Manufacturing Development Engineer

Summary

Numat is a global leader in the field of precision chemistries, changing how industries capture and separate hazardous chemicals. The Manufacturing Development Engineer role is an early-career position focused on learning manufacturing development through hands-on problem-solving across various manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and execute experiments and DOEs that reduce product and process variability across fabrics and adsorbents
• Support scaling our processes from lab and pilot toward robust, repeatable commercial production; contribute to demonstration runs and process-capability assessment
• Identify sources of variation and drive corrective and improvement actions
• Help document processes so they transfer cleanly to manufacturing
• Analyze the data and turn it into clear conclusions — including how process settings and raw-material variation drive each product's critical quality attributes (CQAs): the few measurable properties that determine whether the product performs
• Help define and hold the process windows and specifications that keep output consistent
• Support running Numat's pilot processing equipment — the pilot spunbond and pilot meltblown nonwoven lines and the lamination machine — including setup, production runs, changeovers, and routine adjustments
• Support production in-house nonwoven and laminated material on this equipment for current- and next-generation development
• Cut, prepare, and condition swatches and test articles to defined, repeatable methods
• Run our in-house performance proxy test; capture, record, and report results cleanly
• Perform small-scale lamination property testing, and prepare and support material for pilot and external production runs
• Prepare, document, and ship samples to external testing partners, and receive and reconcile samples coming back from external trials
• Build and improve the workflows, data capture, and methods that make the group's development work faster and more repeatable
• Enter test and run data accurately and on time so the engineers and technologists work from clean information

Skills

• A bachelor's degree in chemical, materials, or mechanical engineering, or a related physical science; recent graduate or early-career (~0–5 years)
• Demonstrated self-direction — clear evidence you've owned something end to end (an internship or capstone project, something you built, a problem you chased without being told to)
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with a working foundation in statistics, DOE, or data analysis
• Genuine interest in hands-on work — comfortable on the floor around process equipment, not only at a desk
• A clear communicator who documents and organizes work well, with good judgment about when to decide and when to ask
• Ability to walk or stand for prolonged periods; ability to bend, stoop, reach and lift up to 50 pounds
• Coursework, internship, or co-op in process development, manufacturing, or quality (Six Sigma / SPC)
• Exposure to any of: nonwovens, textiles, membranes, lamination, or coating; or particle/granulation, chemical synthesis, or adsorbent materials
• Familiarity with DOE / data-analysis tools (e.g., Minitab, JMP, Python)
• Willingness to travel occasionally to external production and testing partners

Qualifications

Must Haves

• A bachelor's degree in chemical, materials, or mechanical engineering, or a related physical science; recent graduate or early-career (~0–5 years)
• Demonstrated self-direction — clear evidence you've owned something end to end (an internship or capstone project, something you built, a problem you chased without being told to)
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with a working foundation in statistics, DOE, or data analysis
• Genuine interest in hands-on work — comfortable on the floor around process equipment, not only at a desk
• A clear communicator who documents and organizes work well, with good judgment about when to decide and when to ask
• Ability to walk or stand for prolonged periods; ability to bend, stoop, reach and lift up to 50 pounds

Nice to Haves

• Coursework, internship, or co-op in process development, manufacturing, or quality (Six Sigma / SPC)
• Exposure to any of: nonwovens, textiles, membranes, lamination, or coating; or particle/granulation, chemical synthesis, or adsorbent materials
• Familiarity with DOE / data-analysis tools (e.g., Minitab, JMP, Python)
• Willingness to travel occasionally to external production and testing partners

Benefits

• Family Health, Dental, Vision
• Flexible PTO
• FSA Benefits
• 401K Savings Plan
• Paid Parental Leave
• Long-term Disability Insurance