Manufacturing Engineer

Manufacturing Engineer
12 Month Fixed-Term Contract
Southampton, Hampshire

An established high-tech manufacturing business based in Southampton is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer to join their Operations Engineering team on a 12-month fixed-term contract.

The company designs and manufactures advanced laser technology used across a wide range of industrial applications worldwide. With new products being introduced at pace, this role will play a key part in supporting manufacturing capability, improving processes and ensuring successful product introduction into production.

This is a hands-on engineering role, working closely with production, engineering and NPI teams to optimise manufacturing processes, drive continuous improvement and support operational performance.
The role is approximately 50% cleanroom based, so experience or comfort working within controlled environments would be beneficial.
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The Role
You will be responsible for delivering improvements across manufacturing processes, supporting operational teams and ensuring efficient and safe manufacturing practices.
Key responsibilities will include:
•    Providing manufacturing engineering support to production and operations teams
•    Driving continuous improvement activities focusing on quality, cost, and cycle time reduction
•    Implementing lean manufacturing techniques and structured problem solving methods
•    Designing and improving manufacturing cell layouts and production flow
•    Creating and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and manufacturing documentation
•    Supporting the introduction of new technologies and product lines into production
•    Analysing manufacturing data to identify improvement opportunities
•    Supporting NPI teams to ensure designs are manufacturable and production-ready
•    Leading improvement initiatives across manufacturing cells
•    Conducting risk assessments for new equipment, processes and procedures
•    Investigating and resolving manufacturing non-conformances
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Experience Required
Essential:
•    3–5 years’ experience within a Manufacturing Engineering role
•    Experience with lean manufacturing tools such as value stream mapping and structured problem solving (A3, 8D, DMAIC)
•    Experience analysing manufacturing data and identifying improvement opportunities
•    Experience creating work instructions, SOPs or standard work documentation
•    Strong Excel and general IT skills
•    Good understanding of health & safety within manufacturing environments
•    Experience implementing 5S
Desirable:
•    Experience working in a cleanroom or controlled environment
•    Fine mechanical or precision assembly experience
•    Six Sigma Green Belt
•    Knowledge of OEE, capacity planning or takt-based production flow
•    Experience with TPM or Gage R&R
•    Optical fibre handling or fusion/splicing experience
•    Basic SQL knowledge
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Qualifications
•    Degree qualified in an engineering discipline, or equivalent experience.
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Personal Profile
•    Highly organised with strong attention to detail
•    Proactive and naturally curious, always looking for ways to improve processes
•    Strong structured problem-solving ability
•    Comfortable working in a fast-moving manufacturing environment
•    Able to communicate effectively across engineering, operations and production teams
•    Adaptable and able to manage multiple priorities