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CNC Operations Industrial Engineer, Lean Flow & SMED

Atlas Fibre

Northbrook, IL 60062 • $80,000 to $110,000 / yr • 9/24/2026

Job Description

Job Description
CNC Operations Industrial Engineer, Lean Flow & SMED

At Atlas Fibre, you’ll be the on-the-floor problem solver who keeps work moving smoothly from order release through shipment across precision machining, fabrication, and light assembly. Your day starts by checking ERP queues for status accuracy, then walking the cells with Production and Cell Leads to confirm staging, kitting, and point-of-use readiness. You’ll tune standard work, tighten setups, and make the invisible visible with time-based measurement.

What a typical day looks like
  • Begin with the ERP: verify order status, labor reporting, routing accuracy, and inventory transactions to ensure execution tracking is reliable.
  • Gemba with Production, Production Control, Quality, Tooling, and Manufacturing Engineering to confirm work readiness and material flow.
  • Lead 6S checks across machining and assembly areas; close gaps in workplace organization and visual controls.
  • Refine and publish standard work for flow, setup preparation, kitting, handoffs, and repeatable execution.
  • Attack setup time: improve pre-stage activity, reduce variation, and strengthen point-of-use readiness for mills, lathes, and other high-mix operations.
  • Run time studies to baseline setup time, wait time, queue time, work vs. wait, plan vs. actual, and budget-to-actual variance.
  • Translate findings into practical changes that stabilize execution and increase capacity visibility.
Core responsibilities
  • Lead and sustain 6S efforts across production areas.
  • Develop, improve, and maintain standard work for flow, setup, kitting, material movement, and handoffs.
  • Enable setup reduction/SMED via pre-staging, variation reduction, and point-of-use improvement.
  • Improve work readiness and material flow by confirming required inputs are staged, visible, and prepared prior to release.
  • Use time-based measurement to establish performance baselines and track improvements.
  • Work directly in ERP to maintain accurate orders, routings, labor reporting, inventory transactions, and execution tracking.
What you bring
  • 5+ years supporting a CNC machining environment (mills, lathes, or other high-mix) is required.
  • Hands-on expertise with 6S, standard work, setup reduction/SMED, material flow, time studies, work measurement, and process documentation.
  • ERP experience preferred, including order status, routings, labor reporting, inventory transactions, and production execution visibility.
  • Exceptional documentation skills that yield clear, usable standards for production teams.
  • Degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, or Mechanical Engineering (or related) preferred; equivalent experience considered.
The ideal fit

You’re shop-floor focused, observant, and practicalsomeone who documents facts, spots waste, improves flow, and builds standards that increase consistency, visibility, and confidence across the team.

Proficiencies
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • CNC Tooling
  • ERP & MRP Systems
Tools you’ll use
  • ERP Software