Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Role overview

Based in Shannon, County Clare, this position sits within the Manufacturing / Engineering department and reports directly to the Chief Operation Officer. The Manufacturing Engineering Manager is responsible for guiding the manufacturing engineering function, with a strong focus on introducing new products, advancing automation, supporting facilities and infrastructure, and providing technical backing to high-volume production.

The role is central to ensuring that new products move smoothly into manufacturing, automation is introduced in a way that improves competitiveness, and production operations receive dependable engineering leadership. It also plays an important part in maintaining the company’s high standards for safe, reliable manufacturing of electronic products.

Primary responsibilities

New Product Introduction (NPI)

• Take ownership of manufacturing engineering input from the earliest design stages through pilot runs and full-scale production ramp-up.
• Embed strong Design for Manufacture and Design for Test thinking into R&D work.
• Create production processes that are durable, scalable, and suitable for new product launches.
• Lead PFMEA activity, process validation as needed (including IQ/OQ/PQ), and control plan creation.
• Manage a smooth transfer from NPI into ongoing production support.
• Oversee new SKU introduction and related documentation completion.
• Deliver NPI work on schedule, within budget, and in line with yield and cost targets.

Automation strategy and delivery

• Partner with the Automation Team to shape and execute a long-term automation plan that supports growth and cost goals.
• Identify opportunities to improve manufacturing automation, test automation, and material handling automation.
• Ensure automation choices are dependable, serviceable, and able to scale with business needs.
• Reduce manual activity while improving quality and repeatability.

Facilities and infrastructure

• Provide engineering direction for manufacturing facilities and infrastructure development.
• Contribute to planning for future capacity expansion.
• Make sure facilities can support production reliability and long-term growth.
• Work with Maintenance and EHS teams to meet safety and regulatory expectations.
• Support changes to plant layout and space use to match expansion plans.

Production technical support

• Offer senior technical guidance to solve complex production problems.
• Respond quickly and in a structured way to engineering and technical escalations.
• Collaborate with Line and Test Maintenance teams to improve technology performance.
• Strengthen engineering capability for high-volume, high-reliability manufacturing.

Leadership and team development

• Build, coach, and lead a strong Manufacturing Engineering team.
• Grow team capability across NPI, automation, facilities engineering, and production support.
• Set clear ownership and responsibilities across engineering areas.
• Promote close cooperation with R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations.
• Encourage accountability, innovation, and ongoing improvement.

Performance expectations

• Successful NPI launches delivered on time, on cost, and at target yield.
• Improved return on automation investments and better labour productivity.
• Better overall equipment effectiveness.
• Facilities prepared for growth and expansion.
• Strong delivery performance across manufacturing engineering projects.

Qualifications and experience

A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electronic, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering is required. The role calls for 7 to 10 years of experience in high-volume electronics manufacturing and at least 3 to 5+ years in an engineering leadership position.

Candidates should have a proven history of delivering NPI industrialization, automation projects, manufacturing line development, and facilities or infrastructure initiatives. Strong capability in structured problem-solving within production settings is also essential.

Core competencies

The ideal candidate will combine strategic thinking with strong delivery focus, and bring deep technical knowledge of electronics manufacturing processes. Experience with capital projects and equipment purchasing is important, along with sound financial judgment for CapEx justification and ROI analysis.

Excellent stakeholder management, cross-functional collaboration, data-led decision-making, strong organisation, and the ability to prioritise effectively are all important for success in this role.

Personal attributes

The right person will be proactive, future-focused, and highly accountable. They should be comfortable working both at a strategic level and in a hands-on manufacturing environment, remain composed under pressure, and show a strong commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.