Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Location: Muskegon, MI
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary Range: $140,000–$160,000 annually, depending on experience

A Day in the Role

Morning begins on the production floor. You scan performance dashboards, spot a trend in changeover delays, and huddle with your engineers to prioritize a quick SMED experiment. By midday you’re walking a line with Operations and Quality, mapping a root cause for a recurring defect and aligning on a countermeasure. The afternoon shifts to a capital review—finalizing a business case for a new automated fixture—followed by a vendor call on installation timing. You end the day coaching a new team member on control plan standards and aligning next week’s project milestones.

What You’ll Lead

• Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers and technical specialists.
• Translate business goals into engineering roadmaps—set priorities, define objectives, and allocate resources.
• Continuously elevate safety, quality, productivity, and cost through process optimization.
• Remove bottlenecks and variability; cut waste and downtime across value streams.
• Champion Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem solving to drive measurable improvements.
• Own the lifecycle of equipment, tooling, fixtures, and automation—from concept and selection to installation, qualification, and optimization.
• Lead capital projects: develop business cases, manage budgets, select vendors, and guide implementation.
• Support new product introductions, process transfers, capacity increases, and production scale-ups.
• Ensure robust documentation: work instructions, process specs, control plans, layouts, and SOPs.
• Partner with Operations and Quality to investigate issues and deploy effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Track and report manufacturing metrics, highlighting progress, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• Ensure all engineering efforts align with safety, quality, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Own the manufacturing engineering budget and deliver against plan.
• Cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications You Bring

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Electrical, or related Engineering discipline (engineering degree required).
• 7+ years in manufacturing engineering with proven process improvements in production settings.
• 3+ years leading people and/or supervising engineering teams.
• Depth in Lean, continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and process optimization.
• Hands-on experience with capital equipment, automation, tooling, or facility upgrades.
• Track record of leading cross-functional initiatives and balancing multiple priorities.
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.
• Proficiency in engineering documentation, manufacturing KPIs, and project-management tools.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Operations Management, or related field.
• Lean Six Sigma certification.
• Experience with automated manufacturing, robotics, controls, or advanced technologies.
• Comfort with CAD, ERP, MES, and statistical analysis software.
• Background in regulated and/or high-volume environments.
• PMP or formal project management training.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $140,000–$160,000 per year. Final compensation will be based on the selected candidate’s experience, qualifications, and skills.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Retirement plan with company contribution
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Performance-based incentive opportunities
• Professional development and tuition assistance
• Life and disability insurance

Work Environment

Split between office and manufacturing floor. Expect periods of standing or walking in production areas, use of required PPE, and occasional support outside normal business hours.