Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc.

Manufacturing Systems Architect

Simsbury, CT Full time

This opportunity is located within our Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company business, a global leader of mission-critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions.Click here to learn more.

Job Description

EBAD is seeking a highly skilled Manufacturing Systems Architect to design, optimize, and oversee the integration of advanced manufacturing systems across our operations. This role is responsible for aligning business objectives, production requirements, and technology solutions to create scalable, efficient, and resilient manufacturing environments. The Manufacturing Systems Architect serves as a key bridge between engineering, IT, operations, and leadership teams to ensure seamless execution of digital transformation initiatives. This role is not only architectural but also hands-on in owning the full lifecycle of a business-critical MES application, from design and build through day-to-day operations, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Systems Architecture & Design
    • Develop and maintain the overall architecture for manufacturing systems, including MES, ERP, SCADA, PLCs, robotics, IoT devices, and cloud platforms.
    • Define technical roadmaps that align with business strategy, operational efficiency goals, and industry best practices.
    • Ensure system interoperability, security, and scalability.
    • Own the end-to-end lifecycle of the MES platform and related integrations, ensuring high availability and proven scalability to meet 24/7 production needs
  • Integration & Optimization
    • Lead the integration of disparate systems into a unified digital manufacturing ecosystem.
    • Drive standardization of processes, data models, and system interfaces.
    • Identify and implement automation opportunities to improve throughput, quality, and cost efficiency.
    • Lead root-cause analysis and direct remediation of production incidents, balancing immediate response with long-term architecture improvements
  • Stakeholder Collaboration
    • Partner with operations, IT, engineering, and supply chain teams to gather requirements and translate them into system capabilities.
    • Act as the subject matter expert for manufacturing technologies during vendor evaluations, RFPs, and implementation projects.
  • Governance & Compliance
    • Establish and enforce governance standards for manufacturing systems, including cybersecurity, data integrity, and change management.
    • Ensure compliance with industry regulations (e.g., ISO, FDA, OSHA) and internal quality standards.
  • Continuous Improvement
    • Monitor system performance and lead root-cause analysis for complex issues.
    • Stay current with emerging technologies (Industry 4.0, IIoT, digital twins, AI/ML in manufacturing) and recommend adoption strategies.
    • Ability to troubleshoot and step in directly when systems impact production
    • Serve as primary technical authority for performance tuning, capacity planning, and disaster-recovery strategy for MES and connected systems

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
  • 10+ years of experience in manufacturing IT/OT systems, with at least 3 years in an architecture or systems leadership role.
  • Strong knowledge of MES, ERP, SCADA, PLCs, robotics, and industrial IoT platforms.
  • Proven experience with system integration, data architecture, and digital transformation initiatives.
  • Familiarity with cloud solutions (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and edge computing in manufacturing environments.
  • Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.
  • Demonstrated experience in direct administration, configuration, and troubleshooting of MES and related OT/IT systems in a high-volume manufacturing environment

Preferred Skills:

  • Experience in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or process optimization methodologies.
  • Exposure to digital twin, predictive maintenance, or AI/ML applications in manufacturing.
  • Professional certifications (TOGAF, ISA-95/ISA-99, PMP, or related).

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.