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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for an Equipment Engineer

💰 $85,000 - $150,000

EngineeringManufacturingTechnologySemiconductor

🎯 Role Definition

As a pivotal Equipment Engineer, you are the cornerstone of our manufacturing and production success. You will own the entire lifecycle of our state-of-the-art equipment, from initial specification and installation to ongoing maintenance, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement. Your expertise will directly impact production uptime, product quality, and operational efficiency, ensuring our facility operates at peak performance. This role is perfect for a hands-on problem-solver who thrives in a dynamic, technology-driven environment and is passionate about optimizing complex systems. You'll be the go-to technical expert, collaborating with cross-functional teams to solve challenging problems and drive manufacturing excellence.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Maintenance Technician / Senior Technician
  • Process Engineer
  • Field Service Engineer
  • Associate Equipment Engineer

Advancement To:

  • Senior Equipment Engineer / Principal Engineer
  • Equipment Engineering Manager
  • Manufacturing Engineering Manager
  • Facilities or Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Process Engineer
  • Manufacturing Engineer
  • Project Engineer
  • Quality Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own the uptime, availability, and performance of critical manufacturing equipment, proactively identifying and resolving issues to meet and exceed production targets.
  • Perform advanced, hands-on troubleshooting and root cause analysis for complex equipment failures, minimizing production downtime and implementing robust corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
  • Develop, document, and execute comprehensive preventive and predictive maintenance (PM/PdM) programs to enhance equipment reliability and longevity.
  • Lead capital equipment acquisition projects, including developing user requirement specifications (URS), conducting vendor evaluations, overseeing installation, and managing the entire qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) process.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives for equipment performance, focusing on increasing throughput, reducing mean time to repair (MTTR), and improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
  • Create and maintain detailed technical documentation, including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), maintenance procedures, work instructions, and troubleshooting guides.
  • Train and mentor maintenance technicians and production operators on proper equipment operation, safety protocols, and first-line troubleshooting techniques.
  • Manage spare parts inventory by defining critical spares, setting optimal inventory levels, and identifying alternative or second-source suppliers to mitigate risk.
  • Utilize statistical process control (SPC) and other data analysis methods to monitor equipment health, identify performance trends, and make data-driven decisions for improvements.
  • Champion and enforce safety standards for all equipment interactions, participating in safety audits and implementing engineering controls to ensure a safe working environment.
  • Interface directly with equipment vendors for technical support, service calls, and procurement of parts and services, managing relationships and holding suppliers accountable.
  • Lead or participate in Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to proactively identify potential equipment failure modes and implement mitigation strategies.
  • Design, justify, and implement equipment modifications, retrofits, and upgrades to improve capacity, quality, safety, or capability.
  • Provide direct engineering support to the manufacturing floor, responding promptly to line-down situations and providing expert-level guidance.
  • Collaborate with Process and R&D Engineering teams to ensure new products and processes are compatible with existing equipment capabilities (Design for Manufacturability).
  • Manage equipment decommissioning and disposition, ensuring compliance with all environmental and safety regulations.
  • Analyze equipment data and maintenance logs to generate performance reports and present findings and recommendations to management.
  • Develop and manage budgets for equipment maintenance, repairs, and capital expenditure projects.
  • Support New Product Introduction (NPI) by ensuring equipment readiness and developing new processes required for production.
  • Qualify new tooling, fixtures, and ancillary equipment required to support production and quality objectives.

Secondary Functions

  • Support facilities and EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety) teams with equipment-related compliance and safety audits.
  • Contribute to the site's long-term capital equipment strategy and technology roadmap development.
  • Collaborate with R&D and Process Engineering teams to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) on new products.
  • Participate in cross-functional continuous improvement projects and Kaizen events to drive site-wide operational excellence.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced Equipment Troubleshooting & Repair
  • Preventive Maintenance (PM) & Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Strategy
  • Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Data Analysis
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA, 5-Why, Fishbone Diagrams)
  • CAD Software (e.g., AutoCAD, SolidWorks) for fixture design and facility layouts
  • PLC Programming & Troubleshooting (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens)
  • Robotics and Automation Systems (e.g., Fanuc, KUKA)
  • FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
  • Equipment Qualification & Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ)
  • Vendor Management and Contract Negotiation
  • Technical Documentation (SOPs, Work Instructions, Schematics)
  • Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma Methodologies

Soft Skills

  • Advanced Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking
  • Strong Communication & Interpersonal Skills
  • Project Management & Organization
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration & Teamwork
  • Adaptability & Resilience in a fast-paced environment
  • High Attention to Detail
  • Mentorship and Training Abilities

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree in an Engineering discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's Degree in Engineering or a related technical field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechatronics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3-7 years of hands-on experience in an equipment, maintenance, or manufacturing engineering role within a production environment.

Preferred: Experience within a high-volume, regulated manufacturing environment such as semiconductors, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automotive, or consumer electronics is highly desirable.

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