Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Automation

Bio-Techne; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 101,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Pet insurance

Legal shield

ID shield

401k plan

ESPP

HSA

FSA

Dependent Care FSA

Job summary

Bio-Techne is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to plan, design, and maintain manufacturing processes across Filling, Kitting, Packaging, and Shipping at our Minneapolis facility. This role emphasizes optimization, regulatory compliance, and cross-functional collaboration with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and R&D to scale production and improve throughput.

You will lead automation projects including robotics, PLCs, and vision systems, apply Lean Six Sigma, perform time studies and

Qualifications

• Requires a master’s degree with 2-5 years of relevant experience Or, a bachelor's degree with 5-8 years of relevant experience; Or an associate degree with 10 or more years of relevant experience
• 5+ years of automation or manufacturing engineering experience.
• Mechanical and electrical aptitude required.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a strong presence in manufacturing and observe work to identify waste, bottlenecks, and handoffs.
• Investigate operational inefficiencies and productivity improvements.
• Use time studies, standard-labor analysis, line balancing, and process mapping to assess performance.
• Define and execute automation strategy aligned with cost, quality, throughput, and scalability.
• Manage automation projects through planning, design, architecture, building, and deployment followed by validation.
• Incorporate robotics, vision systems, PLCs, and COBOTs across manufacturing operations.
• Drive Lean Six Sigma, data analytics, and digital manufacturing tools to improve KPIs (OTD, cycle time, yield, labor).
• Own capital automation projects from concept through commissioning, including business case and IQ/OQ/PQ validation.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and R&D to scale processes.
• Establish engineering best practices and documentation systems.
• Champion digital transformation with MES integration and smart factory tech.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Detailed & organized work

Microsoft Office & Smartsheet

Statistics software (Minitab/JMP)

Communication & collaboration

Equipment & systems troubleshooting

Education

Master’s degree with 2-5 years experience

Bachelor’s degree with 5-8 years experience

Associate degree with 10+ years experience

Tools

Minitab

JMP

Job description

In-person

Minneapolis, MN

Full time

JR101809

By joining Bio-Techne, you’ll join a company with a powerful and positive purpose of enabling cutting-edge research in Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics. Bio-Techne, and all of its brands, provides tools for researchers to further treat and prevent disease worldwide.

Pay Range:

$100,800 - $165,600

**Position Summary:**

The Senior Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for planning, designing, and maintaining manufacturing processes across Filling, Kitting, Packaging, and Shipping. Ensures systems run to specifications and comply with regulations while supporting cross-functional teams to optimize materials, labor, equipment, and systems.

**Key Responsibilities:**

• Maintain a strong presence in manufacturing and operational areas, working directly with frontline employees and leaders to observe work, understanding process challenges, and identify waste, bottlenecks, workload imbalance, waiting, unnecessary movement, rework, and ineffective handoffs.
• Investigate & identify operational inefficiencies and productivity improvements within manufacturing and operational areas.
• Use time studies, standard-labor analysis, line balancing, workload and capacity analysis, process mapping, and material-flow assessments to understand current performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Define and execute automation strategy and roadmap, aligning with business objectives for cost, quality, throughput, and scalability.
• Manage automation projects through planning, design, architecture, building, and deployment following company procedures.
• Incorporate advanced automation systems; including but not limited to robotics, vision systems, PLCs, and collaborative robots (COBOTs), across manufacturing operations.
• Drive end-to-end process optimization initiatives, leveraging Lean Six Sigma, data analytics, and digital manufacturing tools to deliver sustained KPI improvements (OTD, cycle time, yield, and labor efficiency).
• Own capital automation projects from concept through commissioning, including business case development, equipment specification, vendor selection, FAT/SAT, and full lifecycle validation (IQ/OQ/PQ).
• Lead cross-functional initiatives with Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, and R&D to industrialize new products and scale manufacturing processes.
• Establish and standardize engineering best practices, including automation standards, validation protocols, and documentation systems.
• Champion digital transformation initiatives, including integration of MES, data systems, and smart factory technologies.

**QUALIFICATIONS**

**Education and Experience:**

• Requires a master’s degree with 2-5 years of relevant experience Or, a bachelor's degree with 5-8 years of relevant experience; Or an associate degree with 10 or more years of relevant experience
• 5+ years of automation or manufacturing engineering experience.
• Mechanical and electrical aptitude required.

**Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:**

• Knowledge of Lean Six Sigma and CI methodologies.
• Skilled in detailed, accurate, and organized work.
• Skilled in Microsoft Office, Smartsheet, and statistical software (Minitab/JMP).
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to collaborate across departments.
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment and systems.

**Working Conditions:**

• Work performed in a laboratory and production environment with exposure to chemicals, reagents, and standard lab equipment.
• Standard schedule hours with occasional variation depending on production needs.
• Onsite work required during standard business hours.

**Physical Requirements:**

• Ability to lift and handle materials weighing 5–50 lbs.
• Ability to stand, walk, and perform repetitive laboratory tasks for extended periods.
• Manual dexterity required for laboratory equipment and fine measurement techniques.
• Ability to work at a computer for extended periods.

**Why Join Bio-Techne:**

We offer competitive insurance benefits starting on day one: medical, dental, vision, life, short-term disability, long-term disability, pet, and legal and ID shield.

We invest in our employees’ financial futures through 401k plans, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), Health Saving Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), and Dependent Care FSA.

We empower our employees develop their careers through mentorship, promotional opportunities, training and development, tuition reimbursement, internship programs, and more.

We offer employee resource groups, volunteer paid time off, employee events, and charity drives to build a culture of caring and belonging.

We offer an accrued leave policy with paid holidays, paid time off, and paid parental leave.

We foster a culture of empowerment and innovation, where employees feel valued and encouraged to bring their new ideas to the table.

Bio-Techne is an E-Verify Employer in the United States.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

To protect the interests of all, Bio-Techne will not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than a candidate application. Any unsolicited resumes sent to Bio-Techne will be considered Bio-Techne property.

This position requires work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States (e.g., H1-B visa, F-1 visa (OPT), TN visa or any other non-immigrant work status). If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or take part in any other stage of the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Bio-Techne empowers researchers in Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics by providing high-quality reagents, instruments, custom manufacturing, and testing services. Our family of brands creates a unique portfolio of products and services.

Science is our passion; it drives us to collaborate, develop, and manufacture award-winning tools that help researchers achieve reproducible and consistent results.