Manufacturing Vision Systems Technician

Description:

The Role and Responsibilities As a Manufacturing Vision Systems Technician, you play a vital role in maintaining production efficiency and product quality. You are responsible for monitoring quality inspection (QI) data and defect trends, identifying negative patterns, and escalating issues to prevent impact on production output. In this role, you operate, maintain, and perform advanced troubleshooting on backend vision and inspection equipment, ensuring minimal downtime and optimal system performance. Your work directly supports continuous improvement efforts, helping to enhance yield, reduce defects, and keep manufacturing operations running smoothly. You follow established standards and execute reaction plans to address challenges such as excessive rejects and machine downtime in a timely and effective manner. Your strong attention to detail supports accurate documentation of machine performance, while proactive communication during shift changeovers ensures smooth transitions and operational continuity. Serving as a key link between front-end and back-end operations, you help identify and communicate quality trends to reduce in-process scrap and improve overall output. By consistently adhering to company policies, safety standards, and procedures, you support production goals and reinforce a commitment to delivering high-quality products.

Your Key Areas of Impact Machine Operations and Troubleshooting:

You assist in operating inspection units and all backend equipment within designated zones, including quality inspection systems, palletizers, de-palletizers, and reinspection stations, while ensuring adherence to Standards of Operations (SOPs) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) procedures. Through your involvement in trials and feedback, you support the creation, enhancement, and validation of SOPs and TPMs. Operating at an elevated level of troubleshooting, you bridge the gap between Production Operators and Automation Technicians by resolving intermediate equipment issues and escalating complex problems appropriately. By providing operational coverage for backend production roles as needed, you help ensure minimal disruption during staffing gaps or peak demand periods. These efforts contribute to steady and efficient operations, reducing downtime and optimizing overall equipment performance.

Quality Monitoring and Continuous Improvement:

You continuously monitor production quality through the manufacturing execution system, identifying and escalating negative QI defect trends to minimize in-process scrap rates. This is achieved through effective communication with relevant personnel, including sample collection and verification of in-process defects in collaboration with the Quality department. When defects are confirmed, issues are escalated in a timely manner to Press Technicians and Production Supervisors. You lead TPM activities on backend equipment, including daily validation and testing of red rabbit samples, ensuring equipment reliability and early detection of defects or performance drift. By participating in root cause analysis, problem-solving sessions, and continuous improvement initiatives, you support process refinement and waste reduction. These efforts contribute to improved product quality, reduced waste, and more consistent production outcomes.

Documentation and Communication:

You maintain accurate and detailed records of downtime, reject rates, inspection results, TPM checks, and process changes using MES and other tracking systems. Through your thorough documentation and reporting, trends and performance issues become visible and actionable. You deliver end-of-shift reports to the Production Supervisor highlighting worst-performing product features, recurring defects, and equipment performance issues. By communicating effectively during shift changeovers, you ensure incoming operators are fully informed of machine conditions, recent issues, and production status. These efforts support clear visibility into performance, enabling proactive decision-making and reducing recurring issues.

Training and Team Support:

You support team development by training Production Operators on basic machine functions and troubleshooting backend equipment. Through your guidance and knowledge sharing, overall team capability and response times are improved. By maintaining a high standard of 5S and housekeeping in backend areas, you contribute to a safe, organized, and efficient work environment. These efforts contribute to a more capable workforce, improved safety, and a consistently organized and efficient production area.

Requirements:

You have a high school diploma and at least two years (2) of manufacturing experience involving visual product inspection and measurement systems to ensure products meet required specifications, with statistical process control (SPC) experience preferred. You demonstrate strong attention to detail, effective communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team, while maintaining a high level of integrity, confidentiality, organization, and time management. This position requires working 12-hour shifts from 5:30am to 5:30pm for the day shift OR 5:30pm to 5:30am for the night shift, following a rotating schedule of three days on and four days off, alternating with four days on and three days off. You will enjoy every other weekend off, providing a well-balanced schedule. We offer a premium shift differential of 10% for all nighttime hours, ensuring your dedication is both recognized and rewarded. Overtime pay is provided at a rate of one and one-half times the regular hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek, in accordance with federal and state labor laws. The Work Environment, Physical Demands, and Travel You work in a dynamic manufacturing environment with exposure to noise, dust, fumes, and varying temperatures, requiring the use of appropriate personal protective equipment and adherence to safety protocols, while remaining in a stationary position approximately 70% of the time (standing or sitting) and moving throughout the facility as needed. The role requires manual dexterity to operate machinery, tools, and controls, perform both close-up inspections and distance monitoring, identify and distinguish colors, and recognize sounds and alarms critical to safety and operations. You will also operate a computer approximately 20% of the time and must be able to lift up to 35 lbs.