Zone Manufacturing Engineer - General Assembly

Job description

Job Description At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features. Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale. The Role As a Zone Manufacturing Engineer at General Motors, you will provide senior technical leadership for a defined General Assembly zone from concept through launch and steady-state production. You will independently apply advanced manufacturing, process engineering, lean, and General Motors Manufacturing System (GMS) principles to optimize safety, quality, delivery, cost, and operational performance. You will lead complex manufacturing initiatives, influence cross-functional decisions, mentor engineering and production partners, and drive sustainable solutions to improve process capability, material flow, equipment effectiveness, and operator efficiency.Work Environment The home base location will be Warren, MI, Fort Wayne, IN, Spring Hill, Tennessee, or Bowling Green, Kentucky. This role requires up to 75% travel, including travel to GM plants, supplier locations, equipment integrators, and launch sites. Travel requirements vary depending on the selected home base location. Work may involve weekends, holidays, off-shift support, and extended periods away from the home base during product launches, equipment installations, build events, and production recovery activities. What You’ll Do Zone Ownership & Launch Execution • Provide technical ownership and leadership for new programs, model changes, and current production activities within an assigned General Assembly zone. • Lead complex launch and manufacturing projects from concept through installation, validation, launch, and steady-state production. • Define and align tooling, equipment, automation, conveyance, facilities, material handling, workstation, and process requirements. • Establish project strategies, milestones, risks, and recovery plans to ensure launch objectives are achieved. • Lead build events, resolve complex launch issues, and ensure lessons learned are incorporated into future programs and current production. • Provide technical direction to less-experienced engineers and production partners. Process & Tooling Engineering • Develop and implement robust manufacturing processes using advanced Process Engineering methodologies to achieve production, quality, cost, and throughput targets. • Lead Design for Manufacturability (DFM) analyses for new and existing products and processes to improve producibility, reduce cost, and minimize variation. • Develop optimized sequence and flow of operations to maximize effective utilization of people, material, machines, and facilities. • Design, specify, and integrate equipment, tooling, automation, and technology from concept through construction, installation, launch, and continuous improvement. • Develop tooling Statements of Requirements (SORs) and manage complex tooling, station, automation, and technology projects to timing, cost, quality, and performance targets. • Provide technical direction and oversight to suppliers, integrators, and external engineering partners. • Collaborate with design and automation teams to define Human Machine Interface (HMI) requirements that improve operator efficiency, usability, and safety. • Ensure design documentation, spare parts planning, maintenance requirements, and equipment reliability strategies are complete. • Complete tooling, equipment, process, and launch documentation required by program and plant governance teams. Continuous Improvement & Operational Performance • Apply GMS principles to identify and eliminate waste, standardize work, improve process discipline, and enhance operational performance. • Lead Value Stream Mapping (VSM) activities to identify bottlenecks, improve material flow, reduce lead times, and optimize end-to-end zone performance. • Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), analyze trends, and implement corrective actions when performance deviates from production plans or targets. • Lead structured problem-solving and lean manufacturing initiatives that deliver sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and labor efficiency. • Identify opportunities to improve process capability, equipment effectiveness, ergonomics, and operator experience. • Validate that improvements are sustained through standard work, layered audits, visual management, and performance monitoring. Cross-Functional Integration & Planning • Lead interfaces with Process, Materials, Product Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, Operations, Automation, Safety, Ergonomics, and other stakeholders. • Influence product and process decisions by providing manufacturing feasibility, DFM, capacity, tooling, and launch recommendations. • Lead alignment on common tooling, processes, standards, and technology across the department and related manufacturing groups. • Participate in integration planning for installation requirements, phasing, pull-ahead plans, conveyance interfaces, material presentation, and production readiness. • Lead deep-dive reviews of process development, implementation, and performance for the assigned zone. • Provide technical support and guidance to production teams, addressing manufacturing challenges and implementing sustainable solutions. Material Flow & Logistics Integration • Develop efficient material flow concepts and strategies for future material movement into and within the zone. • Lead VSM and material flow reviews to reduce waste, congestion, handling, and lead times. • Partner with Materials, Logistics, and Operations to optimize p