What are the responsibilities and job description for the Process Engineer – Customer Integration & Continuous Improvement position at Southern Machine Works, Inc.?
Southern Machine Works, Inc. (SMW) is a privately held precision manufacturing company located in Duncan, Oklahoma. We provide complex CNC machining and assembly services to aerospace, space, defense, firearms, and other demanding industries.
SMW operates from a 25,000-square-foot climate-controlled facility with a modern equipment base that includes multi-axis CNC turning, 5-axis machining, horizontal machining with pallet automation, and advanced Zeiss CMM inspection capabilities.
We are AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certified, ITAR registered, and a Certified HUBZone Small Business.
SMW is growing, and that growth is creating a need for stronger, more repeatable systems connecting our customers, engineering, quality, and manufacturing operations.
We are looking for a Process Engineer who can help build those systems.
The Process Engineer – Customer Integration & Continuous Improvement will be a cross-functional technical leader responsible for improving how work moves from the customer into production and through the manufacturing process.
This is not a traditional engineering role focused solely on designing parts or processes.
The right person will work directly with customers, programmers, quality personnel, manufacturing leadership, and operators to make our processes more organized, repeatable, measurable, and scalable.
A major objective of the position is to identify areas where our current processes depend too heavily on individual knowledge or informal practices and replace them with practical systems that work in a fast-moving precision manufacturing environment.
- Serve as a technical point of contact during onboarding of new customers, programs, and parts.
- Work directly with customer engineering and procurement teams to clarify drawings, specifications, tolerances, manufacturing requirements, and technical questions.
- Help translate customer requirements into executable manufacturing processes.
- Coordinate technical changes and customer revisions across programming, manufacturing, quality, inspection, and documentation.
- Help establish disciplined processes for managing engineering changes without disrupting production or introducing revision-control risk.
- Evaluate existing manufacturing workflows and identify opportunities to improve consistency, throughput, quality, and ease of execution.
- Develop and document repeatable processes for launching new parts and transitioning them into stable production.
- Help standardize the flow of information between estimating, engineering/programming, quality, and manufacturing.
- Work with CNC programmers and manufacturing personnel to improve setup methods, tooling strategies, workholding, process documentation, and overall manufacturability.
- Identify and reduce dependence on tribal knowledge by converting successful practices into documented standard work.
- Develop standardized procedures for CAD/CAM programming, engineering-data management, CNC program revision control, and release of programs to the shop floor.
- Help establish clear ownership and approval processes for CNC programs and related manufacturing documentation.
- Improve how drawings, models, specifications, setup information, tooling data, and other technical information are organized and controlled.
- Ensure manufacturing personnel have reliable access to the correct information at the correct revision.
- Work closely with Quality to improve and standardize the First Article Inspection process.
- Help reduce the time required to move new parts from programming and setup through inspection and production approval.
- Support compliance with AS9100 and AS9102 requirements.
- Assist with investigation and resolution of dimensional discrepancies, manufacturing problems, and customer technical concerns.
- Participate in root-cause analysis and corrective-action efforts when manufacturing or quality issues occur.
- Help establish and lead a practical, shop-wide continuous improvement program.
- Identify opportunities to reduce setup time, machining time, handling, waiting, rework, redundant processes, and other forms of waste.
- Use Lean manufacturing tools such as 5S, Kaizen, value-stream mapping, standard work, and structured problem solving where appropriate.
- Use manufacturing and operational data to identify opportunities and measure improvement.
- Work with leadership and shop personnel to prioritize improvement projects that create measurable operational or financial results.
- Build continuous improvement into normal operations rather than treating it as a separate initiative.
We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable discussing a drawing with a customer engineer, working through a manufacturing problem with a CNC programmer, reviewing an inspection issue with Quality, and helping management design a better process.
The ideal candidate understands that successful process improvement in a smaller manufacturing company requires both technical knowledge and practicality.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field or equivalent hands-on manufacturing experience.
- Approximately 5 years of experience in precision CNC machining, aerospace manufacturing, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
- Strong understanding of CNC machining processes and manufacturing fundamentals.
- Ability to read and interpret complex engineering drawings, specifications, and GD&T.
- Experience developing, documenting, or improving manufacturing processes.
- Strong technical problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with customers, engineers, machinists, programmers, inspectors, and management.
- Strong organizational and documentation skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.
- Must qualify as a U.S. Person under applicable ITAR requirements.
- Experience working in an AS9100 aerospace manufacturing environment.
- Working knowledge of AS9102 First Article Inspection requirements.
- Experience implementing Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement programs.
- Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or similar continuous improvement training.
- Experience with CNC programming or working directly with CNC programmers.
- Experience with CAD/CAM systems such as SolidWorks, ESPRIT, Mastercam, or similar software.
- Experience with ProShop ERP or another manufacturing ERP/QMS platform.
- Experience with Zeiss CMM systems and inspection software.
- Experience developing systems for engineering-data management, revision control, or CNC program control.
- Experience in a small-to-medium-sized manufacturing company where individuals are expected to work across traditional departmental boundaries.
Within this role, success will ultimately mean that:
- New customers and new parts move into production more smoothly.
- Customer revisions are implemented accurately and consistently.
- CNC programs and engineering data are organized and controlled.
- First Article Inspection becomes faster and more predictable.
- Manufacturing problems are identified and resolved systematically.
- Successful manufacturing methods become documented processes rather than tribal knowledge.
- Continuous improvement projects produce measurable gains in productivity, quality, lead time, or cost.
- SMW becomes increasingly capable of supporting larger and more technically demanding customer programs without creating unnecessary administrative overhead.
Salary Range: $95,000–$120,000 per year, depending on experience and qualifications.
Position: Full-Time, On-Site
Location: Duncan, Oklahoma
Southern Machine Works is looking for someone who wants the opportunity to have a meaningful impact on how a growing precision manufacturing company operates. This position will have visibility across the organization and the ability to help shape the systems SMW uses as we continue to grow.
Salary : $95,000 - $120,000