Plant Engineer

Hands-on Plant Engineer role at Spartan Composites LLC in Saltillo, MS, focused on improving production processes, equipment reliability, safety, and manufacturing capacity in a composite manufacturing environment, serving as the technical lead for equipment, tooling, facilities, automation, and capital projects.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize manufacturing processes, workflows, equipment, and production methods; implement continuous improvements.
• Assess operations to uncover bottlenecks, waste, quality issues, capacity limits, and safety risks.
• Lead root-cause investigations for production, quality, equipment, and process problems and implement corrective actions.
• Create and maintain process documentation including work instructions, specifications, standards, flow diagrams, and operating procedures.
• Review manufacturing data, downtime trends, scrap rates, and production performance to identify improvement opportunities.
• Support new product introductions by defining manufacturing methods, tooling needs, validation plans, and readiness activities.
• Collaborate with production teams to enhance safety, quality, throughput, labor efficiency, and equipment utilization.
• Provide engineering support for industrial presses, curing systems, material handling equipment, hydraulics, pneumatics, tooling, automation, and facility infrastructure.
• Troubleshoot complex mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and process-related equipment issues.
• Evaluate equipment performance and develop solutions to improve reliability, maintainability, and efficiency.
• Plan and coordinate modifications, upgrades, rebuilds, and retrofits of production equipment and tooling.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance programs through reliability engineering and performance analysis.
• Review equipment specifications and recommend replacements, upgrades, or expansions.
• Lead engineering and capital projects from concept to completion.
• Develop project scopes, budgets, schedules, risk assessments, resource plans, and implementation strategies.
• Coordinate with vendors, contractors, suppliers, maintenance personnel, and internal stakeholders.
• Prepare capital expenditure requests, cost-benefit analyses, ROI evaluations, and project justifications.
• Manage equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, startup, and acceptance testing.
• Monitor progress to ensure safety, on-schedule delivery, budget compliance, and specification conformance.
• Maintain project documentation including schedules, drawings, contracts, change orders, and commissioning records.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, 5S, waste reduction, process optimization, and productivity initiatives.
• Apply structured problem solving such as Root Cause Analysis, Fishbone, 5 Why, PDCA, and corrective actions.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, quality, and safety.
• Support development and tracking of KPIs for productivity, quality, downtime, throughput, scrap, and OEE.
• Contribute to strategic planning for future manufacturing capabilities, equipment needs, and facility expansion.
• Ensure engineering solutions align with quality standards, customer requirements, and manufacturing specifications.
• Participate in internal audits, corrective actions, process validations, and quality improvement initiatives.
• Maintain compliance with OSHA, environmental requirements, electrical standards, and safety policies.
• Support engineering documentation and change management processes.
• Serve as a technical resource for production, maintenance, quality, and leadership teams.
• Train and mentor operators, technicians, and maintenance personnel on operation, troubleshooting, process controls, and best practices.
• Promote communication, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement across the organization.
• Support off-shift and weekend troubleshooting, project execution, and startup activities as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.
• Five or more years of manufacturing engineering experience in an industrial production environment.
• Experience leading engineering efforts, process improvement, and capital projects.
• Experience supporting manufacturing equipment, tooling, and production systems.
• Proficiency reading engineering drawings, schematics, and technical documentation.
• Experience in composite manufacturing, advanced materials, plastics, aerospace, defense, automotive, or related industries.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement training.
• Experience with industrial presses, hydraulic systems, automation systems, PLC controlled equipment, and process development.
• PMP certification or equivalent project management experience.
• Ability to follow safety policies, OSHA regulations, lockout/tagout procedures, and environmental compliance requirements.
• Proper use of PPE and safe operation of tools, machinery, and diagnostic equipment.
• Ability to identify, report, and correct unsafe conditions and hazardous work practices.
• Participation in safety investigations, risk assessments, and corrective actions.
• Experience working in industrial environments with moving machinery, electrical systems, noise, heat, vibration, dust, chemicals, and temperature variations.
• Commitment to clean and organized work areas in line with 5S standards.
• Willingness to participate in required safety training, emergency response procedures, and incident reporting activities.

Technologies

• CAD software
• Microsoft Office applications
• Engineering analysis tools

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Compensation

• USD 92,000 - 124,500 per year

Application Questions

• Have you completed a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering?
• Provide your awarded degree major

Work Location

• In person

Environmental, Health & Safety Requirements

• Follow all company safety policies, OSHA regulations, lockout/tagout procedures, and environmental compliance requirements.
• Properly use required PPE and safely operate tools, machinery, and diagnostic equipment.
• Identify, report, and correct unsafe conditions and hazardous work practices.
• Participate in safety investigations, risk assessments, and corrective action activities.
• Work in industrial manufacturing environments with exposure to moving machinery, electrical systems, noise, heat, vibration, dust, chemicals, and varying temperatures.
• Maintain clean and organized work areas in accordance with housekeeping and 5S standards.
• Participate in required safety training, emergency response procedures, and incident reporting activities.