Position Title: Manufacturing Engineer

Location: East Moline, Illinois
Work Arrangement: Onsite from Day 1
Shift: 1st Shift, 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Schedule Requirements: Must be available to work off shifts and overtime as business needs require
Pay Rate: $51.50/Hr (W2 through KellyOCG for John Deere)
Visa Sponsorship: Not available now or in the future for this position
Safety Requirement: Metatarsal safety boots required on the first day

Position Overview

The Manufacturing Engineer will provide assembly manufacturing engineering support and troubleshooting for current operations within the Front-End Equipment and Cab business unit at John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois.

This position will work primarily in a shop floor environment and collaborate directly with production employees and cross-functional teams to support daily production goals. The Manufacturing Engineer will identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, ergonomics, process quality, and manufacturing efficiency.

The role will also support production documentation, assembly tooling and fixturing, manufacturing process controls, SAP, and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

Key Responsibilities

• Provide assembly manufacturing engineering support and troubleshooting for current production operations.

• Work directly with production teams and cross-functional partners to identify and resolve manufacturing issues.

• Identify, develop, and implement continuous improvement projects focused on:

  • Safety and ergonomics

  • Process quality

  • Manufacturing efficiency

  • Production performance

• Establish and maintain:

  • Sequence of Events (SOE)

  • Work center layouts

  • Torque tools

  • Assembly fixturing

  • Operator Methods Sheets (OMS)

• Work with SAP and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to perform engineering functions.

• Develop and maintain manufacturing process controls.

• Support line and process design activities.

• Evaluate production processes and recommend improvements based on data, observations, and team feedback.

• Troubleshoot process, tooling, equipment, and assembly issues.

• Support the production line until daily production goals are met.

• Promote safe work practices and ensure manufacturing processes support required safety standards.

• Communicate effectively with production, quality, reliability, industrial engineering, design engineering, and other stakeholders.

• Execute assigned engineering activities independently while managing multiple priorities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technology discipline.

• Experience in one or more of the following engineering areas:

  • Industrial engineering

  • Reliability engineering

  • Design engineering

  • Manufacturing engineering

  • Quality engineering

• Strong communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment.

• Self-starter with the ability to execute a variety of tasks autonomously.

• Strong problem-solving mindset with a bias toward taking action.

• Experience using engineering tools, systems, and databases.

• Ability to consistently arrive on time and support production requirements.

• Ability to work safely while wearing all required personal protective equipment.

• Ability to spend a significant majority of the workday in a shop floor environment.

• Ability to work onsite from the first day of employment.

• Ability to work off shifts and overtime as required by business needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of manufacturing processes and experience working in a production environment.

• Experience with shop floor documentation, including:

• Sequence of Events (SOE)

• Labor standards

• Operator Methods Sheets (OMS)

• Experience working in a union manufacturing environment.

• Experience using MES systems for manufacturing process controls.

• Experience with smart tooling, including Atlas Copco, IR, Panasonic, or similar systems.

• Experience with emerging manufacturing technologies, such as:

• Computer vision and machine learning

• Digital manufacturing tools

• Process automation

• Experience with line and process design.

• Experience with material presentation.

• Experience analyzing cycles of imbalance.

• Experience using visual management tools.

• Experience working with SAP or similar enterprise manufacturing systems.

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technology discipline is required.

Relevant experience in manufacturing, production, industrial engineering, process improvement, quality, reliability, or engineering support is preferred.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

• Ability to work a significant majority of the shift in a shop floor environment.

• Ability to work directly with production employees and support the production line until daily goals are met.

• Ability to work primarily on 1st shift, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Ability to work off shifts and overtime as required by business needs.

• Ability to consistently arrive on time.

• Ability to safely wear all required PPE, including:

• Bump cap

• Face mask, when applicable

• Ear plugs

• Safety glasses

• Gloves

• Metatarsal safety boots

• Metatarsal safety boots are required on the first day.