Description
The Production Engineer provides hands-on technical support for daily transformer manufacturing operations. Working closely with Production, Engineering, Quality, Materials, Planning, and Maintenance, this role improves safety, quality, delivery, cost, and overall production performance.
The Production Engineer resolves manufacturing issues, eliminates bottlenecks, standardizes processes, and provides timely technical guidance to supervisors, leads, and operators. This role also proactively analyzes production trends, anticipates recurring issues, and collects, interprets, and clearly communicates the data needed to develop effective, sustainable solutions.
Develop, standardize, and maintain manufacturing documentation while identifying and isolating critical components and process characteristics. Ensure all critical requirements are properly documented, validated, and verified to support product quality, process consistency, and compliance with engineering and quality standards.
Key Responsibilities
Production Support
- Support daily production goals and schedule attainment.
- Resolve problems affecting safety, quality, delivery, or cost.
- Identify bottlenecks and improve production flow.
- Provide technical guidance for production personnel.
- Communicate risks and corrective actions during production meetings.
- Ensure manufacturing follows approved specifications and will escalate through the proper channels if needed.
- Collect, analyze, and interpret manufacturing data to identify trends, recurring failures, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
Transformer Manufacturing Support
Provide technical support for transformer coil manufacturing process, core assembly, lead fabrication, brazing and welding, mechanical assembly, oil processing, electrical testing, final inspection, and RMA operations.
Process Improvement
- Improve throughput, cycle time, labor efficiency, and equipment utilization.
- Reduce scrap, rework, downtime, and unnecessary material movement.
- Conduct time studies, capacity reviews, and workload-balancing analyses.
- Improve layouts, ergonomics, material flow, and operator accessibility.
- Lead 5S, identify standard work, and initiate clear work instructions.
- Measure and document improvement results.
Manufacturing Documentation
- Develop and maintain SOPs, work instructions, process flows, and visual aids.
- Review drawings, specifications, BOMs, and production routings.
- Implement current engineering revisions and remove obsolete documents.
- Establish critical process parameters and quality checkpoints.
- Support operator training and competency programs.
Quality and Root-Cause Analysis
- Investigate defects, process deviations, and recurring production problems.
- Lead root-cause analysis and corrective-action activities.
- Support investigations for CAPA, nonconformance, customer complaint, and RMA.
- Improve first-pass yield and reduce internal defects.
- Support inspections and ISO 9001 audits.
- Verify that corrective actions are effective and sustained.
Manufacturing Readiness
- Review new and revised designs for manufacturability and operator capacity.
- Confirm drawings, materials, tooling, routings, and instructions are ready for production.
- Support prototype builds, new product introductions, and process validation.
- Coordinate Engineering Change Order implementation with all departments.
- Communicate manufacturing concerns and recommendations to Engineering.
- Utilize statistical analysis and problem-solving methodologies to validate improvements.
Requirements
Environment/Physical Requirements
The ideal candidate must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.
· Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
· Must be able to access and navigate each department in the Office and Factory Floor.
· Office and manufacturing environment
· Regular interaction with production areas
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Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Minimum of 3 years of manufacturing engineering, production engineering, process engineering, or related experience in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience supporting daily production operations and resolving manufacturing issues.
- Experience developing and maintaining manufacturing documentation, including SOPs, work instructions, process flows, and visual work aids.
- Experience performing root cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify trends and implement sustainable solutions.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel for data analysis and reporting.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, bills of materials (BOMs), and manufacturing routings.
- Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Experience in transformer, power distribution equipment, electrical equipment, or other engineered-to-order manufacturing environments.
- Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, Kaizen, and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Experience supporting ISO 9001 quality management systems and audits.
- Experience with ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing data analysis tools.
- Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Certification, or equivalent continuous improvement certification.
- Familiarity with statistical analysis, process capability studies, and validation methodologies.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Minimum of 3 years of manufacturing engineering, production engineering, process engineering, or related experience in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience supporting daily production operations and resolving manufacturing issues.
- Experience developing and maintaining SOPs, work instructions, process flows, and visual work aids.
- Experience performing root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills, including identifying trends and implementing sustainable solutions.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel for data analysis and reporting.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, bills of materials, and manufacturing routings.
- Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Experience in transformer, power distribution equipment, electrical equipment, or engineered-to-order manufacturing environments.
- Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, Kaizen, and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Experience supporting ISO 9001 quality management systems and audits.
- Experience with ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing data analysis tools.
- Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Certification, or equivalent continuous improvement certification.
- Familiarity with statistical analysis, process capability studies, and validation methodologies.
What We Do
VanTran Industries, Inc. manufactures and designs custom liquid-filled transformers and other electrical application products for industrial, commercial, military, and utility markets.









