{"id":1965288,"url":"https://alion.io/job/sp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481","title":"Senior Process Improvement Engineer - 1481","company":{"id":687082,"name":"SP Associates","domain":"spassociates.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/spassociates","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workable","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":87,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.333,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":60,"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Dalton, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":84000,"max_usd":158000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":5966},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-06T17:08:56Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-06","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T21:04:34Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":14,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":14},"description":"We are seeking an experienced Process Improvement Engineer with a strong background in carded needle-punch nonwoven manufacturing and fiber processing. This role will focus on improving the performance, consistency, efficiency, and quality of carded needle-punch nonwoven manufacturing processes. The successful candidate should understand how fiber characteristics and processing conditions affect carding, needle-punching and final nonwoven product properties. This is a hands-on manufacturing position requiring significant interaction with production equipment, operators, technicians, and engineering teams.\nKey Responsibilities\nLead process improvement initiatives for carded needle-punch nonwoven manufacturing processes.\nOptimize processes from fiber preparation and blending through carding, web formation, crosslapping, needle punching, and finishing.\nTroubleshoot issues related to fiber opening, blending, fiber distribution, web uniformity, basis weight, thickness, density, and product consistency.\nOptimize carding and web-forming conditions to achieve consistent fiber distribution, orientation, web weight, and uniformity.\nOptimize needle-punch parameters including needle density, penetration depth, punch frequency, stroke, and line speed.\nEvaluate the impact of fiber type, fiber length, denier, crimp, finish, blend ratios, and recycled content on manufacturing performance.\nConduct plant trials and process experiments involving new fibers, fiber blends, equipment settings, and process conditions.\nIdentify and eliminate root causes of scrap, defects, downtime, rework, and process variation.\nAnalyze manufacturing data to identify opportunities to improve throughput, yield, quality, and material utilization.\nEstablish and maintain appropriate process windows, operating standards, and process controls.\nUse structured problem-solving methodologies including Root Cause Analysis, 5-Why, Fishbone, SPC, DOE, Lean, and Six Sigma tools.\nWork with Maintenance and Engineering on equipment modifications and improvements.\nSupport new product development and commercialization by establishing repeatable manufacturing processes.\nDevelop and maintain SOPs, work instructions, process specifications, and control plans.\nTrain and support production personnel on optimized process conditions and standard operating procedures.\nTrack and quantify process improvement results, including cost savings, scrap reduction, productivity, yield, and capacity improvements.\nRequirements\nBachelor's degree in Textile Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.\n5+ years of experience in process improvement, process engineering, or manufacturing engineering.\nStrong hands-on experience in nonwoven manufacturing and fiber processing.\nDirect experience with carded needle-punch nonwoven processes.\nStrong understanding of fiber processing, carding and needle punching.\nExperience working with synthetic fibers and fiber blends, such as polyester/PET, polypropylene, or recycled fibers.\nExperience troubleshooting manufacturing problems directly on the production floor.\nDemonstrated experience improving manufacturing throughput, yield, quality, process capability, and material utilization.\nStrong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to use manufacturing data to identify root causes and implement solutions.\nExperience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, SPC, DOE, and root-cause analysis.\nStrong communication and collaboration skills. Ability to work effectively with Production, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, R&D, and Engineering teams.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3659,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Recruiting & Staffing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-06T17:08:56Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":13,"expected_fill_days":60,"reasons":["conf:2","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/sp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/sp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T21:46:14Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":25360,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":687082},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=687082"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fsp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fsp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fsp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/sp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fsp-associates-senior-process-improvement-engineer-1481"}]}