Industrial Engineer - Steel & Fabrication

FAIRLEAD INTEGRATED • Portsmouth, VA • 1h ago

Position Summary:

The Industrial Engineer (Mid-Senior Level) leads performance-improvement initiatives across Fairlead's manufacturing and waterfront operations, including structural welding, steel processing, fabrication, machining, assembly, and logistics planning. The role also supports facility-infrastructure expansion, equipment placement, and long-term capacity-growth initiatives. This position is responsible for driving improvements in throughput, cost efficiency, safety, quality, and workflow optimization, while contributing to the design of scalable production systems that align with Fairlead's operational footprint and capital-improvement strategy. This position requires regular collaboration with Production, Quality, Maintenance, and Safety teams to support the implementation of measurable and sustainable improvements across multiple operational areas.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Lead process optimization initiatives across structural welding, steel processing, fabrication, machining, assembly, and waterfront production workflows.

Analyze takt time, capacity, labor utilization, bottlenecks, and material flow to improve throughput and schedule reliability.

Develop optimized plant and yard layouts, staging plans, and waterfront work sequencing to support large-component movement and production flow.

Support facility infrastructure expansion and layout changes, ensuring new spaces, utilities, and equipment placements align with Lean flow and future-state capacity.

Conduct time studies, standard work development, production balancing, and ergonomic/workstation improvements.

Support tooling enhancements, automation opportunities, and capital project justification through ROI and feasibility analysis.

Partner with Quality to reduce scrap, rework, weld defects, mis-runs, and process variability.

Improve operational KPIs including OEE, cycle time, yield, downtime, WIP inventory, and on-time performance.

Lead root-cause investigations, Kaizen events, corrective action implementation, and sustainment planning.

Production support liaison for logistics and material-handling optimization, including crane utilization, heavy-lift routing, staging, and kitting.

Mentor front-line leaders and supervisors in Lean principles and disciplined execution.

Support onboarding and implementation of new processes, equipment, or workflow changes.

Ensure engineering improvements align with Fairlead safety, environmental, and regulatory standards.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:

Assigned as needed.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.

5-10+ years of experience in heavy industrial or manufacturing environments; steel fabrication, shipbuilding, or large-component production strongly preferred.

Proven success leading multi-area improvement initiatives across fabrication, machining, or waterfront operations.

Advanced knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and structured problem solving.

Experience with capacity modeling, layout design, workflow engineering, and production system development.

Proficiency with CAD tools and data analytics platforms (Excel, Minitab, PowerBI, or equivalent).

Experience with ERP/MES production reporting and KPI dashboards.

Strong communication, leadership, and change-management capability.

Preferred Experience:

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.

Background in structural steel, shipyard/waterfront, or heavy fabrication environments.

Knowledge of OSHA, ISO, welding standards, and industrial safety requirements.

Experience supporting automation, sensors/data collection, or advanced manufacturing technologies.

Physical Demands:

While performing these job duties, the employee is routinely required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; use fingers and hands to @type or write; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear; taste or smell. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Ability to walk production areas, climb platforms, work around heavy-lift equipment, and wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

Occasional lifting up to 25-40 lbs, with exposure to noise, heat, and industrial conditions.

Work Environment:

This position is performed in manufacturing, shipyard, and waterfront environments with some local travel between facilities.

Fairlead Integrated, LLC. and its subsidiaries are proud to be Equal Employ Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers (Minority / Female / Disability / Veterans).

To apply for this position, go here: Employment Application - Fairlead Integrated (https://fairlead.com/employment-application/)

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