Industrial Engineer - Manufacturing Operations

Our client, a global leader in advanced technology and highly regulated manufacturing is seeking an experienced Industrial Engineer – Manufacturing Operations to lead continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives within a complex manufacturing environment.

This position will focus on improving manufacturing efficiency, productivity, capacity, material flow, labor utilization, and facility operations. The ideal candidate will have a strong Industrial Engineering background with hands-on experience in Lean manufacturing, line balancing, time studies, process optimization, facility layout, capacity planning, and data-driven continuous improvement.

This is a highly collaborative role for an Industrial Engineer who can identify improvement opportunities, develop data-driven solutions, and lead projects from concept through implementation.

Key Responsibilities

Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing Optimization

• Lead Industrial Engineering and continuous improvement projects across manufacturing operations.


• Evaluate manufacturing processes and identify opportunities to improve productivity, cost, quality, throughput, and operational efficiency.


• Conduct time studies, line balancing, value stream mapping, process flow analysis, and work-cell optimization.


• Analyze material flow, labor utilization, equipment utilization, WIP, and manufacturing capacity.


• Develop and implement solutions that improve the utilization of personnel, equipment, and manufacturing space.


• Support new manufacturing lines, work cells, equipment installations, and facility expansion projects.

Lean & Continuous Improvement

• Champion Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies throughout operations.


• Lead structured problem-solving initiatives using data and operational metrics.


• Develop business cases for improvement projects and lead implementation efforts.


• Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to drive sustainable process improvements.


• Support change-management initiatives associated with new processes and operational improvements.

Capacity & Production Planning

• Perform capacity analysis and support labor/manpower planning.


• Analyze current and future production requirements to identify equipment, labor, and facility needs.


• Support long-range capacity planning for new products and sustaining production.


• Evaluate manufacturing constraints and recommend solutions to support production growth.

Facility & Process Design

• Review and optimize manufacturing layouts, work cells, process flow, and material flow.


• Support large-scale facility and multi-cell layout changes.


• Participate in new line and facility start-up activities.


• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) and manufacturing ramp initiatives.


• Utilize layout and simulation tools to evaluate future-state manufacturing concepts.

Analytics & Reporting

• Monitor operational metrics including labor hours, productivity, WIP, capacity, and manufacturing efficiency.


• Analyze operational data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.


• Develop or maintain reports and dashboards supporting operational decision-making.


• Present findings and recommendations to engineering, operations, and management teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or a related engineering discipline required.


• 4+ years of progressive Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related experience.


• Strong hands-on experience with Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.


• Experience with time studies, line balancing, capacity planning, labor/manpower planning, and process optimization.


• Experience analyzing manufacturing layouts, process flow, material flow, and work-cell design.


• Strong Excel and general data-analysis skills.


• Experience with facility/layout tools such as Visio, AutoCAD, or similar platforms preferred.


• Advanced analytics experience using Tableau, VBA, R, or similar tools is a plus.


• Simulation modeling experience using Simul8, Arena, or similar software preferred.


• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred.


• New Product Introduction (NPI) experience preferred.


• Experience within medical device, electronics, aerospace, automotive, or another complex/highly regulated manufacturing environment preferred.


• Experience working within formal Quality Systems is highly desirable.

Leadership & Competencies

• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving capabilities.


• Demonstrated ability to lead continuous improvement and change-management initiatives.


• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.


• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.


• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations.


• Hands-on mindset with a strong focus on measurable operational results.

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA – Onsite

Travel: Less than 10%