MES & Equipment Integration Engineer

We are seeking an MES & Equipment Integration Engineer to provide daily support for MES and related shop-floor applications and maintain connectivity and data exchange between production equipment, PLCs, SCADA, data collection platforms, and manufacturing applications.

This role requires an understanding of manufacturing processes and practical experience with equipment interfaces or industrial data collection. The engineer will troubleshoot common MES issues and work with Automation, Maintenance, Engineering, and vendors to resolve issues between equipment and application systems, supporting production continuity, data accuracy, and product traceability.

The role will also support new programs, equipment, and production lines by defining requirements, configuring systems, testing interfaces, and supporting launch activities, translating production, process, quality, and customer requirements into working equipment and system integrations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Daily MES Support and Troubleshooting
    Support production order execution, material scanning and consumption, production reporting, quality recording, label printing, product traceability, user access, and operator terminals. Prioritize issues based on production impact, resolve common issues independently, and coordinate complex issues with the appropriate teams.
2. Equipment Connectivity and SCADA Data Collection Support
    Assist with configuring, testing, and maintaining data connections between equipment, PLCs, SCADA or industrial gateways, and MES. Support the collection of machine status, production counts, downtime, alarms, process parameters, and test results. Validate tag mappings, data types, units, and timestamps, and troubleshoot basic communication and data issues.
3. Production Incident Response and Cross-System Troubleshooting
    Use application logs, SQL queries, interface monitoring, and equipment information to identify where issues occur. Work with Automation, Maintenance, Infrastructure, and vendors to restore service. Follow through on data recovery, completeness checks, root cause analysis, and corrective actions to reduce recurring incidents.
4. Process Parameters, Quality Data, and Traceability Support
    Help associate critical process parameters, measurements, and test results with product serial numbers or batches, operations, and equipment. Where required, support approved parameter or recipe downloads, execution confirmation, and exception handling. Work with Process Engineering, Quality, and Automation to verify parameter accuracy and traceability completeness.
5. Project Implementation and On-Site Launch Support
    Participate in requirements analysis, equipment interface definition, system configuration, installation, deployment, integration testing, user acceptance testing, and launch support for new equipment, production lines, and plant projects, including those in Alabama. Help validate normal production, communication interruptions, reconnection, and data recovery scenarios, and track issues through closure.
6. Manufacturing and Logistics Systems Coordination
    Work with the SAP PP specialist and master data owners to validate MES configurations and mappings for production orders, materials, operations, and work centers. As needed, collaborate with the warehouse systems owner and vendors to support relevant interfaces and workflows connecting MES with SAP, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), AGVs, and other shop-floor systems.
7. Documentation, Training, and Continuous Improvement
    Maintain interface specifications, equipment tag lists, configuration records, test documentation, and troubleshooting guides. Train shop-floor users and improve configurations, monitoring, and appropriate automation to increase system reliability and data quality. Changes to equipment control logic and safety interlocks must be reviewed and performed by the responsible specialists.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Automation, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant work experience.
• At least 2 years of experience implementing or supporting manufacturing systems, including hands-on MES implementation or operational support.
• Understanding of core manufacturing processes, including production execution, material consumption, production reporting, quality recording, and product traceability, with the ability to troubleshoot common MES issues independently.
• Practical equipment-related experience is required: participation in at least one area such as equipment connectivity, PLC data acquisition, SCADA configuration, industrial data collection, or equipment-to-MES interface commissioning. Candidates should be able to explain their specific contribution and issues they helped resolve.
• Understanding of the basic relationships between PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, and MES, with the ability to use equipment tag lists, communication settings, and system logs to troubleshoot alongside automation or equipment engineers.
• Practical exposure to at least one industrial communication protocol or equipment interface, such as OPC UA, Modbus TCP, Siemens S7, or vendor-specific interfaces, plus basic network connectivity troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to use SQL queries, application logs, or interface monitoring tools to validate data and investigate issues.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and follow-through skills, with the ability to communicate effectively in English with plant users, technical teams, and vendors, and clearly document issues and resolutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in automotive components or other discrete manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with PLC platforms such as Siemens or Allen-Bradley, including the ability to read relevant logic or perform online diagnostics.
• Experience installing, deploying, configuring, commissioning, or maintaining SCADA or industrial data collection platforms.
• Practical experience with at least one programming or scripting language, such as C#, Python, or Java, to help maintain interfaces or develop basic support tools.
• Experience integrating data from vision inspection, tightening, press-fit, leak testing, precision measurement, or similar equipment; or experience with recipe management, parameter validation, and unit-level traceability.
• Experience supporting MES integration with SAP, AS/RS, or AGVs, or participating in new production line or plant launches.

On-Site Support and After-Hours On-Call Requirements

This role is primarily based on-site at the Lewisburg plant. Working hours may need to be adjusted to accommodate production schedules, equipment commissioning, and system launches. Travel to Alabama and other relevant plants is required as project needs arise.

The engineer will participate in after-hours on-call support as scheduled by the team, responding promptly to urgent incidents such as line stoppages, unavailable critical systems, interrupted equipment data collection, or significant data issues. Support includes remote troubleshooting and on-site assistance when necessary. All on-site activities and system changes must follow plant safety and change management requirements.