Manufacturing Engineer (overnight shift)
The Manufacturing Engineer at Confidential Client is responsible for hands-on troubleshooting and process improvement during overnight production shifts in a nutraceutical manufacturing environment. This role involves diagnosing equipment and process issues, running experiments to enhance throughput and quality, and collaborating closely with plant leadership to implement lasting operational improvements. It offers a growth path toward senior engineering or plant leadership roles, emphasizing practical engineering judgment and continuous learning on the production floor.
About Careertakes
👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Nutraceutical Manufacturing.
Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.
What You’ll Do
This overnight Manufacturing Engineer will own technical troubleshooting and process improvement on the production floor for a confidential client in the nutraceutical manufacturing space. This is a hands-on, early-career engineering role focused on diagnosing equipment and process problems in real time, running process experiments, and turning results into lasting improvements. You’ll work closely with the Plant Manager and have a dotted-line relationship with senior plant leadership, giving you high visibility and a clear growth path into senior manufacturing engineering or plant leadership.
Essential Responsibilities
- Own technical troubleshooting for overnight production operations (6:00 PM – 6:30 AM) using root-cause analysis to diagnose equipment failures, process variation, and quality issues.
- Design and run process-improvement experiments (changeover time, equipment settings, line balancing) and use production data to validate results before rollout.
- Partner with the Plant Manager and senior leaders to prioritize and resolve bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
- Analyze production metrics (throughput, downtime, scrap, efficiency) to identify trends, quantify opportunities, and track the impact of engineering changes.
- Develop a deep technical understanding of manufacturing equipment, systems, and product-specific production methods.
- Write and revise SOPs, work instructions, and technical documentation to capture improvements and support consistent execution.
- Coordinate equipment maintenance, calibration, and minor engineering modifications with Maintenance and Quality teams.
- Train and coach production staff on new procedures and process changes; translate technical concepts for non-engineering audiences.
- Ensure compliance with safety, quality, and regulatory standards (GMP/OSHA) across engineering and process changes.
- Take on increasing technical scope and ownership over time.
Additional Responsibilities
- Perform all work in a safe and healthy manner consistent with OSHA and site safety policies.
- Support a culture of continuous improvement on the production floor.
- Contribute to team objectives and perform related tasks as requested by leadership.
- Be flexible as job duties evolve with the needs of the business.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, or another engineering discipline strongly preferred; other technical or quantitative degrees will be considered.
- Early-career engineer — prior manufacturing experience is not required, but strong fundamentals in root cause analysis, process thinking, and data-driven problem solving are essential.
- Comfortable working with production data and basic statistical tools (Excel; exposure to Minitab/JMP is a plus).
- Exceptional judgment, critical thinking, and analytical ability; energized by diagnosing complex, ambiguous operational problems.
- Hands-on mindset — comfortable being on the production floor, not just analyzing data from a desk.
- Self-motivated, highly coachable, and eager to learn manufacturing processes and equipment.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to translate technical findings for varied audiences.
- Exposure to Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous-improvement methods is a plus.
- Experience in gummy, nutraceutical, or consumer-goods manufacturing is a plus but not required.
- English proficiency required.
Physical Requirements
- Comfortable spending extended time on the production floor, including standing, walking, and moving through manufacturing areas.
- Must have command of senses — sight, hearing, touch, and smell — to identify equipment and process issues.
- Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds occasionally in a manufacturing environment.
- Must be available and able to work the overnight schedule (6:00 PM – 6:30 AM) with required alertness and focus.
Schedule & Compensation
- Shift: Overnight (6:00 PM – 6:30 AM). Example rotating pattern: Monday–Wednesday 6:00 PM–6:30 AM, then 4 days off; Monday–Thursday 6:00 PM–6:30 AM, then 3 days off (alternates every other week).
- Employment type: Full-time (Exempt).
- Salary range: $65,000–$85,000 per year.
Why Join
This is a high-visibility role at a growing co-manufacturer in the nutraceutical space. If you want to apply engineering fundamentals directly to production problems, learn manufacturing systems end-to-end, and accelerate your career toward senior engineering or plant leadership, this role offers real ownership and measurable impact early in your career.
Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency
Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.
If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.
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