Process Engineering Manager Jobs in Kannapolis, NC

Job Description: Job Posting Title: Engineering Manager - Advanced Composites Manufacturing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Job Title: Engineering Manager - Advanced Composites Manufacturing Location: Mooresville, NC Responsible to: Director of Operations / Site Leadership Team Responsible for: Engineering Team Shift Schedule: Monday - Friday Work Times: Standard business hours, Monday - Friday. A degree of flexibility will be needed during peak periods, production needs, customer deadlines, capital projects, equipment launches, audits, or facility expansion activity. Salary: Full-Time, Exempt Overview SHD Composite Materials Inc. was incorporated in August 2018 to service the expanding American and Canadian composite industries. The North American HQ is in Mooresville, North Carolina, and became a fully operational manufacturing facility in 2019. SHD Composite Materials Inc. manufactures advanced composite prepreg materials. With a growing global presence, the company services the American prepreg market with high-quality prepreg, fast turnaround times, and world-class technical support. The company’s core strength is the ability to supply high- and low-volume products, with a wide range of tooling and component products throughout America and around the world. As the Engineering Manager - Advanced Composites Manufacturing, you will lead engineering operations supporting the manufacture of advanced composite prepreg materials for aerospace, defense, automotive, motorsport, marine, and industrial applications. This leadership role is responsible for building and developing a strong engineering team, driving manufacturing excellence, optimizing processes, supporting new product industrialization, leading automation initiatives, managing capital expansion projects, and supporting SHD's continued growth in North America. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ideal Person Either a proven engineering manager or a senior manufacturing, process, project, or continuous improvement engineering leader with strong experience in advanced manufacturing environments. The ideal candidate has experience in composites, polymer processing, chemicals, coatings, aerospace materials, or continuous web manufacturing processes, and is comfortable balancing daily manufacturing support with strategic growth initiatives and long-term operational planning. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Responsibilities: Engineering Leadership / Team Development • Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing engineering team consisting of manufacturing, process, project, and continuous improvement engineers. • Build a culture focused on safety, accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. • Establish engineering goals, performance metrics, and professional development plans. • Support recruitment, onboarding, succession planning, and talent development initiatives for the engineering function. • Serve as a technical leader and trusted advisor to plant, operations, and corporate leadership teams. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manufacturing / Process Engineering • Provide engineering leadership for prepreg manufacturing processes, equipment, utilities, and supporting systems. • Drive process optimization initiatives to improve quality, throughput, yield, cost performance, and operational efficiency. • Lead troubleshooting efforts for complex manufacturing, process, equipment, and production-support issues. • Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Statistical Process Control, and root cause analysis methods to improve process capability. • Develop and maintain process documentation, manufacturing standards, engineering best practices, and operational KPIs. • Monitor and improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness, process stability, and manufacturing performance metrics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Product Introduction / Technology Scale-Up • Support engineering aspects of new products, new technologies, capital needs, process development, and manufacturing readiness. • Support pilot-scale development, process validation, and product industrialization activities. • Develop scalable manufacturing processes for new prepreg, resin, and composite material technologies. • Collaborate with customer, commercial, quality, and technical teams to support product qualification programs and customer requirements. • Drive Design of Experiments, process characterization, and continuous process improvement efforts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Projects / Manufacturing Expansion • Lead capital equipment, facility expansion, manufacturing scale-up, and infrastructure projects from concept through implementation. • Develop project scopes, budgets, schedules, resource plans, and business justifications. • Manage capital expenditures and evaluate project return on investment to ensure alignment with strategic business objectives. • Support capacity planning and infrastructure development required for future growth. • Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, and within budget. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Automation / Digital Manufacturing • Identify and implement automation opportunities that improve safety, productivity, quality, and scalability. • Drive smart manufacturing initiatives, including process monitoring, manufacturing analytics, and data acquisition systems. • Collaborate with Operations and IT to enhance digital manufacturing capabilities, MES utilization, and production reporting tools. • Support implementation of automated quality controls and predictive maintenance strategies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quality / Compliance / Technical Excellence • Ensure engineering activities support AS9100/EN9100, ISO 9001, customer, regulatory, and internal quality requirements. • Support aerospace, defense, and industrial customer audits and qualification programs. • Lead root cause investigations and corrective action initiatives related to manufacturing and quality performance. • Establish engineering standards, SOPs, validation protocols, and process controls. • Partner with Quality and Operations to improve product consistency, process capability, and customer satisfaction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental, Health & Safety • Promote a strong safety culture throughout all engineering activities. • Ensure equipment, process modifications, and engineering projects comply with OSHA, environmental, and company safety requirements. • Lead risk assessments, machine safety improvements, and process hazard reduction initiatives. • Support continuous improvement of workplace safety performance and regulatory compliance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategic Growth / Operational Excellence • Support SHD's strategic growth objectives through manufacturing scalability, operational excellence, and technology advancement. • Analyze operational and financial performance metrics to identify improvement opportunities. • Collaborate with SHD technical and engineering teams across North America, the UK, and Europe. • Provide technical leadership for future manufacturing technologies, infrastructure investments, and advanced materials initiatives. • Undertake and perform other engineering, manufacturing-support, capital-project, or operational duties as requested by the company. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Role Boundaries • This position leads engineering operations, engineering team development, process engineering, capital projects, automation initiatives, and manufacturing technical support. • This position works cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, R&D, Commercial, Global Engineering, and Site Leadership. • This role is expected to provide technical leadership and management direction, but final business, financial, staffing, or site-level decisions should follow company approval processes and leadership structure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualifications: Required • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related engineering discipline. • Minimum of 8 years of engineering experience within advanced manufacturing, chemicals, polymers, composites, coatings, aerospace materials, or related industrial environments. • Minimum of 5 years of engineering leadership or management experience. • Demonstrated experience leading manufacturing process improvement initiatives and cross-functional technical teams. • Experience supporting manufacturing scale-up, capacity expansion, or capital project implementation. • Strong knowledge of process control methodologies, SPC, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement tools. • Experience working within ISO 9001, AS9100, or EN9100 quality systems. • Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills. • Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Preferred • Experience in prepreg manufacturing, composite materials, resin systems, polymer processing, coatings, or continuous web manufacturing. • Experience supporting aerospace material qualification and customer approval programs. • Knowledge of Design of Experiments, process validation, and statistical analysis techniques. • Experience implementing automation, manufacturing analytics, MES systems, or Industry 4.0 technologies. • Experience managing multi-million-dollar capital projects and facility expansions. • Familiarity with aerospace, defense, or advanced materials manufacturing environments. • PMP, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, or equivalent certification. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skills and Ability • Must have strong leadership, coaching, mentoring, and team-development skills. • Must have strong technical knowledge of advanced manufacturing processes, process optimization, product industrialization, and manufacturing scale-up. • Must have strong project management, capital planning, budget management, and organizational skills. • Must have strong analytical abilities and data-driven decision-making skills. • Must be able to use statistical process control, root cause analysis, continuous improvement, and process validation methods. • Must have excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills to work with all levels of the organization and customers. • Must be able to lead cross-functional teams and coordinate with global technical and engineering teams. • Must have flexibility and adaptability for changing workloads and business priorities. • Must be able to read, write, and speak English. • Attention to detail and quality is a must. • Ability to operate Microsoft Office Suite, ERP/MES systems, engineering documentation tools, and manufacturing reporting systems as needed. • Must be able to use email professionally and frequently. • Must be able to work independently, self-directed, and as part of a team. • Must be willing to travel to customer locations and SHD facilities in North America and internationally when required. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Work Environment / Essential Physical Demands • Must be able to work in manufacturing, laboratory, and office environments. • Must be able to frequently interact with production equipment, manufacturing operations, and engineering project areas. • Must be able to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment supporting advanced composite materials manufacturing and technology development. • Must be able to work weekends, extended hours, or overtime if required for capital projects, equipment launches, audits, customer needs, or production support. • Must be able to sit and work at a computer for extended periods. • Must be able to stand, walk, bend, and move through manufacturing areas as needed. • Must be able to safely, effectively, and reliably receive and give urgent and other essential communications in office, laboratory, and factory environments. • Ability to detect abnormalities in the workplace and receive safety signals using visual, tactile, or auditory senses. • Must have good vision and auditory senses. • Must be able to follow all safety and company policies and procedures. • Must be able to wear all required PPE when entering production, warehouse, laboratory, or project areas. • Must be able to work in a typical manufacturing environment on concrete floors as well as a typical office environment. • Occasional travel to customer locations and SHD facilities in North America and internationally may be required. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attitude: • Passion for SHD Composite Materials Inc., advanced materials, manufacturing excellence, and high-growth business environments. • Safety-first and quality-first mindset. • Customer focused, operationally focused, and technically rigorous. • Friendly, flexible team player with a can-do attitude and a practical approach to changing business needs. • Strong ownership mindset with the ability to lead through ambiguity and drive results. • Must take pride in being on time, prepared, and engaged each day. • Committed to building a capable engineering team and supporting the future growth of SHD Composites. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our employees are very important to us, and job satisfaction is of paramount importance. SHD Composites is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. SHD Composites is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.