The Optimization Engineering Manager will serve as the strategic architect of the plant’s technical and operational efficiency. This role is responsible for driving the Maintenance Operating System (MOS) across all production departments, optimizing plant throughput via constraint management, and leading the Industrial Engineering team to ensure lean manpower distribution. The position acts as the central point for capital investment, bridging the gap between local area engineering needs and long-term plant investment strategies.
Key Responsibilities
Maintenance & Facilities Leadership (MOS)
- System Ownership: Lead and coach the Maintenance Operating System (MOS) across Body, Paint, Final Assembly, and Facilities to ensure standardized practices.
- Reliability Strategy: Drive Predictive and Preventive Maintenance (PdM/PM) programs to reduce unplanned downtime and improve Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).
- Facilities Management: Oversee the plant’s physical infrastructure, utilities, and environmental systems to ensure 100% uptime and regulatory compliance.
Plant Constraint Management & Throughput
- Bottleneck Analysis: Serve as the plant lead for the Constraint Management Process, identifying and resolving bottlenecks that limit Jobs Per Hour (JPH).
- OEE Improvement: Analyze Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) data to prioritize engineering resources toward the highest-impact areas.
- Continuous Improvement: Lead cross-functional "War Room" sessions to address systemic throughput issues.
Industrial Engineering & Manpower Management
- Team Supervision: Lead and mentor the Industrial Engineering (IE) department.
- Labor Optimization: Direct manpower allocation and distribution studies to ensure the plant meets labor productivity targets.
- Work Content Standards: Oversee the development of standardized work and time studies (e.g., MODAPTS) to balance lines and optimize headcount.
Capital Investment & Matrix ME Management
- CAPEX Oversight: Responsible for requesting, securing, and coordinating Capital Investment projects. Develop business cases for new equipment and technology.
- Matrix Leadership: Provide functional direction to Area ME Managers (Body, Paint, Final). While they report locally to production, you ensure their projects align with plant-wide capital strategy and engineering standards.
- Launch Readiness: Coordinate with the Product Development teams to ensure the facility is prepared for new vehicle programs and model year changes.
Required Qualifications & Competencies
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial).
An MBA or Master’s in Engineering Management is preferred.
Experience: 10+ years of engineering leadership in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
- Experience in automotive assembly is preferred.
Technical Knowledge: Deep understanding of Maintenance Operating System and Final Assembly logistics.
Technical Skills
- Financial Acumen: Proven ability to manage multi-million-dollar CAPEX budgets and calculate ROI/NPV for engineering projects.
- Systems Expertise: Proficiency in Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), Constraint Management software, and Lean Manufacturing principles (TPS/Six Sigma).
- Project Management: Experience leading large-scale facility installations or vehicle launches.
Leadership Soft Skills
- Matrix Influence: Ability to lead and align managers who do not have a direct reporting line to you.
- Coaching: A "servant leader" mentality focused on developing the technical skills of maintenance and IE staff.
- Conflict Resolution: Ability to balance the competing needs of different production areas (Body vs. Paint vs. Final) for limited capital and manpower resources.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
- Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members, and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
This position is leadership level 5 and ranges from $138,240-261,720.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL5
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
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