Senior Sheet Metal & Welding Engineer Estimating & Programs

Pen Manufacturing; Anaheim (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pen Manufacturing, a Southern California metal fabrication and contract manufacturing company, seeks a senior Manufacturing Engineering & Estimating Manager who blends deep sheet metal experience with DFM, estimating, production planning, and direct customer interaction.

This role is not desk-only; you will work closely with customers, estimators, engineers, and the shop floor to take a product from concept through quoting, planning, first article, and ramp to production, ensuring feasible and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in sheet metal fabrication, precision metal fabrication, or a similar contract manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of laser cutting, punching, press brake forming, welding, hardware insertion, assembly, and outside processing.
• Significant experience estimating and costing fabricated sheet metal products.
• Strong hands-on DFM and manufacturing engineering experience.
• Ability to read and critique engineering drawings, CAD models, tolerances, and specifications.
• SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD experience.
• Experience translating imperfect drawings/models into practical manufacturing processes.
• Comfortable working directly with customers on technical issues.
• Knowledge of labor standards, routings, material planning, sequencing, and production planning.
• Experience supporting RFQ and first article through ramp to production.
• Willingness to be hands-on on the production floor.
• Must work on-site in Anaheim, CA.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for Pen’s largest and most strategic customer programs.
• Work directly with customer engineering and purchasing teams to understand requirements and improve manufacturability.
• Review drawings, CAD models, specifications, and RFQs for feasibility and DFM.
• Lead estimating to reflect realistic material, labor, routing, tooling, and processing assumptions.
• Manage and develop Pen’s estimating and engineering resources.
• Translate new customer programs from RFQ and prototype into repeatable production.
• Develop manufacturing plans, routings, work instructions, material requirements, sequencing, and production requirements.
• Understand processes flow through lasers, presses, welding, hardware, assembly, and outside processing before release.
• Partner with Sales on technical discovery for major opportunities.
• Partner with Operations to ensure jobs are released and scheduled intelligently.
• Identify capacity constraints and tooling needs; explore automation opportunities.
• Support first articles, prototypes, and ramp-ups.
• Review completed jobs against estimates to improve costing.

Skills

Sheet metal fabrication

DFM

Estimating

Production planning

CAD/SolidWorks

Read drawings

Customer interaction

RFQ process

Production leadership

On-site leadership

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Nesting software

CNC programming tools

Job description

Pen Manufacturing, a Southern California metal fabrication and contract manufacturing company, seeks a senior Manufacturing Engineering & Estimating Manager who blends deep sheet metal experience with DFM, estimating, production planning, and direct customer interaction.

This role is not desk-only; you will work closely with customers, estimators, engineers, and the shop floor to take a product from concept through quoting, planning, first article, and ramp to production, ensuring feasible and