Engineer, Production Launch Plan

Job Description:The Production Launch Plan Engineer is a member of MNAO’s Production Engineering team. The Production Engineering team is responsible for leading various stakeholders through sophisticated production changes. This includes new model years, Interim Product Measure (IPM), Engineering Change Notice (ECN) and production volume changes. This team acts as a critical partner to all organizations involved in the production process, to include MNAO Huntsville, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTMUS), Mazda Corporate in Japan (MC) and a wide range of suppliers and contractors. A key output for the Production Engineering team is successful Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) goals for Mazda while ensuring all production systems (methods, equipment, tools, and parameters) are successfully communicated and implemented across MTMUS and suppliers. This team must also look for methods to create a stable production environment, to include cost and quality improvement, through the production supply chain.

The Production Launch Plan Engineer is responsible for supporting the development of new production processes and carrying out each trial and evaluation to the established product specification. This includes managing the program from prototype builds to launch/mass production. The primary role of the Production Launch Plan Engineer will be to develop feasible plans to test and validate production systems and parts involved in product development and manufacturing to ensure products are of target quality, cost, and schedule with all stakeholders.

Major Areas of Responsibility (MAR):

 Project Planning - 40%

  • Work cross functionally, through MNAO, MTMUS and MC to ensure MTMUS is prepared for successful production launch of any new project (new model year, hybrid updates, etc.).
  • After receiving and confirming details of the Facility and Tooling Investment study with MC, coordinate budgets to include required hours for engineering.  
  • Implement new project planning measures, ensuring these measures fall within the approved budget
  • Facilitate communication with applicable stakeholders, creating detailed implementation plans that include the validation of equipment and processes, to ensure Mazda’s quality and production cost targets are achieved. 
  • Work with management to obtain approval for all proposed plans and processes; implement and manage plans, making strategic adjustments as needed with a focus on QCD.

Production Preparation - 40%

  • Identify and secure resources (parts, time, labor) required for production process of pilot production validation activities.
  • Conduct and Manage Trial Preparation
    • Ensure parts availability, line readiness, and the collection and consolidation of pre-requisite data.  Manage communication and planning with relevant stakeholders to address any identified gaps, ensuring trail timelines are met.
    • Identify issues during pilot production and collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement solutions.
    • Responsible for documenting all issues found during trials and lead of stakeholders in resolving them by the trial’s completion deadline
  • Facilitate the SRM (Status Review Meeting) to report production readiness to senior management.  Manage communication plans and provide feedback to MTM on catch-up and improvement activities.

Change Point Control - 20%

  • Based on ECN (Engineering Change Notice) or study requests from R&D, collaborate with MTM and MC to create an implementation plan and communicate plan with all stakeholders.
  • Secure the budget and labor hours and manage them based on created implementation plan.

Qualifications and Other Requirements:

Education (Minimum):  

  • Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, or related field or equivalent combination of education, training, and work experience in lieu of degree.

Experience:

  • Minimum three (3) years’ experience in project or production engineering within automotive/OEM or related industry.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

  • Proficiency in project planning, budgeting, and reporting, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to meet tight deadlines.
  • Ability to learn Mazda and MTMUS's unique program launch process/production control system.
  • Strong communication skills (oral and written)
  • Bilingual in Japanese/English preferred
  • Exemplary teamwork skills with a strong work ethic
  • Customer satisfaction and service attitude with strong people skills
  • Organized & detail oriented.
  • Results-driven and fully responsible, reliable and consistent
  • Ability to work independently and with little supervision, to include problem-solving mindset.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Ability to take initiative and determine appropriate actions logically.
  • Sound reasoning skill and ability to present ideas clearly and succinctly.
  • Knowledge of or experience with paperless, automated workflow computer processing is a definite plus.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Travel:

Up to 15% (both domestic and international travel may be required)

Come work with us at our exciting new facility, in the growing city of Huntsville Alabama. Huntsville is in Madison County and is one of the best places to live in Alabama and the 11th best place to live in America. Huntsville offers a vibrant community with a mixture of high-tech ventures, cultural diversity, and is the #1 most affordable place to live in the U.S. in 2019 out of 125 most populous metro areas.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/

Pay Range:

$74,400.00-$107,850.00

Salary to be determined by education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Learn more about MNAO’s comprehensive benefits package here

Organisation: 
Mazda USA