Leverage Your Outstanding Leadership Skills to Develop a Strong Team at a High-Growth Specialty Vehicle Manufacturer

If you combine success in a manufacturing engineer or similar role with proven leadership skills, including effective coaching and development, and a background in facilities maintenance and Lean principles, the role of Manufacturing Engineering and Maintenance Manager offers you several compelling opportunities. You will:

• Play a key role in a fast-growing facility and company -- the Bristol plant has quadrupled the size of the team over the past five years, and we're continuing to grow.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of MEs and maintenance supervisors as they support a large plant (we have 1300+ people and growing) and nearby warehouse facility. 
• Enjoy visibility and the chance to make a strong impact in a variety of areas from supporting lean initiatives to developing and enhancing processes to new equipment installations and more. 
• Serve as a core member of a strong and collaborative team of Operations leaders. Together we've created a great environment and cohesive plant culture.
• Showcase your potential to advance -- we are proactive about succession planning and hire with an eye to the future. 
• Support outstanding products in a stable and growing automotive company. Our commercial trucks are continually in high demand.

Utilimaster moves ahead of the competition when commercial trucks and upfit services require precision, planning, peerless people, and the perfect vehicle. Our vehicles deliver for well-respected global brands in the package delivery, ecommerce, food and beverage, linen and laundry, grocery and pharmaceutical markets. Utilimaster is a top-tier go-to-market brand of The Shyft Group (NASDAQ: SHYF), North America’s leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. The Shyft Group rebranded in 2020 to reflect a new focus on high-growth end markets to help ensure long-term profitable growth.

To be a good fit for the Manufacturing Engineering and Maintenance Manager opportunity, you will have:

• 10+ years of relevant experience, with 5+ years as an operational leader  Quick question for you - click here
• A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to coach, develop, influence and motivate team members' skills and behaviors
• Experience managing P&L; understanding the impact of lean manufacturing tools
• Experience across several functions of the value stream — engineering, sales, purchasing
• Experience working in a low volume, high variation manufacturing setting
• Experience working in a Toyota Production System (TPS preferred) or similar environment (Lean, 5S, Six Sigma, etc.); a green belt is an advantage
• Knowledge of CNC machining, fabrication, paint, assembly, and construction
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite and computer-aided design systems like SolidWorks or AutoCAD
• Demonstrated ability to bring the benefits of DMAIC and DFSS to solve business issues while also managing risk and cost
• Tier One automotive experience is preferred  Quick question for you - click here

In addition, success will require the following competencies and characteristics:

• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, presence, energy, passion humility, and adaptability
• Ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines
• Self-motivated and on-task with a team-oriented mindset
• Strong coaching and change management skills; outstanding problem-solving skills
• Sound judgment with the ability to make timely, often difficult decisions
• Versatile, flexible, and willing to work with new situations and information as priorities change
• Ability to contribute in a collaborative environment
• Ability to influence and persuade customers, employees, and management at all levels
• Clear and effective communication skills, verbal, written and active listening

You will primarily work days but will flex your schedule on occasion to support team members on the third shift or handle on-call responsibilities. 

As an essential business, we have strong protocols in place protecting our employees and safeguarding their health, across all of our plant operations. 

The Manufacturing Engineering and Maintenance Manager position is responsible for implementing lean manufacturing principles across the facility and for the development of lean, highly efficient manufacturing processes. You will drive continuous improvement in the areas of cost, quality, safety, lead time, and use of working capital. 

You will be directly responsible for leading a team of eight MEs, including one on the night shift, and two maintenance supervisors, one on nights and the other on days. The team has a mix of newer to seasoned employees. It's a talented team that can improve and excel with the coaching and guidance of a strong leader who sets clear expectations and follows through on those expectations. We expect that you'll spend the majority of your time focused on manufacturing engineering (+/- 80%), you'll also be engaged daily with maintenance. Some of your specific responsibilities will include:

• Leading teams to develop safe, lean, highly efficient, world-class manufacturing processes
• Supporting manufacturing teams to implement common manufacturing processes and share best practices
• The development and execution of project planning
• Evaluation of tools and equipment options for reduced costs
• Generating and maintaining the annual maintenance budget, managing expenses within approved budget constraints
• Reviewing requests for maintenance and prioritizing tasks based on urgency, resources, and staffing
• Providing requests for investments in machinery, building, or other expenses that will improve manufacturing operations
• Monitoring production processes closely to identify mechanical and electrical reliability
• Developing and overseeing implementation plans for projects, improvements, and personnel development
• Working closely with product teams, production control, purchasing, operations and other departments for efficient execution of lean processes
• Implementing and supporting lean manufacturing principles such as visual controls, pull inventory systems, workplace organization, and continuous improvement
• Coordinating with vendors for maintenance improvement projects
• Providing technical support for production operations including tooling, fixtures, and processes for utilizing new and existing systems and procedures
• Supporting lean manufacturing / Kaizen events (removing roadblocks and delegating activities)
• Assisting with plant layouts
• Keeping management updated with project statuses, feedback, and appropriate reporting on select projects through tracking system and management/project reviews
• Leading a motivated associate team through principles of trust, teamwork, accountability, self-confidence, and business leadership
• Driving improvements in quality, warranty, master scheduling, and continuous improvement
• Supporting other leaders through organizational changes and interventions
• Actively leading teams and providing individual contributions in problem-solving efforts to improve quality, reduce cost, improve cycle time, reduce scrap and rework
• Communicating with and assisting cross-functional teams including Engineering, Materials, Purchasing, Sales

This description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

Pictured: Utilimaster's success depends on the hard work and craftsmanship of our many talented employees.

Professional development
Once you have proven yourself in this role, you could pursue advancement in Operations or in other areas, here in Bristol or at other plants. The company believes that leaders should always be grooming their own replacement, and we'll look to you to learn and advance your skills, and to work to the top of your potential.

Stability and growth
The Shyft Group is financially sound and will continue to be an aggressive market disrupter through strategic acquisitions, relevant product innovations, and aggressive growth models that serve strong and growing end markets. Be assured, our accelerated growth trajectory will create opportunities for strong performers.

Focused transformation
Utilimaster, alongside The Shyft Group’s family of well-respected brands, continues to be a leader in every segment in which they compete. The Shyft name represents speed, efficiency, agility, and a high-intensity approach, which corresponds with the company’s pivot in market focus and the forward momentum garnered in the work truck, specialty service, and delivery vehicle markets.

Driven to deliver
Ever evolving and advancing, The Shyft Group is driven to make an impactful difference in how effectively goods, people, and services are delivered in today's and tomorrow's marketplace. Through our unmatched industry knowledge, engineering expertise, and manufacturing reach, we continue to deliver job-enhancing, efficiency-driving, ever-reliable products and services made for the road ahead.

Excellent compensation
In addition to competitive compensation, we offer medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance plans; a health savings account; a flexible savings account; wellness credits; a wellness program; a 401(k) plan with a corporate match; an employee stock purchase program and more.

This is a role for a proactive problem-solver and solutions-oriented leader who is process-driven and interested CI oriented... someone who cannot only identify problems but sees the fix and ensures a "lessons learned" approach to long-range solutions that help make operations easier. 

To excel in this role, you will add process where it is lacking, develop your team and help us take the manufacturing engineering and maintenance functions to the next level. For example, early on, you will focus on creating a cohesive, stable and well-honed team; work on projects such as increasing capacity, and/or enhance the preventative maintenance plan and build best practices, implement a tool tracking system, and oversee key projects, such as new equipment installation.  

In addition, in order to be an outstanding Manufacturing Engineering and Maintenance Manager, you will:

• Work effectively cross-functionally, engaging associates and bringing a sense of urgency to problem solving
• Take an innovative approach to help create systems, processes, and best practices
• Be versatile and flexible, and able to pivot quickly to meet changing priorities
• Achieve goals independently but also promote teamwork
• Bring a positive approach to coaching and mentoring along with a commitment to excellence and high standards
• Work as a cohesive member of the leadership team, promoting our culture and team-oriented environment