Job Title: Manufacturing/Quality Engineer

Location: Ames, Iowa

Salary: $85-95K 

Job Summary of the Manufacturing/Quality Engineer: The Manufacturing/Quality Engineer plays a key role in the development, optimization, and deployment of manufacturing processes to ensure efficient, high-quality production of products. This role focuses on process design and improvement rather than product design, with a strong emphasis on ensuring product quality and a successful handoff of new designs to the production team. 

Job Duties & Responsibilities of the Manufacturing/Quality Engineer:

·         Interpret engineering sketches, specifications, and other technical documentation to produce accurate and precise drawings.

·         Develop, document, and refine manufacturing processes to ensure they are robust, repeatable, and cost-effective.

·         Lead the design and implementation of new production methods for upcoming products and revisions.

·         Collaborate with design engineering to transition product concepts into scalable manufacturing processes.

·         Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to improve process performance.

·         Maintain and update process documentation, SOPs, and forms as required by ISO 9000 standards.

·         Serve as the key liaison between product development and production, ensuring design intent is maintained through launch.

·         Lead pre-production process validation, including PFMEA, control plans, and capability studies.

·         Support tooling, equipment, and fixture design to ensure process readiness.

·         Monitor early production runs to ensure process stability and product conformity.

·         Drive quality assurance by proactively identifying process risks and implementing preventive measures.

·         Apply lean manufacturing tools and methodologies to reduce waste and increase throughput.

·         Support internal audits and corrective action planning related to process and product quality.

·         Lead cross-functional teams in Kaizen or other improvement initiatives.

·         Partner with Quality, Design, and Operations teams to ensure alignment across process requirements and customer expectations.

·         Communicate effectively with internal teams and suppliers regarding process capability, improvement plans, and project