Process/Facility Engineer

Process/Facility Engineer 

Manufacturing Engineering Paint Section

Company Overview: 

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. or “SIA”, located in Lafayette, Indiana, is the only Subaru vehicle manufacturing facility outside of Japan. SIA is a 4.4 million square foot automotive OEM – meaning our manufacturing process begins with coils of steel and ends with the high-quality vehicles you see out on the roads. We employ 6500+ Associates, both production and administrative, all under one roof. SIA is the safest automotive manufacturing plant in the United States and is also a staple in the community due to its numerous fundraising activities held onsite, donations to local charities and plentiful volunteer opportunities. SIA is a frontrunner in environmental conservation being the first Zero-Landfill automotive manufacturing plant and the first to have its campus designated a backyard wildlife habitat. SIA has grown tremendously since its 1989 beginnings and continues to be an example of success within the automotive industry.

Outline of duties: 

The Manufacturing Engineer develops and optimizes productions processes and equipment to achieve the safety, quality, output, and cost goals of the organization. Collects production data and applies engineering principles, scientific and statistical methods to analyze, document, and diagram production processes. A manufacturing engineer is responsible for identifying production problems and likewise identifying methods for resolution. They recommend and implement changes to equipment, work methods and other aspects of production to improve the utilization of all relevant resources.

Primary responsibilities:

• Requests and verifies process or equipment countermeasures when needed.
• Actively pursues new ways of analyzing and communicating data to improve quality.
• Conduct business process audits to ensure that process indicators are being properly tracked and maintained when requested.
• Drives Kaizen activity, applies statistical and other improvement tools.
• Leads improvement plans to validate production processes to achieve department & plant targets for both new model and current production.
• Creates and maintains punch lists.
• Participates in cross-functional teams to recommend and countermeasure plant-wide issues.
• Meets with and manages vendor project activities.
• Creates professional documents to record and track measurement results.
• Leads and/or supports continuous improvement activities to improve process functionality.
• Aids and supports Production, Production Engineering, Maintenance, Materials, and/or New Model Pilot Team in process validations as needed.
• Basic AutoCAD ,Solidworks, Catia experience.
• Demonstrates development and control of project master schedules and budget management
• Communicates effectively with all Associates, Leadership, vendors, etc.
• All other duties as assigned.

Process / Facility:

• Maintaining Paint spray booth automation including robot automation and application.
• Studying and making recommendations for improvement for quality, cost savings, and uptime improvements to all paint related equipment such as robots, conveyance equipment, air houses and ovens.
• Study processes for line layout improvements, ergonomic improvements, facility upgrades, and throughput improvements.

• Ability to read and understand product and equipment drawings and dimensions.
• Investigate bottlenecks of equipment and processes to develop and implement solutions that can improve throughput.
• Develop line layout for processes related to new model development or capacity increases / decreases.
• Investigate and determine product quality issues and propose solutions.
• Demonstrate analytical data-based problem-solving skills.
• Develop and manage capital projects, related costs, budgets, and schedules.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Associates Degree plus 1 - 3 years relevant experience or 5 - 7 years relevant experience
• Engineering Technology or Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field
• Strong Microsoft Office abilities
• Demonstrated project management skills with exposure to schedule development and management, as well as interaction with external contractors.
• Exposure to automated industrial environment along with some experience with robotic systems.

 Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or 7 -10 years relevant experience.
  • Engineering, Engineering Technology or Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field 
• Experience with troubleshooting, modifying mechanical systems
• Background or exposure in automotive environment with a focus on Paint and Paint application systems, including robots
• Previous experience with automotive paint materials and paint application

Travel:

This role requires minimal travel. Occasional travel may be required mainly for off-site training or business collaboration purposes including potential overseas travel.

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to employing a diverse workforce.