Gear Manufacturing Engineer
Location:
Whitsett, NC, US, 27377 Business Unit: BisonAs we expand our gear manufacturing capabilities, we are seeking a hands-on Gear Manufacturing Engineer with deep expertise in gear production. This role will lead the day-to-day performance and continuous improvement of a machine shop focused on spur, helical, worm, and bevel gear manufacturing. This is a highly visible, shop-floor-focused position responsible for process ownership, equipment performance, and technical leadership across gear cutting, turning, grinding, and finishing operations. The right candidate will bring strong gear manufacturing knowledge and the ability to translate that into improved throughput, quality, and cost performance.
What you will do:- Lead and optimize manufacturing processes for gear production, including hobbing, turning, grinding, and secondary operations
- Establish and improve processes for spur, helical, worm, and bevel gears
- Troubleshoot gear manufacturing issues using root cause analysis
- Partner with quality to ensure gear inspection methods are robust and repeatable
- Evaluate and implement gear manufacturing equipment
- Lead capital justification and support installation/startup of equipment
- Utilize Lean and continuous improvement tools
- Provide hands-on technical support to machinists and supervisors
- Drive preventive maintenance strategies for critical equipment
- Collaborate cross-functionally to resolve manufacturing issues
- Develop and maintain process documentation
- Support training in gear manufacturing best practices
What we are looking for:- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field preferred; or equivalent years of experience 15+ years of experience in gear manufacturing
- Expertise with gear hobbing, shaping, and/or grinding
- Experience with spur, helical, worm, and bevel gears
- Strong knowledge of gear geometry, tolerancing, and inspection
- Experience with CNC machining environments
- Strong GD&T and metallurgy understanding
- Proven problem-solving ability in shop-floor environments
- Experience evaluating and implementing equipment
- Lean manufacturing knowledge
- Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and to reduce costs
- The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs
- Strong communication and leadership skills
