At Eakin Healthcare, we put patients at the heart of everything we do. We are a family-owned global medical device company with a proud heritage of innovation and care. We deliver innovative solutions across Ostomy, Respiratory, and Surgical therapies, along with our Respond home delivery service. Founded over 50 years ago, we now have a team of over 700 dedicated people across three UK manufacturing sites, 12 international sales and distribution centres and export to over 60 countries. We’ve been recognised as a Great Place to Work® ! And we’re proud to be named among the Best Workplaces in Healthcare and Best Workplaces for Women. At Eakin Healthcare, we’re united by one mission: working together to improve lives - just like we’ve been doing for over five decades. WHY JOIN US? We’re good at what we do – come and join us and you can benefit from: Blended Working Bonus 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (rising to 28) Option to buy holiday days Wellbeing Programme Health Cash Plan Pension Life Assurance Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Cycle to Work Scheme Referral Scheme Long Service Awards Free Parking ABOUT THE ROLE Reporting directly to the Engineering Manager working within the Operations team this is an exciting opportunity to join a growing team, and work across various functions. Working in close partnership with Quality & Production teams to ensure all production requirements are in place for all new products. Continuously reviewing and improving our manufacturing systems within the Comber plant – implementing and instigating change where appropriate. This role is a partially hands on role and will suit an individual who can quickly build professional working relationships, work within a team and enjoy working to a high degree of autonomy. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Operational As a member of the Engineering team, investigate potential manufacturing solutions and liaise with the Engineering Manager. Liaise with Quality to ensure technical specifications and process validations are in place in a timely manner. Advise and coordinate with Engineering Manager any new equipment, tooling etc required for new products or process improvements ensuring the lead times are considered against project plans for product launches. Continuously review existing production performance data, extract insights from qualitative data, KPIs, Gemba walks to generate continuous improvement opportunities. Review existing manufacturing systems and select appropriate modern manufacturing techniques and implement to drive efficiency and quality improvement. In accordance with internal change management, implement process improvements and keeping under review the effectiveness of changes. Maintaining production documentation such work instructions, process maps & PFMEAs, regularly assess process controls throughout the manufacturing environment. Root cause analysis for production related issues, ensuring robust solutions are identified and implemented. Contribute to the development of new devices, from early-stage product concepts to ready for market, in line with Eakin’s development strategy, Quality system and Development Process. Create/ maintain BOMS and routings on company ERP system Lean Manufacturing Development of lean manufacturing principles in key areas were deemed appropriate. Contribute to lean manufacturing systems, visual management & 5S. Maintain a continuous improvement register demonstrating business benefits Group Liaise with other company sites within the Eakin Group to implement new techniques and processes common to all. Occasionally work on multi-site projects with the wider group operations engineering team. Collaborate on benchmarking & best practice sharing. Other To adhere to the company’s Equal Opportunities policy and Dignity at work policy in all activities and to actively promote equality of opportunity wherever possible. To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of your colleagues, in accordance with the company’s’ Health and Safety policy. To adhere to the company’s Quality policy and Environmental policy. To undertake other duties as may be reasonably required. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR Essential A degree / HND or equivalent qualification in an engineering discipline Knowledge of lean manufacturing tools, lean six sigma, Kaizan, 5S, Standard work, Kanban and value stream mapping knowledge in continuous improvement methods to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), quality, reduce cost, inefficiencies and waste Hold a valid driving licence and able and willing to travel to other sites and suppliers. Good working knowledge of MS Excel Able to use 2D CAD systems e.g. AutoCAD. Desirable Knowledge of ISO 13485 quality systems or an equivalent highly regulated environment. Able to demonstrate a Working knowledge of electro-mechanical systems. Previous manufacturing experience in a similar role. (Placement / Work experience included) Experience with Automation and robotic control systems. Experience of manual assembly production processes Experience of project management Six sigma green belt or above. KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS Internal R&D – to ensure all product development requirements are translated to manufacturing. Commercial team – through the NPD process ensure all manufacturing requirements are scoped out at an early stage. Procurement – to ensure availability of materials to meet key miles stones. Key Manufacturing team members – to liaise with department supervisors to ensure skills analysis and training is actioned. Deal with any trouble shooting maintenance issues and ensure effectiveness of key process controls. Work in partnership with the team to support the attainment of production targets. Finance – To provide input to the costing model for new products. Group – Network with group colleagues for own personal development and sharing best practice. External Contractors – Outsourcing relevant work, scope out ad hoc projects, source new tools, equipment etc. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Provide input to the annual budgetary process and contribute to key budgetary decisions. Occasional Travel Requirements COMPETENCIES Customer Focus Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions. Manages Complexity Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Action Oriented Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm. Optimizes Work Processes Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement. Collaborates Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. Persuades Using compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of others. Instils Trust Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity and authenticity. Nimble Learning Actively learning through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.