Manufacturing Engineer - Fixtures & Process Build-Out

Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Waco, TX (with collaboration across Penticton, BC)

This is not an entry-level position, and is 100% on-site in Waco, and candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship required.

Who You Are

You are a hands-on manufacturing engineer who thrives in a growing, high-mix steel fabrication environment. At Kinetic, we build custom, heavy-duty trailers — not repetitive mass-production products — so you understand how to bring structure and process discipline to a business where variability is part of the job.

In a company of ~150 people, you are not just supporting a process — you are defining it.

You naturally act as the bridge between engineering and the shop floor. You translate design intent into practical, efficient fabrication and assembly methods. You are comfortable standing beside welders, brake operators, and assemblers, solving problems in real time and refining processes until they are repeatable and scalable.

You enjoy building systems from the ground up — creating workflows, documentation, fixtures, and production standards where they don’t yet fully exist. You think in terms of throughput, first-pass quality, safety, and long-term scalability — especially as we grow our Waco facility and standardize across locations.

Please provide specific examples of projects you personally designed, developed, and implemented — including measurable outcomes (throughput, quality improvement, cost reduction, efficiency gains, etc.).

Key Responsibilities

Process Ownership & Development

• Create complete process flows, routings, and work instructions from scratch for trailer fabrication and assembly.
• Establish inspection points and quality controls that drive first-pass success.
• Develop standard work and verify adoption on the shop floor.
• Drive process consistency between facilities.

Design-to-Production Bridge

• Partner directly with Design Engineering to convert trailer designs into practical, buildable manufacturing plans.
• Identify manufacturability risks early (tolerances, weld access, bend strategy, fit-up sequence).
• Provide feedback that improves both cost and build efficiency.

Tooling, Fixtures & Shop Aids

• Design, build, and implement jigs, fixtures, and workholding solutions that improve repeatability and reduce rework.
• Own tryout, revision, and release to production.
• Reduce reliance on tribal knowledge by building physical and documented process controls.

CNC & Forming Support

• Program and/or support CNC plasma operations (nesting optimization, material utilization, cut strategy).
• Support press brake operations (tooling selection, bend sequencing, springback control).
• Improve repeatability and reduce setup variation.

Shop-Floor Leadership

• Lead root cause analysis on fabrication and assembly issues.
• Implement corrective and preventive actions through process design — not just temporary fixes.
• Work daily on the shop floor to troubleshoot, refine, and validate changes.

Facility & Flow Development (Waco)

• Support workstation layout, material flow, tooling selection, and ergonomic design.
• Help define scalable production flow as the facility grows.
• Integrate safety into process design from the start.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of post-graduation, full-time manufacturing/process/industrial engineering experience in a production environment (internships and academic projects do not count).
• Hands-on experience in steel fabrication and weldment environments (cutting, forming, welding, machining, mechanical assembly).
• Proven experience designing and implementing new processes and fixtures — not just maintaining existing systems.
• Experience in small-to-mid-sized manufacturing companies (under ~200 employees) where you personally owned multiple functions.
• Strong working knowledge of CNC plasma and press brake programming (please list controllers/software used).
• Proficiency in SolidWorks and ability to create detailed fabrication drawings and shop-ready documentation.
• Experience building routings, BOMs, and manufacturing documentation in ERP/MRP systems.
• Comfortable working daily on the production floor and leading change through implementation.
• Strong communication skills — able to align engineers, supervisors, and shop personnel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with hydraulic and pneumatic systems (common in trailer manufacturing).
• Experience supporting facility startups, expansions, or production line launches.
• Demonstrated application of Lean tools (5S, standard work, Kaizen) to build new processes — not just track metrics.
• Experience standardizing processes across multiple manufacturing locations.
• Exposure to high-mix, low-volume production environments.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Associate’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in manufacturing engineering within steel fabrication or heavy equipment industries.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks, ERP/MRP systems, and Microsoft Office.
• Experience working cross-functionally in engineering and production environments.

What We Offer 

• Competitive wages with opportunities for advancement.
• A collaborative, innovative work culture focused on continuous improvement.
• Training support and continuing education opportunities.
• A comprehensive paid benefits package

Compensation and Work Schedule:

• $90,000+ annual salary with increased consideration dependent upon experience
• 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Regular business hours are 8am – 4:30pm

Join Kinetic Custom Trailers and be an essential part of shaping innovative solutions in trailer manufacturing. Apply now to help drive the future of our industry!

To Apply:

Submit your resume and a short project summary that shows your hands-on work. Applications without the items below may not be reviewed. Please apply through our careers page at www.kinetic-group.com.

• Resume
• Project summary (1-2 pages) with 2-3 examples of fixtures/processes you designed and implemented, including outcomes (metrics preferred). Photos/sketches are welcome if permitted.