INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER

Introduction

The Industrial Engineer is responsible for designing, analysing and improving the manufacturing system across the contract electronics manufacturing operation. The role converts customer demand, product requirements and engineering data into safe, repeatable and cost-effective production methods that improve flow, capacity, labour utilisation, quality, delivery and profitability.

The role works across SMT, through-hole and hand assembly, printed board assembly (PBA), testing, box-build, repairs, stores and supporting functions. It provides the industrial engineering discipline required for new product introduction, line balancing, work measurement, factory layout, process standardisation, lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.

Duties & Responsibilities

3. Key responsibilities

3.1 Industrial engineering and process optimisation

• Analyse end-to-end production flow and identify constraints, waste, excessive handling, waiting time, rework and non-value-adding activities.

• Conduct time-and-motion studies, work sampling and method studies to establish fair and repeatable standard times.

• Develop and maintain standard work, labour standards, crew sizes and balanced work content for production lines and cells.

• Calculate takt time, cycle time, throughput, utilisation, efficiency and capacity requirements against the demand plan.

• Design and improve line layouts, workstation arrangements, point-of-use material presentation and material flow using ergonomic and ESD-safe principles.

• Recommend practical changes to tooling, fixtures, equipment, automation and work methods, supported by data and a clear business case.

3.2 Capacity, productivity and labour planning

• Develop capacity models for equipment, labour and factory space across high-mix, low-to-medium-volume production.

• Identify current and future bottlenecks and provide scenarios for overtime, shifts, cross-training, outsourcing, equipment or headcount.

• Support production planning with realistic run rates, changeover assumptions, yield factors and resource requirements.

• Analyse labour utilisation and productivity by product family, line, department and shift, and agree corrective actions with operational leaders.

• Support workforce design, skills matrices, job content and cross-training requirements without compromising safety or quality.

3.3 New product introduction and industrialisation

• Participate in quotation, feasibility and design-for-manufacture reviews to identify production risks, resource requirements and cost drivers.

• Define the proposed production flow, equipment, tooling, fixtures, layout, work content, staffing and capacity for new or transferred products.

• Ensure bills of material, routings, work centres, standard times and manufacturing data are ready and approved before release to production.

• Support PFMEA, control plans, process flow diagrams, pilot builds, first-off verification and production readiness reviews.

• Track issues during pilot and ramp-up builds, coordinate corrective actions and confirm that agreed actions are closed before stable production handover.

• Assess the operational impact of engineering changes and ensure affected standards, layouts, routings, documents and training are updated.

3.4 Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement

• Lead and facilitate value-stream mapping, 5S, Kaizen, visual management, standard work, SMED and problem-solving activities.

• Use data to prioritise improvement projects based on safety, quality, delivery, cost, people and customer impact.

• Apply structured root-cause methods such as 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, Pareto analysis and A3 thinking.

• Prepare project charters, implementation plans, risk assessments and benefit calculations, and track delivery to completion.

• Validate productivity, cost, lead-time, floor-space, WIP, scrap or rework savings with Finance and the relevant process owner.

• Embed improvements through updated controlled documents, training, audits and sustained performance monitoring.

3.5 Manufacturing data, costing and systems

• Maintain accurate work centres, routings, standard times, labour assumptions and production parameters in the ERP/MRP or MES environment.

• Provide reliable industrial engineering inputs for quotations, product costing, make-or-buy assessments and capital expenditure decisions.

• Develop practical dashboards and reports for throughput, labour efficiency, OEE, capacity, WIP, lead time, first-pass yield, scrap and rework.

• Investigate material variances, labour variances and adverse production trends with Operations, Finance and Quality.

• Maintain appropriate version control and traceability for industrial engineering data, studies and approved standards.

3.6 Quality, compliance, safety and ergonomics

• Ensure process improvements comply with the Quality Management System, customer requirements, ESD controls, traceability rules and applicable IPC workmanship standards.

• Support risk assessments, internal and customer audits, NCR/CAPA investigations and timely closure of assigned actions.

• Design work methods and stations that reduce ergonomic risk, unsafe movement, fatigue and unnecessary manual handling.

• Escalate or pause implementation where a proposed method creates an unacceptable safety, quality, compliance or customer risk.

• Promote disciplined adherence to approved processes while encouraging practical, evidence-based improvement ideas from employees.

3.7 Documentation, training and project leadership

• Create and maintain controlled process flows, standard work, work instructions, layouts, visual aids and industrial engineering records.

• Train supervisors, team leaders, operators and support staff on revised methods, standard work and performance measures.

• Coordinate cross-functional project teams, manage actions and communicate risks, decisions, results and next steps clearly.

• Coach operational teams in basic industrial engineering and lean tools so that improvements continue after project handover.

• Perform other reasonable duties aligned with the role, operational priorities and the employee's competence.

Desired Experience & Qualification

Minimum qualifications and experience

• Qualification: BEng, BSc Eng, BTech or Advanced Diploma in Industrial Engineering from a recognised institution.

• Experience: At least 3-5 years' industrial engineering experience in manufacturing.

• Industry exposure: Electronics, contract or high-mix assembly manufacturing experience is strongly preferred.

• Improvement track record: Evidence of successful work measurement, line balancing, layout, capacity and continuous-improvement projects.

• Systems: Practical ERP/MRP or MES experience and advanced spreadsheet-based analysis.

5. Advantageous qualifications and exposure

• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt or Green Belt certification.

• Knowledge of IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, ESD control and electronics workmanship requirements.

• Exposure to ISO 9001; IATF 16949, ISO 13485 or customer-specific requirements is advantageous where relevant.

• Experience with Syspro, an MES platform, Power BI, Minitab or equivalent analysis tools.

• Ability to prepare or review production layouts using AutoCAD, Visio or similar software.

• Project management or change-management training.

6. Technical knowledge and skills

• Work measurement, predetermined or observed time studies and standard-time development.

• Line balancing, capacity planning, bottleneck analysis, takt and cycle-time analysis.

• Facility layout, cell design, material flow, ergonomics and point-of-use presentation.

• Lean tools including 5S, Kaizen, value-stream mapping, standard work, visual management and SMED.

• Structured problem solving, basic statistical analysis, data visualisation and benefit validation.

• NPI readiness, process flow development, PFMEA participation, control-plan support and change control.

• Advanced Microsoft Ex