Posted August 23, 2026

Principal Manufacturing Engineer Advanced Manufacturing

CrossFire Group

Auburn Hills, MI, US Full Time

Description:

Lead manufacturing engineering assessments for defense and advanced manufacturing programs.
Evaluate complete manufacturing systems from product design through production.
Develop optimized manufacturing processes, layouts, equipment strategies, and production systems.
Perform make/buy, capital investment, automation, tooling, and manufacturing process analyses.
Develop business cases comparing alternative manufacturing approaches.
Lead DFM/DFA and manufacturing feasibility assessments.
Analyze labor content, cycle time, throughput, capacity, OEE, material flow, and manufacturing cost.
Develop and evaluate plant layouts and production-flow strategies.
Lead manufacturing simulation and capacity studies where appropriate.
Identify high-value opportunities for cost reduction and productivity improvement.
Mentor and provide technical direction to less-experienced engineers.
Lead customer-facing technical discussions and presentations.
Review technical data packages, engineering requirements, drawings, and specifications.
Work with defense primes, government organizations, suppliers, and manufacturing facilities.
Support implementation of recommendations and verify realized improvements.
Prepare executive-level technical reports and recommendations.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.
15+ years of manufacturing, process, industrial, or engineering experience.
Demonstrated leadership of complex manufacturing engineering projects.
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, equipment, labor, facilities, and production economics.
Excellent technical and executive-level communication skills.
Ability to independently assess ambiguous problems and develop practical solutions.
Experience working directly with customers and senior leadership.

Preferred Experience:

Defense/aerospace experience strongly preferred.
Military vehicle, weapons, ammunition, propulsion, aerospace, or other complex defense product experience.
Automotive manufacturing experience is highly transferable.
Advanced automation and robotics.
Manufacturing simulation.
Facility planning.
Capital equipment planning.
Lean/Six Sigma.
Cost modeling and should-cost analysis.
Program/project leadership.
Experience with U.S. Government or defense prime contractors.
Active Secret clearance or previous experience working on classified programs.

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