Supplier Development Engineer

The Supplier Development Engineer is a high-impact, hands-on role responsible for elevating supplier capability, accelerating performance recovery, and building a stronger, more reliable supply base for discrete manufacturing operations. This role partners aggressively with Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, and suppliers to drive measurable gains in quality, delivery, cost, capacity, and launch readiness. The position requires a process-driven leader who can move quickly from diagnosis to action, apply lean tools at the source, remove barriers, and deliver sustained supplier performance improvement. # Key Responsibilities - Build and execute aggressive supplier development plans for critical, high-risk, or underperforming suppliers supporting discrete manufacturing operations. - Rapidly assess supplier manufacturing processes, quality systems, capacity, tooling, controls, staffing, and readiness to meet production requirements. - Lead targeted improvement projects that increase quality, delivery, throughput, lead time performance, scrap reduction, and process stability. - Drive supplier launch readiness for new product introductions, sourcing transitions, and supplier changes through APQP, PPAP, first article inspection, run-at-rate reviews, and production readiness assessments. - Conduct on-site supplier audits, process capability reviews, risk assessments, and manufacturing feasibility evaluations with clear action plans and owners. - Attack root causes using structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, mistake-proofing, and verified corrective action. - Partner with Supplier Quality to contain issues quickly, resolve nonconforming material concerns, eliminate recurring defects, and prevent supplier escapes. - Collaborate with Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing to qualify stronger suppliers, evaluate capability, and support make-buy, resourcing, and localization decisions. - Work with Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering to resolve specification, drawing, tolerance, inspection, process control, and manufacturability issues that limit supplier performance. - Use supplier performance data to expose trends, prioritize risk, trigger escalation, and focus resources on the highest-impact improvement opportunities. - Deliver cost-reduction and value-improvement results through process optimization, yield improvement, waste elimination, manufacturability improvements, and lead time reduction. - Build strong supplier relationships while creating clear accountability for commitments, corrective actions, timelines, and business results. - Communicate supplier risks, action plans, technical findings, recovery status, and executive updates with clarity, urgency, and precision. # Required Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, or a related technical field. - Three to seven years of experience in supplier development, supplier quality, manufacturing engineering, quality engineering, process engineering, continuous improvement, or a related manufacturing role. - Hands-on experience in a discrete manufacturing environment involving machined parts, fabricated components, castings, forgings, stampings, molded parts, assemblies, finishing processes, or other engineered components. - Proven ability to operate in a process-driven manner using standards, documented workflows, visual controls, performance metrics, escalation routines, and disciplined follow-up. - Demonstrated success applying lean tools such as value stream mapping, standard work, 5S, visual management, Kaizen, root cause analysis, error proofing, takt time, line balancing, waste reduction, and daily management systems. - Strong bias for action with the ability to quickly diagnose supplier performance gaps, engage stakeholders, escalate barriers, and drive corrective actions to verified closure. - High drive for r…