Production Engineer

LF Studios; Hazelwood (OH); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

LifeFormations, a leader in animatronics design and fabrication, seeks a Production Engineer to bridge design and manufacturing on the Cincinnati floor. You will troubleshoot and optimize assembly and show-action equipment, ensuring safety and reliability while feeding insights back into design.

With 2+ years in manufacturing engineering, you’ll work closely with assembly, QC, and purchasing to maintain documentation and improve processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or a related technical field.
• 2+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in a production or fabrication environment.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks, including updating models and drawings to reflect design changes.
• Hands-on troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with comfort working directly on the production floor.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, tolerances, and assembly documentation.
• Experience supporting quality control, including inspections, nonconforming material handling, and root-cause analysis.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work across design, purchasing, assembly, and QC teams.

Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot assembly and performance problems on the production floor, act on findings, and implement solutions back into the design using SolidWorks.
• Provide hands-on support to the assembly team and audit their work to ensure all technical requirements are met.
• Participate in design reviews to develop strategies that improve production efficiency.
• Work with purchasing partners to identify part readiness priorities.
• Collect and present lessons learned to the design team.
• Coordinate and lead efforts to create and maintain all mechanical and armature documentation throughout the production lifecycle.
• Support the QC team with part and assembly inspections, troubleshooting, problem solving, receiving, and organization of the manufacturing quarantine area.
• Generally support the efforts of the overall company in various ways as needed to ensure success.

Skills

SolidWorks

Troubleshooting

Communication

Reading drawings

Quality control

Education

Bachelor’s in mechanical or manufacturing engineering

Tools

Engineering drawings

Job description

About the Job:

LifeFormations specializes in the design and fabrication of animated figures (animatronics), sculpted elements, exhibits, and interactive experiences. Our work can be found in leading theme parks, museums, science centers, and branded spaces all over the world. We are seeking a full-time Production Engineer with manufacturing engineering experience and an uncompromising commitment to excellent work to join our growing team in Cincinnati, Ohio.

As the link between our design team and our production floor, you will make sure our animated figures, mechanical effects, and show-action equipment are built right, built efficiently, and built to spec. You will solve problems as they happen on the floor, feed what you learn back into the design, and help our assembly and QC teams deliver work that meets customer expectations, with safety and reliability at the forefront of everything we produce.

In this role, you will:

• Troubleshoot assembly and performance problems on the production floor, act on findings, and implement solutions back into the design using SolidWorks.
• Provide hands-on support to the assembly team and audit their work to ensure all technical requirements are met.
• Participate in design reviews to develop strategies that improve production efficiency.
• Work with purchasing partners to identify part readiness priorities.
• Collect and present lessons learned to the design team.
• Coordinate and lead efforts to create and maintain all mechanical and armature documentation throughout the production lifecycle.
• Support the QC team with part and assembly inspections, troubleshooting, problem solving, receiving, and organization of the manufacturing quarantine area.
• Generally support the efforts of the overall company in various ways as needed to ensure success.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or a related technical field.
• 2+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in a production or fabrication environment.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks, including updating models and drawings to reflect design changes.
• Hands-on troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with comfort working directly on the production floor.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, tolerances, and assembly documentation.
• Experience supporting quality control, including inspections, nonconforming material handling, and root-cause analysis.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work across design, purchasing, assembly, and QC teams.

Preferred:

• Experience in themed entertainment, animatronics, or custom machine building.
• Familiarity with DFM (Design for Manufacturing), FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), and lean manufacturing practices.
• Experience with mechanical assemblies that integrate electrical and control systems.