Robert W. Simril & Associates
Current Opportunities
We are constantly working on various search assignments involving Engineering or Operations types of skills requirements. The skills levels are from 2 to 15 years experience and the salaries range from $40,000 to $100,000 depending on the industry, experience and location. Listed below by Region and position titles are several (not all) of our focused efforts.
Southeastern Region
(VA, W.VA, N.C., S.C., GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY)
POSITION: Process Engineer (Ceramics) LOCATION: NC
Located in Plant Salary: $70,000
Position Description: Become the Process area expert who defines the procedures and operational settings to maximize processes, efficiencies and yields. Requires BS in Ceramics or Materials Engineering with experience in extrusion and/or firing processes, problem analysis and troubleshooting. Some leadership role, supervisory experience is desired.
POSITION: Maintenance Manager LOCATION: NC
Located in Plant Salary: $80,000 +
Position Description: Client expanding facilities needs experienced person to be responsible for the maintenance department in the performance of highly diversified duties including installing, troubleshooting, repairing and maintaining production and facility equipment. Manage projects, scheduling and over-seeing day-to-day maintenance functions. Requires a BSME with 8+yrs. experience supervising multi-craft trade’s people.
POSITION: Quality Engineer LOCATION: NC
Located in Plant Salary: $50,000
Position Description: Opportunity for a Degreed Engineer (BS or AS) with excellent co-op or someone with lite experience in metals manufacturing. Job Shop type environment with a Quality System in place which has a growing volume of business. Very hands on function with majority of time spent in the production floor.
POSITION: Quality Engineer LOCATION: N.C.
Located in Plant Salary: $65,000 + Bonus
Position Description: BS Engineering major with 3+ yrs. Quality Engineering experience in any type of automotive products manufacturing. Must have TS-16949 specs. and be experienced using SPC, 5S, various measurement systems, analysis of rejects, etc. Good opportunity to advance to Sr. Quality and/or Quality Management positions.
POSITION: Facilities Engineer LOCATION: N.C.
Located in Plant: Salary: $65,000 + Bonus
Position Description: Prefer BSME Degree but open. Requires 3+ yrs. experience, hands-on plant engineering experience with HVAC systems, compressors, cooling towers, boilers, etc. Also, work on the floor with automated production equipment and projects i.e. mixers, extruders, conveyors, etc, Project Management experience using MS Offic3, MS Project Manager, etc.
POSITION: Senior Project Engineer LOCATION: TN
Located in: Plant Salary To: $85,000+
Position Description: BSME, EE, or ChemE. to handle all in plant projects up to $10MM. Design, develop, and manage projects for enlarging, modifying and maintaining facilities in order to improve products and processes. Background in project management and plant engineering is necessary. Select and manage outside contractors. Select best-suited process equipment. Assist production with new or modified equipment and processes. Manage multiple projects. Some knowledge of PLC’s is a plus. PE license is a plus. 5 yrs. + experience this is a senior projects job, Capital Projects Management. Some PLC work is hot button, so EE may be most desirable degree with the multi-disciplinary projects exp.
Mid-Atlantic Region / Northeastern Region
(ME, NH, VT, MA, NY, MA, CT, DE, PA, NJ, MD, RI.)
POSITION: EHS Manager LOCATION: MD
Located In: Div. Salary To: $85,000+
Position Description: Must have 8-10 yrs. in EHS with strong focus on air and water permitting. Must have certification and BS degree in a science. Should be hands-on and sophisticated player for this one. High volume manufacturing, multi-site responsibilities. Company is very selective in the EHS arena. They will put the candidates through division and corporate EHS scrutiny at division center with R&D, Engineering HQ, and plant.
POSITION: Electrical Engineering Manager LOCATION: DE
Located In: Div. Salary To: $110,000 +
Position Description: Strong project management and organizational skills. Timeliness of estimates and reports for engineering projects. Strong communication skills with emphasis on technical writing and presentation. Project Budget spend /Product Cost target. Product robustness as measured in Product Design Scorecard. On-time completion of project schedule. Review project-related documentation to insure its accuracy. Conduct/review engineering analysis and documentation in accordance with DFSS (Design For Six Sigma) tools to fulfill our company’s PROLaunch requirements. Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with 8+ years of experience in design and development of electronic products with and/or digital circuit design experience. 4+ years of demonstrated experience in an engineering supervisory / management / leadership capacity.
Midwestern Region
(IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NB, ND, SD, OH, WI.)
POSITION: Production Manager LOCATION: OH
Located in: Plant Salary To: $85,000
Position Description: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university is required. Coordinate and lead a team of production employees and first line supervisors across all three shifts within the corresponding department. The production manager will be responsible for coaching and leading their team, driving production efficiency, managing production goals, ensuring commitment to safe work practices, and drive engagement of their team. Manage the daily activities of all employees. Maintain adequate metrics to ensure levels of performance are known and improved upon. Ensure that adequate equipment is available and implemented safely so as to adequately and efficiently conduct business. Implement and enforce all policies, practices, and benefits and employ effective leadership techniques and employee relations activities to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all people working at the facility. Identify and implement methods and practices to achieve steady improvement in efficiency, quality, service and continuous improvement in operating profits.
POSITION: Materials Manager LOCATION: MI
Located in: Plant Salary To: $85,000
Position Description: BS/BA in Materials or Logistics Management / Supply Chain Management or related Business Degree. May consider non-degreed with appropriate experience. Develop monthly sales / shipping requirements from customer requirements; oversee material flow through-out the plant optimizing lead times. Keep track of inventories and their accuracy. Will oversee / Supervise 2 Schedulers, 1 Materials Supervisor, 1 Shipping/Receiving Supervisor, and 6 HiLo Drivers indirectly. NEEDS to have JOB SHOP experience and prefer MACHINING experience.
POSITION: Plant Scheduler LOCATION: MO
Located In : Plant Salary To: $55,000
Position Description: Manage the flow of production parts through the processes of molding, plating, painting, and assembling to meet customer demands and plant capabilities. 2+ to 5 years of experience, Minimum Education – Associates Degree. Willingness to Travel – Occasionally. Will work 45-55 Hours per Week. Need to have experience scheduling parts in a manufacturing facility, worked with automotive suppliers before, any experience with electroplating preferred.
POSITION: Sr. Project Engineer LOCATION: OH
Product R&D Group: Salary: $70,000 +
Position Description: BSME Major with 5+ yrs. experience in design of plastics, metal and related materials supporting manufacturing of consumer products. AutoCAD 2000, ProEngineer and FEA. Perform complex and challenging design task requiring a focus on high profile product development projects working with outside creative resources.
Southwestern Region
(AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, LA)
POSITION: Manufacturing Production Manager LOCATION: TX
Located in: Plant Salary: $95,000 + Bonus
Position Description: Client involved in succession planning of future Plant Managers. Lead a Team of approx. 45 in a continuous process manufacturing environment. Raw materials in one end, mixing, molding and finished product out the other. Prefer an educational background in engineering either in an undergraduate or graduate program. The most qualified will bring new concepts to the business and educate us to help us improve and implement best practices, needs to have at least 5 years of experience leading a manufacturing process. Ideally they would have been a significant contributor in a startup.
POSITION: Sr. Electrical Engineer LOCATION: TX
Located in: Div. Salary: $80,000 + Bonus
Position Description: The candidate will be responsible for organizing and executing work on a variety of product lines ranging from air-medical patient support systems to aerospace galley products including microwaves, ovens and coffee makers. The position requires the ability to manage multiple, short life-cycle projects while providing mentoring and leadership to the electrical team. Need experience in circuit board layout and manufacturing, firmware design/development/testing and aircraft system integration including wiring diagrams, interface specifications and schematic development.
Teaming with a Recruiter (Part 1)
Down through the years since I began this Profession, titles have changed. Once I referred to myself as an Employment Counselor (that’s what the Generalist Agency called me), Placement Counselor, Employment Consultant (that’s what a more focused Agency called me) and now Recruiter (I am in control that’s what I prefer). Recruiter’s come in all shapes, gender, cultural backgrounds, etc. One must understand the nature of the Profession to have a good relationship. Many see a Recruiter as someone who spends a little time on the phone and makes a lot of money once a Placement is made. While it is true a good Recruiter can make a lot of money, like most endeavors a great deal of time is spent behind the scenes. Bottom line after the skills are developed (and this does not happen overnight) it’s a people business. Some Recruiter’s work in large firms where there is emphasis to produce or make placements. Regardless of the special area of focus (Specialty) the emphasis is on numbers. X number of marketing phone calls daily, X number of recruiting calls daily. X number of send-outs (on-site interviews) weekly, X number of Placements monthly, etc. During that process you are suppose to develop relationships with people. The depth of the relationship is governed by the quality of the work you perform. Much like an assembly line only it’s in an office environment but the principle is the same. Production goals, cost control, element of quality emphasis, ROI. Unfortunately many either come or are brought into this Profession with expectations of making it big overnight and experience burn out quickly. Turn-over is sometimes high. When the economy goes South and employers are not hiring many of us fall by the way side and turn to another Profession to earn a living. Those who have been in the industry see this as a weaning out process or “Only the strong survive”. I prefer to think that if you are dedicated to the Profession and see it as the best position you have ever had, you will stick out the tough times, become a little creative and stay.
The quality of the relationship between you and a Recruiter is like anything else. It depends on what you put in. I have developed both short-term and long-term relationships in my Profession with Candidates as well as with Clients. Recruiters are very mindful of who pays the fee once a Candidate is placed with a Client in a specific role. Regardless of whether you are a Recruiter working on a Retainer, Engagement Fee or Contingency, the opening drives your business. Over the course of years I have had as many as 20 in a given month and as few as zero. Peaks and Valleys.
Teaming with a Recruiter (Part 2)
In Part 1 of Teaming with a Recruiter I made the statement that "ours is a people business. The quality of the relationship between you and a Recruiter is like anything else. It depends on what you put in." Our web site has a quote, "When a Candidate accepts a new position, that move should have a positive effect on their career direction in life.” Building trust in making this happen cannot be accomplished in one contact, email, phone conversation, etc. As your Recruiter I need to have trust in the answers you give to my questions and know that there are no hidden agendas. Likewise as a Candidate you deserve answers to your questions, suggestions on how your presentation might be improved (phone presentation (mannerisms), resume, etc. Ever have a Recruiter present your skills to a Client Company and then tell you "They were not interested" without telling you why? Ever submit your resume and on-line application to an Employer and hear nothing back? Survey after survey confirms that job seekers are starved for human interaction in their quest for employment. All too often, their applications aren't acknowledged, their phone calls go unanswered and their visits to corporate career sites feel like a solitary journey. As a Candidate you deserve answers to your questions. When I present a Candidate to a Client and they tell me "we are not interested", my next comment is Why . You need to know and I need to be able to tell you. Also, when you interview on site and the Client wants to extend an offer, my next comment is Why. Their reasons are usually based on your strengths and what you bring to the table. You need to know what to build on in that new relationship. Should you accept the offer I might also ask you Why? You need to hear yourself answer the question. Down through the years I have heard many "war stories" from Candidates saying the Recruiter talked me into doing this or I thought it was a good move. There are too many factors where the Employer and Employee have no crystal ball into the future, why not communicate and keep things positive? Many times there are known factors that need to surface and this can be accomplished with all sides communicating.
Working with a Recruiter, your skills should never be presented to their Client without speaking with you first in depth. You as their Candidate need to know where the location of their Client is and you should decide that the location is acceptable to you and others involved in the move. If there is a reason the location is questionable that needs to be decided before the Client knows about your skills. Waste of everyone’s time otherwise. With the availability of the web and the resources it provides, there is no reason you as a Candidate cannot make a commitment to the location. Anything else that causes concerns can probably be negotiated. Life is full of tradeoffs.
Thoughts on Resumes (Becoming a Symphony Composer)
Many people have heard me say “I have never known a company to hire a piece of paper nor a Recruiter to place a piece of paper with a client.” There are as many different ways to write a resume as there are people to write them. Likewise there are many people who give advice on format, content, length, etc. (including myself). Starting with the question, What is a Resume? A self-portrait which we wish others to see someone who can cross boundaries, invent ways to apply our past skills in a manner which meets their needs both present and future so that they develop an interest to the point that they are willing to invest time to talk with us about possible mutual interest. This is the sole purpose of a resume, to start communication. Once that communication takes place it is useless unless you are extended an offer and except, become an employee then it goes into your employers personnel file.
Before you begin to compose your resume think MUSIC. Music has always been an important part of my life and I like all types of music from Bob Seger to Jazz to Mozart. Following the music thought process attempt to synthesize rather than analyze your various roles in the past employers and positions you have held. “Pick up the Pieces” (that’s a song folks) and look for the relationships between seemingly unrelated positions, employers and tie them together. You were promoted internally because those skills were needed in another area or you changed positions externally because another employer felt they could build on you experience. You are looking for an analogy or seeing one thing in terms of another, unrelated fields to combine elements you nor anyone else thought of putting together.
Ask yourself several questions about each employer/position you have worked in during your career direction. “Why was I hired in my last position, the one(s) prior. What Value-Added benefit did I bring to the table? Now, What Value-Added benefit will I take away from that table”? What’s the relationship from all of the answers?
Assume the role of a composer or conductor and corral your diverse experiences, environments, industry experience, projects, successes, etc. into a document that if played like a piece of music would make a unified and pleasing sound. With a resume you attempt to create an image of you, your skills set, your experience. The reader is looking for an image that shows relationship. Relationship to the need, the process, the group, the environment, etc. Just as notes in a symphony cross different boundaries to create a good sound your skills must reflect that they crossed different boundaries in the work place where you are and those where you were. Too often a resume is something “remembered” rather than reflecting that you can succeed in a starkly different role. If for instance you had to “Multitask” in your position then you should be “Multifaceted” in your abilities.
People take what they read or see and draw their own image. We want to analyze our experiences, skills when we compose a resume vs. approaching the process as a systems thinking process. We live in an age of abundance. Drive through most new neighborhoods and see how many single car garages you see on a house built after 2000 or perhaps the mid ’90′s. The downside of abundance is that it entices one to a state of apathy. I think that in this new world market place we have evolved into it’s time to re-think the way we both compose a resume and the way we listen to the “MUSIC” or read a resume. Your challenge is to make it “PLAY”. The reader will hear the tune.
