YOUR ROLE

The Sustaining Engineer is responsible for the ongoing support and management of released production products and manufacturing processes. Serving as the engineering owner for released products, this role manages all product-related changes throughout the lifecycle, including design revisions, material changes, supplier changes, cost reduction initiatives, obsolescence management, and manufacturing-driven improvements.

The Sustaining Engineer is accountable for evaluating, coordinating, implementing, and documenting all changes to released products throughout their lifecycle. This position works closely with Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Program Management, Customers, and Suppliers to ensure product changes are properly assessed, validated, documented, and implemented without disruption to production, quality, or customer requirements.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the engineering owner for released production products throughout their lifecycle.
• Evaluate, coordinate, and implement engineering changes affecting released products, components, materials, specifications, manufacturing processes, and supplier-sourced parts.
• Manage Change Requests (CRs), Engineering Change Orders (ECOs), and associated change management documentation.
• Assess the impact of proposed changes on product performance, quality, manufacturing processes, tooling, cost, inventory, customer requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead cross-functional reviews of proposed changes with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Program Management.
• Coordinate and execute product changes resulting from customer requests, supplier-driven changes, quality concerns, material substitutions, obsolescence issues, and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Support root cause investigations and implement design, material, process, or product improvements as required.
• Ensure all engineering changes are properly reviewed, validated, approved, documented, and implemented.
• Maintain configuration control and product traceability throughout the product lifecycle.
• Manage and maintain product documentation, including drawings, specifications, bills of materials (BOMs), and engineering standards, ensuring released product data remains accurate and aligned with approved engineering changes.
• Coordinate product validation, testing, and qualification activities associated with engineering changes.
• Support PPAP submissions, customer notifications, engineering change approvals, and validation activities as required.
• Collaborate with suppliers to evaluate and implement supplier-initiated changes and support supplier development activities as needed.
• Identify opportunities to improve manufacturability, reliability, efficiency, and product standardization.
• Support product launches and end-of-life product management activities.
• Develop and present technical reports, engineering analyses, implementation plans, and project updates to management.
• Ensure compliance with customer requirements, internal procedures, quality management system requirements, and applicable industry standards.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong understanding of engineering change management and product lifecycle management processes.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, assembly methods, tooling, fixtures, and production equipment.
• Ability to assess technical, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, and commercial impacts of engineering changes.
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, BOMs, and technical documentation.
• Experience with configuration management and document control systems.
• Strong communication and cross-functional leadership skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong technical writing and documentation skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ERP/MRP systems.
• Ability to effectively communicate with customers, suppliers, and all levels of the organization.

YOUR BACKGROUND

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering required (Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering preferred).
• Minimum of three (3) years of engineering experience in a manufacturing environment required. Automotive manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Candidates must have a proven track record of leading process improvements, implementing manufacturing equipment and tooling changes, and driving engineering projects to successful completion.
• Experience managing engineering changes, drawing revisions, BOM updates, product improvements, and manufacturing change implementation.
• Demonstrated experience delivering measurable improvements such as cost reduction projects, material substitutions, product redesigns, supplier change implementations, manufacturability improvements, and quality improvements.
• Experience supporting released product throughout the production lifecycle.
• Working knowledge of IATF 16949 and Automotive Core Tools, including APQP, PFMEA, MSA, SPC, PPAP, and Control Plans preferred.
• Experience with product validation, change control, configuration management, and technical documentation.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, tooling, assembly operations, and supplier management.
• Ability to make sound engineering decisions with minimal supervision.

PREFERRED PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Candidates should have experience leading or supporting projects such as:

• Engineering drawing and BOM revisions
• Customer-requested product changes
• Supplier-driven material or component changes
• Product obsolescence and replacement projects
• Cost reduction and value engineering initiatives
• Product redesigns to improve manufacturability or reliability
• Quality improvement projects resulting from production or customer concerns
• Material substitution and component qualification projects
• PPAP and customer approval activities associated with engineering changes
• Capacity expansion and production optimization projects

TRAVEL

• Limited travel may be required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

While performing the duties of this role, the employee must be able to work in a variety of physical positions, including sitting, standing, bending, reaching, walking, and stretching.  The employee may occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to inspect products, processes, and manufacturing operations.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
This position operates in both office and manufacturing environments. The employee will regularly work on the production floor and may be exposed to moving machinery, forklifts, varying temperatures, and moderate to high noise levels. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn as required.

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions in this class. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to them.