What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Mfg. Process Innovation Consultant position at Munro Defense Inc?
Lead Manufacturing Process Innovation Consultant
Location: Auburn Hills, MI (Onsite)
Team: Munro & Associates
Type: Full-time
About Munro
Munro & Associates helps manufacturers design and build better, more profitable products and processes. We combine engineering rigor with lean design to drive measurable cost reduction, quality improvement, and speed. Our commercial team partners with U.S. manufacturers to uncover value through smart design, practical innovation, and hands-on implementation.
The Opportunity
We’re seeking a Lead Manufacturing Process Innovation Consultant who blends industrial design-grade creativity with manufacturing engineering depth. You’ll map current states, imagine better futures, and then make them real—translating sketches and storyboards into station concepts, line designs, fixtures, and standard work that cut cost and complexity without sacrificing quality.
This role tilts toward process design and factory-floor problem solving, while keeping a strong thread of visual storytelling, rapid ideation, and human-centered design.
What You’ll Do
- Lead high-energy ideation sprints and 3P-style workshops to reimagine cells, lines, and material flow; storyboard concepts that stakeholders can immediately grasp.
- Design practical improvements: line balancing, takt alignment, standard work, mistake-proofing (poka-yoke), ergonomic station layouts, and right-sized automation.
- Visualize fast—whiteboard, sketch, simple 3D/CAD, and mockups to converge quickly on buildable solutions.
- Run diagnostics: time studies, VSM, constraint analysis, and waste identification to target highest-ROI changes.
- Prototype and pilot fixtures, jigs, and work aids; translate concepts into clear specifications and build packages.
- Apply DFMA & lean to simplify assemblies upstream and reduce process variation downstream.
- Quantify the impact with cost models and before/after KPIs (labor, throughput, yield, changeover time, floor space).
- Drive adoption: facilitate operator trials, craft crisp executive readouts, and guide phased implementation.
What You’ll Bring
- 6–12 years in manufacturing/industrial engineering or advanced operations consulting, with a portfolio of process redesign and cost-down wins.
- Demonstrated creative visualization skills (sketching/storyboarding) alongside CAD for fixtures/stations (SolidWorks, Creo, NX, or similar).
- Hands-on experience with assembly, machining, stamping, molding, casting, sheet metal, or electronics build; comfort on the shop floor.
- Strong grasp of lean tools (VSM, SMED, 5S, PFMEA, control plans, standard work) and line design (material presentation, kitting, conveyance, supermarkets).
- Data fluency (Excel; PowerBI a plus) for time studies, capacity modeling, and ROI cases.
- Excellent facilitation & storytelling—you can lead a room, sketch live, and make complex tradeoffs simple.
- Bias to action with tight follow-through from concept to pilot to scale.
Bonus Points
- Experience with 3P, Toyota Kata/Shingo-aligned systems, or large-scale greenfield/brownfield layout work.
- Ergonomics & safety assessments; human factors in station design.
- Right-sized automation: collaborative robotics, low-cost automation, or simple PLC/HMI literacy.
- Exposure to MES/IIoT for real-time visibility and sustainment.
Why Munro
- Immediate impact: deliver visible cost, throughput, and quality improvements.
- Variety & challenge: projects across industrial, white goods, building products, off-highway, and electronics.
- High-energy culture: builders and problem-solvers who value clarity, speed, and results.
- Growth path: help shape Munro’s commercial process design practice and mentor rising talent.
- Competitive package: salary performance bonus, strong benefits, and the tools to do your best work.
Benefits Overview:
- Competitive salary
- Paid time off including vacation days and holidays
- Healthcare, dental, vision, and life insurance plans
- Generous company 401K contribution
Munro & Associates is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Munro & Associates does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.