Manufacturing Engineer

Owens Corning is investing in excess of $200 million to transform our Kansas City Fiberglass Insulation Plant—adding jobs, expanding capabilities, and shaping the future of manufacturing at a facility that has been a cornerstone of building products production for 80 years. We’re looking for a Manufacturing Engineer who thrives on challenges, inspires teams, and delivers results that matter.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and continuously improving manufacturing processes to safely produce products that meet customer, regulatory, and internal requirements at the lowest total cost. This role provides technical leadership to improve safety, eliminate waste, increase process capability, reduce variability, and enhance productivity across assigned manufacturing lines and processes.

The Manufacturing Engineer serves as a key link between operations, maintenance, quality, and technical resources to ensure stable, capable, and standardized processes while developing operator and technician capability through strong process control and TPM-based practices.

Reports to: Technical Leader

Span of Control: No direct reports

What You’ll Do 

Safety & Environmental Leadership

• Promote a strong safety culture where safety and sustainability are core values and personal responsibilities.
• Ensure manufacturing processes, control plans, and work instructions are designed and executed to protect employees, contractors, and visitors.
• Lead and support risk assessments, job hazard analyses, and safe work planning for critical tasks.
• Drive proactive safety and environmental initiatives to prevent incidents and nonconformities.
• Support safety readiness and operational safety efforts connected to layout/design and operational procedures (e.g., safe job changeover protocols, defined walkways/zones, and movement/traffic patterns) as applicable to line operation for the K6 line.

Process Performance & Technical Excellence

• Establish and maintain process recipes, control strategies, and operating standards to achieve consistent process performance.
• Conduct regular process audits, analyze process capability, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Apply statistical tools, data analytics, and structured problem-solving to reduce variation and improve performance.
• Analyze process and quality data to improve yield, uptime, throughput, and cost performance.
• Ensure nonconforming products are effectively contained and prevented from shipment.

Customer & Product Quality Focus

• Develop a strong understanding of customer requirements and translate them into capable manufacturing processes.
• Lead and support trials and experiments for new and existing products to validate process capability and fitness for use.
• Partner with Product Technical Leaders and Product Stewards to align specifications, materials, and bills of material with manufacturing capability and cost targets.
• Drive standardization and deployment of best practices across products and processes.

Equipment Reliability, TPM, & Capital Projects

• Partner with Maintenance to resolve equipment issues and improve reliability using TPM and Operator-Based Care principles.
• Participate in loss elimination activities and continuous improvement efforts across the site.
• Identify equipment capability gaps and develop capital requests for upgrades or process improvements.
• Support the scope development and execution of capital projects, rebuilds, and trials to meet safety, cost, schedule, and performance objectives.

Talent Development & Collaboration

• Train and coach operators and technicians on manufacturing processes, process control, and equipment fundamentals.
• Develop and implement Operator Control Plans and ensure adherence through auditing and follow-up.
• Communicate effectively across all organizational levels and collaborate with peers, technical teams, and other plants.
• Influence change and drive results through technical expertise and collaboration without direct authority.

Project/Start-up Involvement

• Help define and operationalize process stability measurement methods, including how stability is measured and reviewed, and how actions are tracked to completion.
• Support planning and execution of the process qualification plan, including product-by-product qualification status tracking and roll-up views for leadership decision-making in collaboration with the K6 Process Engineer.
• Partner with the K6 Process Engineer and cross-functional stakeholders to identify innovation/testing work that may continue after startup when full asset testing is not possible pre-startup.
• Assist with establishing and sustaining operating standards and control strategies that maintain stability across product families and operating conditions.

What We’re Looking For / Job Requirements 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in a manufacturing or technical environment
• Working knowledge of process control, statistical analysis, and structured problem-solving

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in continuous manufacturing environments
• Knowledge of TPM, Lean Manufacturing, or Six Sigma (Green Belt preferred)
• Experience with glass, insulation, or other high-volume industrial processes
• Experience leading trials, process improvements, or capital projects

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals, process capability, and variation reduction
• Data-driven mindset with the ability to apply analytical and statistical tools
• Effective communicator able to engage employees at all levels
• Strong project and priority management skills
• Results-oriented, highly ethical, and committed to continuous improvement
• Ability to act as a change agent and technical leader in a collaborative environment

Candidates must be able to meet the physical and environmental requirements of working in a manufacturing setting at Owens Corning. This includes supporting a 24/7, fast-paced, and ever-changing environment in a non-climate-controlled facility. Essential physical capabilities include but aren’t limited to the ability to lift up to 40 pounds, maneuver up and down stairs, and perform continuous standing, lifting, bending, and other physically demanding tasks.

Why Owens Corning?

• Be part of a $200M state-of-the-art transformation that will help shape the future of manufacturing in Kansas City.
• Lead in a plant with a proud 80-year history and a bold future.
• Join a global building products leader committed to innovation, sustainability, and being a strong community partner.

Experience a culture that prioritizes people and progress, grounded in values of caring, curiosity, collaboration, and commitment.

 A bright future for Kansas City

In 2024, Owens Corning announced a major investment in a new fiberglass insulation production line at our Kansas City manufacturing facility. Scheduled to come online in 2027, this expansion strengthens our U.S. fiberglass insulation network and adds versatile capabilities for both residential and non-residential applications. The new line incorporates advanced technology to drive improvements in product quality, consistency, innovation, and sustainability. This investment underscores our commitment to serving customers, reinforcing our leadership in the market, and supporting economic growth in the Kansas City community.  

About Owens Corning  

Owens Corning is a residential and commercial building products leader committed to building a sustainable future through material innovation. Our products provide durable, sustainable, energy-efficient solutions that leverage our unique capabilities and market-leading positions to help our customers win and grow. We are global in scope, human in scale with more than 25,000 employees in 31 countries dedicated to generating value for our customers and shareholders and making a difference in the communities where we work and live. Founded in 1938 and based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, Owens Corning posted 2024 sales of $11.0 billion. For more information, visit www.owenscorning.com. 

Owens Corning is an equal opportunity employer. Except in limited circumstances such as formal apprenticeship programs, Owens Corning does not employ anyone under the age of 18.