What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manufacturing Engineer position at SMX Services & Consulting, Inc.?
Position Title: Manufacturing Engineer
Worksite Location: Mossville, IL
Manufacturing Engineer - Digital Manufacturing & OperationsPosition Overview
We are seeking a highly experienced Manufacturing Engineer with deep shop floor expertise and a strong digital product mindset to partner with IT and Azure DevOps (ADO) teams in the development and deployment of manufacturing-focused digital solutions.
The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of manufacturing operations, production systems, and process optimization, while also being able to translate operational challenges into scalable digital capabilities. This individual should be comfortable working in Agile/DevOps environments and collaborating across technical and non-technical teams.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or a related technical discipline
- 10 years of relevant manufacturing experience
- Master's degree in a related field
- 7 years of relevant manufacturing experience
- Hands-on experience in manufacturing or production environments, including machining, assembly, fabrication, or similar operations
- Strong understanding of manufacturing systems, equipment behavior, process flows, and operational constraints
- Experience partnering with IT, software engineering, or digital product teams
- Proven manufacturing domain expertise with systems-level thinking capabilities
- Strong digital product mindset focused on operational value delivery and continuous improvement
- Excellent problem definition, requirements gathering, and analytical skills
- Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, evolving, and ambiguous environments
- Experience writing clear business requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional documentation
- Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills across technical and non-technical audiences
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and influence decision-making
- Experience supporting or implementing digital manufacturing solutions such as:
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
- MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems)
- Production analytics
- Connected equipment
- Digital twins
- Familiarity with manufacturing data systems and sources, including PLC, SCADA, MES, CMMS, and industrial historians
- Experience working in multi-site manufacturing environments
- Exposure to Agile, DevOps, CI/CD concepts, and digital product lifecycle methodologies
- Experience supporting pilot-to-scale digital transformation initiatives
- Represent manufacturing operations in the design and development of digital manufacturing tools and capabilities
- Define process intent, operational constraints, and loss mechanisms to guide technical solution development
- Ensure digital solutions align with shop floor realities, safety requirements, and quality standards
- Support pilot deployments and validate digital solutions within live manufacturing environments
- Partner with IT and product teams leveraging Azure DevOps (ADO) to develop manufacturing-focused digital products
- Create and refine Epics, Features, User Stories, and Acceptance Criteria aligned to manufacturing outcomes
- Participate in Agile ceremonies including backlog refinement, sprint planning, and incremental delivery processes (MVP/MMP)
- Support decision-making around scalability, localization, and standardization across manufacturing sites
- Translate manufacturing challenges into clear, measurable, and testable digital requirements
- Identify critical operational data signals and event triggers necessary for business insights and decision-making
- Define both functional and non-functional requirements, including performance, usability, and reliability expectations
- Maintain traceability from manufacturing need to digital feature through deployed capability
- Facilitate workshops and collaboration sessions with manufacturing, IT, data, and leadership stakeholders
- Drive alignment across facilities on digital standards, operating models, and best practices
- Help manage scope and reinforce outcome-driven product development
- Support organizational change management and adoption of digital tools across shop floor operations