Manufacturing Application Engineer Jobs in Howell, MI

About LightGuide, Inc.
Looking for your next exciting career opportunity? LightGuide, Inc. offers competitive and diverse benefits with a supportive and values driven company culture. Join our team today!
Our Mission: LightGuide empowers people to build a brighter tomorrow.
Our Vision: We are creating a future in which frontline workers reach their maximum potential, enabled by augmented intelligence.
Our Values: Build Together, Build Smarter, Build with Urgency, Build for Sustainability, Build for All
LightGuide, Inc. is the leading projected augmented reality (AR) work instruction software platform that transforms manual manufacturing processes for companies worldwide. The projected step-by-step work instructions displayed directly on the "operating canvas" create an immersive, interactive work experience, optimizing the performance and efficiency of the human operator. LightGuide captures real-time operational metrics, enabling full digital traceability for complex manufacturing processes.
The software easily adapts to specific processes and interfaces with existing manufacturing equipment and enterprise information systems. The fully integrated approach dramatically improves the standardization, throughput, and error-proofing of manufacturing processes across a wide range of industries and use cases. Today, LightGuide, Inc. works with many leading companies in the automotive, aerospace & defense, electronics, diverse manufacturing and food and beverage industries.
Reports to
Applications Engineering Manager
Schedule Type
Full-time, Salary, Exempt, Hybrid
Job Summary
As an Application Engineer, you will design and deliver industrial augmented reality solutions that combine LightGuide software with hardware, automation, manufacturing systems, and customer processes.
You will work directly with customers, Sales, Engineering, Operations, and external partners to take applications from initial concept through technical design and deployment. This is a hands-on, multidisciplinary engineering role for someone who enjoys understanding how things work, solving complex manufacturing challenges, and turning ideas into practical, production-ready systems.
Our Application Engineers work across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, and manufacturing disciplines. You do not need to be an expert in every area, but you should be curious, technically versatile, and comfortable learning new technologies.
Job Responsibilities
Design Industrial Solutions

• Partner with customers and the LightGuide Sales team to understand manufacturing challenges, processes, requirements, and success criteria.
• Develop creative technical solutions using LightGuide technology and complementary hardware and software.
• Own application designs from early concept through detailed system definition and deployment.
• Prepare scopes of work, bills of materials, system concepts, layouts, and supporting technical documentation.
• Ensure proposed solutions are practical, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with the capabilities of the LightGuide platform.

Integrate Hardware, Software, and Automation

• Select and specify hardware such as projectors, cameras, sensors, actuators, industrial computers, PLCs, robots, smart tools, gauges, networking equipment, enclosures, cables, and pneumatic components.
• Design or specify mechanical components including workstations, mounting systems, brackets, tooling, fixtures, linear rails, and mobile systems.
• Develop solutions that interface with manufacturing equipment, controls, automation, and enterprise systems.
• Evaluate software and integration requirements involving systems such as MES, ERP, MRP, QMS, MOM, PLM, CAD, and related manufacturing technologies.
• Build a strong understanding of LightGuide software, hardware, architecture, capabilities, and technical limitations.

Solve Manufacturing Problems

• Apply engineering judgment and manufacturing best practices to improve quality, productivity, ergonomics, standardization, traceability, and error-proofing.
• Use principles from lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, the Toyota Production System, human factors, and ergonomics where appropriate.
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues spanning mechanical, electrical, controls, software, networking, and manufacturing processes.
• Continuously improve the tools, processes, standards, and methods used to design and deploy LightGuide solutions.

Work Directly With Customers

• Visit customer facilities to understand processes, assess potential applications, collect technical requirements, and support deployments.
• Clearly communicate technical concepts, recommendations, tradeoffs, and system requirements to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborate constructively with customers, suppliers, integrators, and LightGuide team members throughout a project's lifecycle.
• Support system installation, commissioning, training, troubleshooting, and documentation as needed.
• Help ensure customers receive solutions that are technically sound and deliver measurable value.

Other Responsibilities
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a closely related technical field.
• 2+ years of professional engineering, product development, systems integration, manufacturing engineering, applications engineering, or related technical experience.
• Strong analytical and hands-on problem-solving skills.
• Ability to understand complex technical systems and identify practical solutions.
• Comfortable working across multiple engineering disciplines rather than within a single narrow specialty.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and collaborate across technical and commercial teams.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working with PC hardware and Microsoft Windows environments.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively as part of a collaborative team.
• Curiosity and willingness to learn unfamiliar technologies, tools, and manufacturing processes.

Preferred Qualifications
Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly valued but not required:

• MES, ERP, MRP, QMS, MOM, PLM, or CAD systems
• Networking and industrial communications
• PLCs, robots, sensors, cameras, smart tools, or machine vision
• Manufacturing or industrial environments
• Applications engineering, systems engineering, or solutions engineering
• Customer-facing technical roles
• Industrial automation or controls
• Mechanical design, fixtures, tooling, or workstation design
• Manufacturing software or enterprise system integration
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Toyota Production System, or continuous improvement methodologies
• Technical project leadership or coordination

Don't meet every single requirement? At LightGuide, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
What Makes Someone Successful in This Role
Successful Application Engineers at LightGuide are:

• Problem solvers who enjoy turning ambiguous manufacturing challenges into practical engineering solutions.
• Technically curious and comfortable learning across software, hardware, automation, and manufacturing.
• Customer focused and able to understand the problem behind the technical requirement.
• Collaborative and effective working with Sales, Engineering, Operations, customers, suppliers, and partners.
• Hands-on and willing to move between design work, troubleshooting, customer conversations, and deployment activities.
• Accountable and comfortable taking ownership of a solution from concept through implementation.
• Continuous learners who look for better ways to design, document, deploy, and support systems.

Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; stand; talk and hear; walk; sit, climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; and lift or move up to thirty-five (35) pounds. Employees are required to use a computer keyboard.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
Be able to work on a flexible schedule, when necessary, with potential to flex hours to accommodate customer requirements. Occasional requirement to work late or during a weekend to accommodate a customer schedule or time zone. Ability to pass a drug screen may be required when applicable.
Travel Requirements
Approximately 20-25% domestic and international travel is required. Travel may include visits to customer manufacturing facilities for application discovery, design reviews, installation, commissioning, training, and technical support.
Some projects may occasionally require schedule flexibility to accommodate customer production schedules, installation windows, or time zones.
DEI Statement
LightGuide, Inc. values, promotes, and celebrates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) and encourages all women, men, minorities, those with a disability, veterans, and LGBTQ+ individuals to apply to our open positions.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
LightGuide, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, gender, color, religion, age, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.