Job Description

Scope of Position:

• Melting, forehearth, and forming system process management

• The engineer will contribute to line, department and plant performance. Process involvement will include production and development activities.

• Take initiative to improve procedures and setups through documented change control.

• Proactively identify where gaps in work instructions and process setups exist and will work to close the gaps. Improvements will be implemented with the expectation that standard operating procedures and setups are created and followed.

• Problem solving will be routine and is expected to be performed methodically. Assistance and leadership to other engineers with problem solving is expected.

• Document process understanding. This will include daily process learning, development planning, and development run reviews, and experiment plans.

• The engineer's work will be reviewed for soundness of technical judgment and for consistency with established procedures.

Projects:

• The production lines will encounter experiments periodically. The engineer will serve as initiator, receiver, leader or in a supporting role during that experimentation.

• The engineer will assist in defining acceptance criteria for a process that is transitioning from a development state to a production state.

• The engineer will be assigned projects periodically and will be expected to make proposals for improvement and cost reduction projects. The use of performance excellence methodologies is expected (DMAIC, MEE, Innovation).

• Process upgrades can occur during operation or repair

Day to Day Responsibilities:

• Process control and discipline, and continuous improvement

• The engineer is expected to perform daily engineering oversight and support of production

• Technical analysis of melting and forming processes. Application of analytical results to improving processes and meeting customer requirements.

• Design and implementation of process experiments

• Coordinate line activity with peripheral services (maintenance, etc.) and downstream processes

• Coordinate furnace heat-ups, and process debug, checkout, and start-up

• Principle tasks are the creation and maintenance of the Standard Operating Setup, Standard Operating Procedures, and execution of the production plan.

• The engineer is the point of contact for day to day activities as well as problem resolution and process improvement. At times the coordination of upstream or downstream activities will be required.

• Daily interaction with the operators and production leadership is the norm in order to understand issues and to communicate plans and instructions. Sound communication is key to success in the role.

• Gaining a working knowledge of the process support systems (air, water, environmental, enclosures, etc.) is expected.

• Training of production personnel is routine and common in this position

Travel Requirements:

• Domestic Travel and International Travel are not common, but can occur in this job (<10%). International travel may be required to support our sister plants.

Required Education:

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, or Materials Science & Engineering

• 5-10 yrs. experience in manufacturing; preference if this includes experience in glass manufacturing; some credit for experience allowed for master’s degree education

Required Skills:

• Can take routine data retrieval and analysis and develop a standard methodology. Seeks process variability reduction and drives to root causes of special cause variation.

• Strong problem solving skills, including the ability to facilitate problem solving teams and delegate tasks to others in the pursuit of a solution. Results oriented and committed to deliver.

• Able to handle multiple complex tasks and set priorities with multiple internal customers.

• Has a thorough understanding of and can practice Process Control and Discipline. Can discern when to follow SOP, and when SOP no longer applies and additional stakeholder input may be necessary.

• Can be a team member or a team leader within functional area. Supports teams with data-based analysis and conclusions.

Desired Skills:

• Strong working knowledge of MS Excel, including formulas and graphing functions.

• Demonstrated leadership or strong teamwork in accomplishing common goals.

• Practical experience with basic statistics, a track record of identifying sources of variation.

• 2+ yr production or technical supervisory experience. • DMAIC (or six sigma) green belt certification.

Soft Skills:

• Consistently communicates issues and concerns to stakeholders. Has strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively communicate scientific concepts and data to others in order to provide instruction and influence decisions.

• Demonstrated leadership in non-standard production situations and inserts self to take responsibility to lead operators and mechanics in non-standard operations

• Seeks out production supervisors, peers, and operators to gain process understanding. Listens to their concerns and seeks resolution within the functional area.