Thermoforming Process Engineer

Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove, the leading manufacturer of luxury kitchen appliances is a longstanding, family-owned company in the Madison WI area. Icons of design and paragons of performance and quality, Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove are the refrigeration, cooking, and dishwashing specialists found in world’s most luxurious homes. We look for team members who are driven by innovation and excellence, striving to serve our customers by doing what is right—with integrity, teamwork, and accountability.

Growth and development are important aspects of this position.  Whether you aspire to be a leader or a technical expert, this position will set you up for success in the future.

We are seeking a motivated individual with an analytical approach to provide technical leadership as we grow our manufacturing capacity and capabilities.  This role will lead our efforts in the thermoforming and plastic trimming processes.

Primary Responsibilities

We are seeking an experienced Thermoforming Process Engineer with a hands-on approach to provide subject matter expertise as a member of the Manufacturing Engineering team.

This role will be responsible for the start-up of forming and trimming processes for thermoformed parts. The ideal candidate will have experience in the forming (vacuum and pressure) of thick gauge thermoplastics, tool design and qualification, part work holding methodologies, and plastics trimming technologies.

This role will be responsible for maintaining production performance as well as seeking out and executing on continuous improvement opportunities.

Responsibilities include:

• Specify, purchase, install, and start-up new assets for fabrication of thermoformed parts.
• Complete, or coordinate completion, of safety risk assessment and safety lifecycle during development, installation, and start-up of new equipment and processes.
• Maintain awareness of state of industry and trends in equipment and technology.
• Provide, or coordinate, technical training for thermoforming and trimming of plastic parts.
• Assess training needs of technical support staff and develop plan to address areas of need.
• Establishes, coordinates and directs Thermoforming and Trimming process improvement initiatives.
• Develops OEE and Quality improvement plans with the plant Leadership Team to meet targets.
• Responsible for CAR development and follow-up through the submission/approval process and coordination of capital activities.
• Provides leadership in the pursuit of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Productivity goals (SQDCP).
• Corrects safety related issues and leads investigations on safety related topics.

Responsibilities as business unit production support:

• Provides technical operations support for Thermoforming and Trimming manufacturing problems.
• Develops and leads process-improvement initiatives to address specific issues as they arise.
• Utilizes Plan, Do, Check and Adjust methodology for managing daily improvement (MDI).
• Capable of recognizing opportunities for improvement and generating a list of ideas for annual plant operational improvement.
• Utilizes lean methods (Kaizen) for process improvements and utilizes daily coaching for sustainment.
• Utilizes operational data to make informed decisions on a daily basis.
• Ensures layered audits are completed as scheduled and implements countermeasures to safeguard goal attainment.
• Uses metrics for accountability to mark improvement or need for improvement.
• Provides engineering support and resources to sustain plant production including assisting with plant facilities and production equipment maintenance.
• Financial acumen for data analysis of trends and tendencies, tenacity in the performance of the tasks within the role, and continuous improvement (Lean Management).

We value our employees by providing:

• Competitive compensation based on skills
• Industry leading health, dental, and vision plans
• Generous 401 (K) savings and profit sharing
• On-site UW Health clinic, fitness center, and walking paths
• Education assistance and internal training programs
• Electric vehicle charging
• Maternity & paternity leave
• Interested in learning more on our robust benefits package we offer? Click here!

This position requires a pre-employment drug/alcohol test and background check, which will be administered after a conditional job offer is extended. A negative drug/alcohol test result is required for employment. Refusal to take the test or a positive result may disqualify a candidate from further consideration.  All drug testing will be conducted in accordance with federal and state laws.

Qualifications Education Required Bachelors or better. Bachelors or better. Experience Required Strong analytical skills using standard software packages such as Excel and maintenance work order systems to identify opportunities and validate holding improvement gains Demonstrated collaborative ability in dynamic organizational environments Must be results oriented with a high energy level for process and performance improvement Technical experience to include process support and working/hands-on knowledge of thick gauge sheet thermoforming Lean Methodologies or Continuous Process Improvement required 7+ years of manufacturing experience in technical roles with a strong emphasis on safety Preferred Experience with robotics (Fanuc preferred) Knowledge of GD&T ANSI Y14.5 and basic metrology methods Experience in functional safety lifecycle including: risk assessments, functional safety design, risk reduction and system validation processes Equal Opportunity Employer
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