Senior Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer

Saic; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC in Huntsville, AL seeks a Senior Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer to lead the design, development, optimization, and scaling of manufacturing processes for mechanical products and assemblies. This onsite role partners with product engineering and operations to ensure robust, cost-effective, manufacturable designs.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with machining, fabrication, tooling, process validation, and continuous improvement within a manufacturing environment; may

Qualifications

• Experience taking mechanical products from prototype through production launch and volume manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of mechanical design principles, materials, tolerance analysis, drawings, and engineering change control.
• Hands-on experience with CNC machining, sheet-metal fabrication, welding, joining, casting, molding, or extrusion.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, implementation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for mechanical components and assemblies.
• Collaborate with design and R&D to ensure DFMA principles from concept to production release.
• Develop work instructions, process flow diagrams, routings, BOMs, and documentation.
• Design and validate production tooling, fixtures, gauges, and testing equipment.
• Support NPI activities, pilot production, and production ramp-up.
• Conduct feasibility reviews and risk assessments related to tolerances, materials, and costs.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for defects and scrap.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, SPC, and continuous-improvement methods to improve throughput, quality, and cost.

Skills

DFMA

Lean Six Sigma

Root-cause analysis

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD software

GD&T

Job description

Description

SAIC is seeking an experienced Senior Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer to lead the design, development, optimization, and scaling of manufacturing processes for mechanical products and assemblies. This role bridges product engineering and operations, ensuring designs are robust, cost-effective, manufacturable, and capable of meeting quality, safety, delivery, and production-volume requirements. This role is onsite in Huntsville, AL in both office and manufacturing-floor environments. The role may require occasional travel to supplier sites, contract manufacturers, or other company locations. Appropriate personal protective equipment may be required when working in production areas.

The ideal candidate combines strong mechanical engineering fundamentals with deep hands-on expertise in machining, fabrication, assembly, tooling, process validation, and continuous improvement within a manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for mechanical components, subassemblies, and finished products.
• Partner with product design and R&D teams to ensure designs meet Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles from concept through production release.
• Develop manufacturing work instructions, process flow diagrams, standard operating procedures, routings, bills of materials, and technical documentation.
• Design, specify, and validate production tooling, fixtures, gauges, test equipment, and automated or semi-automated assembly systems.
• Evaluate and improve machining, welding, sheet-metal fabrication, casting, molding, coating, assembly, and inspection processes, as applicable.
• Support new product introduction activities, including prototype builds, pilot production, process qualification, first-article inspection, and production ramp-up.
• Conduct manufacturing feasibility reviews and identify risks related to tolerances, materials, assembly sequence, ergonomics, equipment capacity, quality, and cost.
• Investigate process failures, nonconformances, scrap, rework, yield losses, and customer-return issues; lead root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
• Apply Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, statistical process control, and continuous-improvement methodologies to improve throughput, quality, safety, and cost performance.
• Establish and monitor key process metrics, such as cycle time, first-pass yield, overall equipment effectiveness, scrap rate, labor efficiency, and manufacturing cost.
• Collaborate with Quality, Supply Chain, Production, Maintenance, and external suppliers to resolve manufacturing and supplier-related technical issues.
• Support supplier selection, qualification, process audits, and capability assessments for externally manufactured components and assemblies.
• Develop capital-equipment justifications, define equipment requirements, support vendor selection, and oversee equipment installation and acceptance.
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians and provide technical leadership across cross-functional manufacturing projects.
• Ensure manufacturing processes comply with applicable safety, quality, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a closely related discipline and nine (9) years of mechanical engineering or manufacturing engineering experience in a production environment. Additional six (6) years’ experience can be considered in lieu of degree (per contract vehicle).

Clearance Requirements

• Must possess an active Secret security clearance; US Citizenship required.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience taking mechanical products or assemblies from prototype through production launch and volume manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of mechanical design principles, materials, tolerance analysis, GD&T, drawings, and engineering change control.
• Hands-on experience with one or more manufacturing processes, such as:
  • CNC machining.
  • Sheet-metal fabrication.
  • Welding and joining processes.
  • Mechanical assembly.
  • Injection molding or other molding processes.
  • Casting, forging, or extrusion.
  • Surface finishing, coating, or heat treatment.
• Experience designing fixtures, jigs, gauges, tooling, and production-support equipment.
• Proficiency with CAD software and the ability to interpret and create detailed engineering drawings.
• Strong understanding of DFMA, process capability, validation methods, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, value-stream mapping, 5S, and/or other continuous-improvement tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively with engineering, production, quality, suppliers, and leadership teams.
• Proven ability to manage multiple technical projects, priorities, and production issues in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
• Professional Engineer license, Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, Lean certification, or equivalent.
• Experience in a regulated or high-reliability manufacturing environment.
• Experience with automation, robotics, machine vision, PLC-controlled equipment, or industrial controls.
• Familiarity with ERP, PLM, MRP, MES, and quality-management systems.
• Experience with tolerance stack-up analysis, finite element analysis, simulation, or process modeling.
• Experience leading capital projects, factory-layout improvements, or manufacturing-line expansions.