality and cost.
• Lead the manufacturing strategy including process flow, layout, tooling, fixtures, equipment, automation, documentation, and training.
• Coordinate prototypes, pilot and validation builds, production launch, and ramp-up.
• Drive build issues to root cause and ensure a disciplined transition to production with capable processes, employees, and ready equipment.
• Lead improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, Capacity, and Customer Response through Kaizen events.
• Use Lean principles and structured problem solving to reduce losses, variation, constraints, and waste.
• Identify, justify, and implement equipment, automation, tooling, fixtures, and capital projects that strengthen manufacturing performance.
• Lead resolution of recurring problems, distinguishing containment from permanent corrective action.
• Partner with Quality to improve process capability and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Maintain clear processes, standard work, work instructions, and engineering ownership of equipment, tooling, fixtures, calibration, and documentation.
• Support ERP/MRP and other manufacturing systems as they relate to manufacturing processes.

Skills

People leadership

Manufacturing engineering

Lean manufacturing

PFMEA

DFMA

3P events

ERP/MRP

EPICOR

ISO 9001

Kaizen

Education

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering

Tools

EPICOR ERP

Job description

Ag Leader is seeking a Manufacturing Engineering Manager to lead the people, processes, equipment, and continuous improvement necessary to safely and efficiently manufacture high-quality Ag Leader products. The role demands a strong leader who can build a capable team, drive root-cause problem solving, and ensure readiness for new product launches.

You will represent Manufacturing in product development, lead 3P events, PFMEA, DFMA, and develop a scalable manufacturing strategy with