Industrial Material Engineer

Job Title: Industrial Material Engineer

Job Description

The Industrial Material Engineer plays a key role in shaping the future of material flow within high-volume assembly plants. This position focuses on implementing material strategies and automation in assembly centers, optimizing material flow to support efficient, lean manufacturing operations. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams as one cohesive unit to execute new material automation projects, build robust business cases for material strategies and automation initiatives, and develop a long-term vision for material flow, including Automation and LMS implementation. In this role, you also develop, recommend, and implement changes that improve manufacturing processes and product quality, enhance part delivery accuracy, and reduce the overall cost of material handling in a dynamic, fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Implement material strategies and automation solutions in assembly centers to optimize material flow and support lean manufacturing practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams as one integrated team to plan, coordinate, and execute new material automation projects.
• Develop comprehensive business cases for material strategies and automation initiatives, including cost, benefits, and long-term impact on material flow.
• Create and refine a long-term material flow vision that supports Automation and LMS implementation in assembly centers.
• Develop, recommend, and implement process changes that improve manufacturing efficiency and product quality.
• Improve part delivery accuracy through enhanced material handling methods and optimized flow paths.
• Reduce overall material handling costs by identifying inefficiencies and implementing data-driven improvements.
• Apply industrial engineering skills and techniques to analyze current material and manufacturing processes and propose optimization solutions.
• Use tools such as AutoCAD, FactoryCAD or equivalent, and MS Office (Excel, Access, Project, Word, PowerPoint) to design, document, and communicate material flow solutions.
• Lead projects related to material flow and automation, coordinating resources, providing leadership updates, reporting status, and tracking timelines.
• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of principles in program/platform manufacturing and plant operations.
• Work daily in a plant floor environment to observe operations, validate solutions, and ensure successful implementation of material strategies.
• Contribute to transforming material flow strategy by working with AGVs and AMRs and integrating them effectively into assembly plant operations.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (Mechanical, Supply Chain, Industrial) or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of equivalent experience in manufacturing and supply chain environments.
• Knowledge of basic manufacturing, supply chain, and assembly processes.
• Proficiency with AutoCAD, FactoryCAD or equivalent design tools.
• Proficiency with MS Office tools, including Excel, Access, Project, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of industrial engineering skills and techniques applied to material flow and manufacturing processes.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in program/platform manufacturing, and plant manufacturing.
• Previous experience as a project lead, with the ability to coordinate resources, provide leadership updates, report project status, and track timelines.
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Familiarity with automation execution and an understanding of principles and concepts related to material flow automation.
• Experience working with AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) in a manufacturing or assembly environment.
• Experience in developing long-term strategies for material flow and automation in assembly plants.
• Ability to build and present business cases for process improvements and automation initiatives to diverse stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills focused on improving part delivery accuracy and reducing material handling costs.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills for working with cross-functional teams and plant personnel.

Work Environment

This role is based in a plant floor environment on a daily basis, working directly within high-volume assembly operations. You will regularly interact with manufacturing equipment, material handling systems, and automation technologies, including AGVs and AMRs, while collaborating with production, engineering, and supply chain teams. The environment is dynamic and fast-paced, requiring a hands-on approach to observing processes, validating material flow solutions, and supporting implementation activities on the shop floor.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Lansing, MI.

The pay range for this position is $40.00 - $60.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Lansing,MI.

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 4, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.