Associate Manufacturing Engineer

Summary At PlayCore, we believe play is more than just fun—it's a powerful force that builds healthier, happier communities. Every day, our teams create innovative play and recreation solutions that inspire movement, spark imagination, and bring people together. As an Associate Manufacturing Engineer at PlayCore-Southern Fulfillment Center, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the structural integrity, safety, and compliance of our playground equipment. You will create and maintain master data within Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) with a strong focus on Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) and Engineering Change Orders (ECOs). This role ensures accurate, timely, and controlled execution of engineering-driven changes to items, bills of materials (BOMs), routings, and related data to support manufacturing and cost accounting. You will collaborate with our design and engineering teams to develop new products, improve existing designs, and uphold industry standards and regulations. Your expertise will be instrumental in conducting thorough analyses, performing risk assessments, and providing technical guidance throughout the product lifecycle maintenance. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate engineering and project data through structured data entry and documentation processes.
• Review, validate, and implement approved engineering changes affecting items, BOMs, routings, revisions, substitutions, units of measure, and specifications.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Planning, and Purchasing to assess downstream impacts of engineering changes on inventory, open orders, WIP, MRP, and costing.
• Ensure engineering changes are implemented accurately, on time, and in alignment with change-control procedures.
• Support root cause analysis and corrective actions related to engineering data issues or production disruptions tied to master data changes.
• Collaborate with internal teams to improve data integrity, workflow efficiency, and reporting capabilities within D365.
• Develop detailed engineering drawings, specifications, and technical documentation for new and existing playground products.
• Conduct structural analyses, including finite element analysis (FEA), to assess the strength, stability, and durability of playground structures and components.
• Provide structural calculations for play equipment foundation analysis as required by local building code.
• Perform structural analysis and design of playground connections and anchoring systems.
• Provide technical support and expertise to internal teams, external partners, and customers regarding engineering-related inquiries, challenges, and solutions.
• Stay updated on emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in playground equipment design, safety, and engineering.
• Support Continuous Improvement Department in facilitation of Kaizen Events as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• ABET Accredited Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• One year experience in engineering design, analysis, and product development, preferably in the playground equipment industry or a related field.
• Proficiency in engineering software tools (e.g., CAD software, RISA 3D, FEA software), BlueStar PLM and MS Office Suite.
• Strong understanding of structural engineering principles, materials science, and mechanical design principles.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to solve complex engineering problems and make data-driven decisions.
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Detail-oriented mindset with a commitment to quality, safety, and continuous improvement.

Travel Less than 10%. Language Skills Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Reasoning Ability Must have the ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will frequently walk and sit, talk, write, and listen to communicate. The employee will occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet, except in the manufacturing environment where PPE may be require Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.