Production Engineering Manager

The Judge Group; Shelbyville (TN); On-site; USD 126,000 - 154,000; Full time

Job summary

The Judge Group seeks an experienced Production Engineering Manager to lead Production Engineering, Maintenance, Tool & Die, and Facilities at a high-volume automotive plant in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The role drives equipment reliability, tooling management, automation initiatives, CAPEX, and new product launches, with a strong emphasis on safety, quality, productivity, and cost objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Plastics Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of manufacturing or production engineering experience in automotive manufacturing.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience.
• Experience leading Production Engineering and Maintenance organizations.
• Experience managing capital projects and CAPEX budgets.
• Experience with high-volume automated manufacturing.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, communication, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop Production Engineering personnel and technical teams.
• Provide strategic leadership for Production Engineering, Maintenance, Tool & Die, Facilities, and skilled trades departments.
• Establish departmental goals, KPIs, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Program Management, and Engineering teams to achieve business objectives.
• Lead manufacturing engineering activities supporting injection molding, automated assembly, robotics, vision systems, leak testing, and functional testing.
• Improve cycle times, labor efficiency, throughput, equipment utilization, scrap reduction, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Support new product launches, engineering changes, process validation, and production readiness activities.
• Manage equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, process validation, and production ramp-up.
• Oversee preventive and predictive maintenance programs and TPM initiatives.
• Improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime through maintenance planning and execution.
• Lead troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective action activities.
• Manage tooling maintenance, repair programs, refurbishment activities, and life-cycle optimization.
• Oversee plant facilities including electrical systems, HVAC, utilities, water systems, loading docks, and building infrastructure.
• Develop and manage engineering, maintenance, tooling, and capital budgets.
• Prepare CAPEX requests, project justifications, equipment replacement strategies, and long-term facility plans.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, TPM, and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
• Monitor and improve KPIs including OEE, FPY, downtime, MTBF, MTTR, PM completion rates, and maintenance costs.
• Support compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 14001, customer-specific requirements, and internal quality standards.
• Support APQP activities including PFMEA, Process Flow Diagrams, Control Plans, Capacity Studies, Run-at-Rate events, and production validation activities.

Skills

Analytical

Problem solving

Project management

Communication

Organization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or a related engineering discipline

Job description

Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Work Arrangement: On-site

Salary: $140,000 per year

No H1B, OPT/CPT/F1 visas please!

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Production Engineering Manager to lead Production Engineering, Maintenance, Tool & Die, and Facilities operations for a high-volume automotive manufacturing facility in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

This leadership role is responsible for driving manufacturing performance, equipment reliability, maintenance excellence, tooling management, facility operations, automation initiatives, capital projects, and new product launches. The Production Engineering Manager will ensure manufacturing processes, equipment, and systems meet safety, quality, productivity, delivery, and cost objectives.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in automotive Tier 1 manufacturing, including leadership experience within high-volume automated production environments. Experience with HVAC systems, thermal management products, plastics manufacturing, injection molding, or complex automotive assembly operations is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Operations

• Lead, mentor, and develop Production Engineering personnel and technical teams.
• Provide strategic leadership for Production Engineering, Maintenance, Tool & Die, Facilities, and skilled trades departments.
• Establish departmental goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Program Management, and Engineering teams to achieve business objectives.

Manufacturing Engineering

• Lead manufacturing engineering activities supporting injection molding, automated assembly, robotics, vision systems, leak testing, and functional testing.
• Improve cycle times, labor efficiency, throughput, equipment utilization, scrap reduction, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Support new product launches, engineering changes, process validation, and production readiness activities.
• Manage equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, process validation, and production ramp-up.

Maintenance & Reliability

• Oversee preventive and predictive maintenance programs and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives.
• Improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime through effective maintenance planning and execution.
• Lead troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective action activities for equipment and process issues.
• Manage tooling maintenance, repair programs, refurbishment activities, and life-cycle optimization.

Facilities & Capital Projects

• Oversee plant facilities including electrical systems, HVAC, compressed air, utilities, water systems, loading docks, and building infrastructure.
• Develop and manage engineering, maintenance, tooling, and capital budgets.
• Prepare capital expenditure (CAPEX) requests, project justifications, equipment replacement strategies, and long-term facility plans.
• Conduct equipment and facility risk assessments while ensuring environmental, health, and safety compliance.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, TPM, and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
• Monitor and improve KPIs including OEE, First Pass Yield (FPY), downtime, MTBF, MTTR, PM completion rates, and maintenance costs.
• Support compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 14001, customer-specific requirements, and internal quality standards.
• Support APQP activities including PFMEA, Process Flow Diagrams, Control Plans, Capacity Studies, Run-at-Rate events, and production validation activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 10+ years of manufacturing or production engineering experience within an automotive manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience managing technical teams and manufacturing projects.
• Experience leading Production Engineering and Maintenance organizations.
• Experience managing capital projects, equipment installations, and CAPEX budgets.
• Demonstrated success in high-volume automated manufacturing environments.
• Experience supporting new product launches and manufacturing start-ups.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, communication, and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with HVAC systems, thermal management products, plastics manufacturing, injection molding, or automotive assembly operations.
• Experience leading OEM customer product launches.
• PMP certification or equivalent project management experience.
• TPM certification or demonstrated TPM leadership experience.

Technical Skills

• Injection molding process development and optimization
• Plastic component manufacturing and assembly
• Automated assembly systems and robotics
• Manufacturing automation and vision inspection systems
• Leak testing and functional testing
• Heat staking, ultrasonic welding, vibration welding, and joining technologies
• Process validation and equipment troubleshooting
• GD&T interpretation
• Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• Process capability analysis
• Hydraulic and pneumatic systems
• Electrical and controls systems
• Industrial facility management
• Preventive and predictive maintenance
• Tooling management and life-cycle optimization
• Maintenance planning and scheduling

Quality & Manufacturing Systems Experience

• IATF 16949
• APQP
• PPAP
• PFMEA
• Control Plans
• MSA
• SPC
• 8D Problem Solving
• Lean Manufacturing
• Six Sigma
• Value Stream Mapping
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Required Experience

• 10+ years of automotive manufacturing or production engineering experience
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience