Manufacturing / NPI Engineer

Blue Signal Search; Des Plaines (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Signal Search is seeking a hands-on Manufacturing / NPI Engineer to drive the transition of new products from engineering development into reliable, repeatable production.

The role focuses on manufacturing readiness, process improvement, and scalable production methods across design, operations, quality, and supply chain teams. You will work directly with prototypes and production teams to ensure smooth launches and ongoing manufacturing excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or closely related technical discipline.
• Experience leading New Product Introduction (NPI) or product industrialization.
• Proven ability to move designs into repeatable production with quality improvements.

Responsibilities

• Own the path from engineering release to stable production handoff.
• Plan and support prototype and pilot builds; capture issues and implement fixes.
• Assess drawings, tolerances, and assembly concepts with a manufacturing lens; recommend changes.
• Develop production methods, process flows, routings, and work instructions for controlled launches.
• Create or improve fixtures, tooling, and equipment for safer, more efficient production.
• Collaborate with design, operations, quality, supply chain, and production teams to remove launch barriers.
• Troubleshoot launch and post-launch issues using structured root-cause methods.
• Drive continuous improvement to reduce scrap, rework, cycle time, and variation.
• Support process validation, first article activities, and readiness reviews.
• Manage manufacturing impacts of engineering changes and ensure clean implementations.
• Evaluate opportunities for automation and capital equipment to improve throughput and quality.

Skills

New product introduction

Manufacturing process optimization

DFM and DFA

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Prototype to production handoff

Problem solving on production floor

Industrial/electromechanical products

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

CAD tools

CNC machinery

Job description

Our client is seeking a hands-on Manufacturing / NPI Engineer to take new products through one of the most important stages of their lifecycle, the transition from engineering development into dependable, repeatable production. This is an opportunity to have a visible impact on new product launches, manufacturing readiness, and the processes that ultimately determine how successfully innovative products reach the factory floor. The right engineer will enjoy solving practical manufacturing challenges, working directly with prototypes and production teams, and bringing structure to the complex space between a finished design and a stable manufacturing process.

This Role Offers

• High ownership of new product introduction activities and the opportunity to influence how new designs transition into production.
• A hands-on engineering environment where technical decisions translate directly into improvements on the manufacturing floor.
• Broad exposure across product development, manufacturing, quality, operations, and supply chain functions.
• The opportunity to solve challenging manufacturability and process problems involving complex industrial and electromechanical products.
• Meaningful involvement in continuous improvement, production scalability, tooling, validation, and manufacturing technology initiatives.

Focus

• Own the path from engineering release to a stable production handoff, turning early designs into repeatable shop floor processes.
• Plan and support prototype and pilot builds, capture build issues, and drive practical fixes before volume production.
• Assess drawings, specifications, tolerances, and assembly concepts with a manufacturing lens, then recommend changes that improve buildability.
• Develop production methods, process flows, routings, work instructions, and other manufacturing documentation needed for controlled launches.
• Create or improve fixtures, tooling, assembly aids, and process equipment that make production safer, more consistent, and more efficient.
• Partner across design engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, and production to remove launch barriers and keep programs moving.
• Troubleshoot launch and post-launch problems on the manufacturing floor, using structured root cause methods to address recurring defects and process instability.
• Drive continuous improvement efforts that reduce scrap, rework, cycle time, and unnecessary process variation.
• Support process validation, first article activities, production readiness reviews, and other evidence required to demonstrate a capable manufacturing process.
• Manage manufacturing impacts of engineering changes and help ensure revised designs, documentation, materials, and processes are implemented cleanly.
• Evaluate opportunities for automation and capital equipment where they can improve throughput, repeatability, quality, or scalability.

Skill Set

• Bring several years of manufacturing engineering experience, including direct ownership of new product introduction or product industrialization work.
• Have personally supported products through the difficult transition from prototype and development work into sustained production.
• Offer hands-on process improvement experience in an industrial setting, with evidence of improving quality, yield, flow, cost, or lead time.
• Be comfortable working independently while coordinating decisions and problem solving across multiple technical and operational functions.
• Bring experience from connectors, interconnect products, cable assemblies, wire harnesses, electromechanical products, precision machining, or a closely related manufacturing environment.
• Understand practical DFM and DFA concepts and how design choices affect tooling, assembly, inspection, process capability, and production cost.
• Be familiar with manufacturing quality tools such as PFMEA, control plans, corrective action, and structured root cause analysis.
• Experience with ERP or MRP systems, engineering change processes, CAD tools, or CNC and precision manufacturing is valuable.
• A bachelor's degree in an engineering or closely related technical discipline is preferred.