Process Engineer

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SUMMARY: Designs, implements and optimizes the manufacturing processes within the powdered metal valve guide and valve seats manufacturing facility to enhance process efficiency, product quality and safety. Provides process and quality expertise for internal and external customers. Facilitates corrective action activities from initial identification through closure to prevent recurrence. Where needed, communicates directly with the customer and supplier base and manages corresponding portals to ensure proper and prompt responses. Drives continuous improvement activities and capital investment projects for the optimization of processes and improvement of product quality. Examines and tests metal samples to determine their physical properties. Troubleshoots material related concerns and conditions to ensure overall customer satisfaction.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

•  Responsible for ensuring a stable process that produces quality product by the plant that meets customer requirements and Tenneco standards.
• Responsible for working safely, adhering to the facility’s environmental, health and safety policies and procedures to avoid injury to themselves and others.  Comply with legal and other requirements.
• Monitors the work environment to identify and communicate to manager current or potential environmental, health or safety concerns.  
• Understands preventative measures and creates a safe environment by identifying and reporting potential emergency situations to the manager.
• Leads customer communication regarding external product and material concerns and conditions.
•  Provides problem resolution leadership regarding process and material performance and process and material conformance to specified requirements.
• Coordinates and facilitates cross-functional problem resolution teams to determine root cause (utilizing core tools – 5-why, fishbone, Is / Is Not, etc), implements corrective action measures and verifies the effectiveness to prevent problem reoccurrence and ensure timely closure.
• Provides detailed reports and presentations by evaluating and analyzing material and product related concerns and determining potential failure modes and corrective actions.
• Communicates customer concerns throughout the organization including the use of quality alerts in area where generated.
• Monitors and updates customer related portals with required actions and responses related to customer concerns and customer specific requirements.
•  Provides detailed reports and presentations by evaluating and analyzing returned material from the customer and determines the potential failure modes and corrective actions.
• Completes all safety layer processed audits and mitigates potential issues on-time.
•  Identifies and drives continuous improvement opportunities in relation to materials, product characteristics and the applications within the manufacturing process including material blending, compacting, sintering and secondary operations (heat treating, tempering, cryogenics, oil impregnating, etc
•  Identify and Implements capital projects associated with process and material improvements.
• Supports the PPAP approval process with new material suppliers and/or material supplier change requests.
• Facilitates and coordinates problem resolution and corrective action processes with material suppliers
•  Supports R&D Department with the development of new materials and Gate 0 launch process.  
• Supports the APQP process for new/existing raw material and processing applications.
• Assists in problem identification and product conformance for production related product.
• Develops, procures, establishes and maintains in-process metallurgical equipment and tools.
•  Provides support with internal quality issues related to metallurgical properties and process variation.
• Supports purchasing on material cost reduction projects and supplier contingency plans.
• Leads the advancement of the CQI-9 audit system to ensure all requirements are achieved, sustained and improved for all furnaces including the following:
  • Profiles.
  • Process controls and parameters.
  • Preventative and Predictive maintenance.
  •  Auto Tracking: monitoring of all furnaces in historian.
• Provides training to personnel in quality and production on testing equipment, tools and procedures.
• Develops and maintaining related work instructions and procedures
• Conducts microscopic examinations of metals and alloys to determine their microstructure, porosity, homogeneity, and other characteristics for manufacturing purposes and/or to determine compliance with manufacturing specifications and standards.
• Performs materials analysis and characterization. Physically tests samples using specific equipment to determine strength, hardness, elasticity, toughness, or other properties of metal.
• Provides technical information and expertise concerning processing techniques, materials, properties, and process advantages and limitations, which affect long-range plant and product engineering planning.
• Confers with program planning and design engineering to ensure product feasibility
• Utilizes statistical methods in product evaluation and analysis.
• Performs sintering and heat-treating equipment validations.
•  Updates and presents daily performance data (customer concerns, scrap, internal failures and other process related information) during Tier 2 meetings.
•  Prepares and communicates recommended nonconformance dispositions during the Tier 3 meetings.  Acts as facilitator of the Tier 3 meeting.
• Manages the nonconformance suspected product to ensure material is dispositioned correctly and in a timely fashion. Initiates corrective action for significant internal quality concerns and failures.
• Reviews and updates PFMEAs for potential failure modes and assesses associated risks.
• Reviews Control plans for process and inspection improvements.
• Develop presentations used in various settings and meetings including, but not limited to, customer visits, All Employee Meetings, Quality Toolbox and new hire orientation
• Ability to work both independently and in a team setting.
• Attendance is required.
• Other tasks as assigned.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

Minimum Bachelor’s degree preferred in Metallurgy or equivalent. Experience in a powder metal manufacturing setting preferred. Experience in IATF 16949 / ISO 9001 technical and customer specific requirements and industry standards are required or may be obtained through combination of continued education and experience. This includes but not limited to the sintering, heat treating powder metal materials, powder metal process, APQP, FMEA and SPC.

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