ROSS E SMELSER

Knoxville, TN

423-***-****

ac8v95@r.postjobfree.com

CAREER SUMMARY: 20+ years of progressive technical leadership positions, with successes in achieving results, managing / mentoring people and communication

HIGHLIGHTS:

Leadership of Engineering, Product Development, Quality, Environmental, Project Management, Testing, Design, TS/ISO/IATF/AS with significant improvements in productivity and quality

Strong mentor and developer of team’s skills, leading teams of 50+

Six Sigma Black Belt leadership, with DFM/A, Lean, TPM,& Kaizen

International leadership and results with global products and supply base

Manufacturing experience with wide range of processes

Automotive industry experience (22 years) and management experience (23 years) in Engineering and Quality

EXPERIENCE:

With: Joyson Safety Systems, Knoxville, TN (manufacturer of automotive airbags and airbag fabric)

Engineering Manager 2016 to present

Leadership of site Manufacturing Engineering. Responsible for capital projects, process development, capacity planning and interim leadership of facilities and maintenance. Leadership of multiple technical roles including Process Engineer, Textiles Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Industrial Engineer and Controls Technicians.

With: General Dynamics (Ordnance and Tactical Systems), Marion, VA (design and manufacturer of high tech composites for the Aerospace and Defense industries); Customers: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Department of Defense, etc.

Sr Manager, Engineering 2010 to 2016

Leadership of site Project and Manufacturing Engineering. Leadership of site Quality activities 2012-2014, up to 35 persons. Maintains AS9100, ISO9001, and Nadcap certifications for facility of $100 million annual sales. Leads continuous improvement to increase product quality and reduce cost and waste. Initiatives include applying pFMEA, Poka-Yoke and Flawless Launch practices to improve product launch. Improved engineering systems to increase quality and reduce cost. Improved skills and capability of team. Active member of management team leading the cultural change to Lean and Continuous Improvement. Incorporated benchmark practices from former industries, such as 8-D, compliance matrix, skills matrix, SME and mentor identification. Created significant improvement of relationship between engineering and production.

With: AGC Glass (Asahi Glass Co), Kingsport, TN (manufacturer of flat glass, 24/7 operation)

Engineering Manager 2007 to 2010

Leadership of all engineering, maintenance, environmental, and information systems for a plant with up to $100 million in annual sales. Directly lead 50 persons. Improved plant wide culture from traditional union toward a data based, continuous improvement culture. Implemented $20 million annual capital budgets on schedule, reduced down-time by 40%, incorporated 5-S throughout plant, key role in Behavior-Based-Safety, maintained ISO-9001 and acquired ISO-14001. Managed facility with high voltage power supply in support of 10 megawatt melt furnace.

With: TRW Automotive, (16 years) Rogersville, TN & Washington, MI (automotive supplier of power rack and pinion steering); Customers: Ford, Chrysler, VW, GM, Nissan, Mazda, BMW, and Hyundai.

Global Engineering Manager 2006 to 2007

Leadership of Product Development for Electric Power Steering for North America and Europe. Worked directly with Ford management. Directly led 10 positions in NA and support additional persons in Europe. Set clear goals to achieve business success while maintaining a rewarding work environment. Drove consistency and quality through robust design review process.

ROSS EMERSON SMELSER

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Product Engineering Manager 2000 to 2006

Leadership of Product Engineering group supporting all products for a $300 million division with 20 engineering professionals; developed skills of team to optimize effectiveness; Six Sigma Black Belt function leading projects and mentoring entire department; core member of E-engineering initiative (web front, parametric modeling, etc); member and leader of global teams. Reduced time to market from 36 months to 14 months and improved to “flawless launch”.

Technical Services Manager 1998 to 2000

Management of Product Development Laboratory, Design Services, Quality Systems (QS9000 Process) (interim), Warranty and Reliability. Leadership for 22 professionals. Presented TRW Chairman's Award for Innovation for Warranty Management July 1999.

Reliability Manager 1996 to 1998

Management of warranty and reliability systems throughout the 4 plant division, including: customer contact, warranty analysis and reporting, reliability predictions, agreement administration, and continuous improvement. Significant impact on warranty reduction for entire Chrysler line up to $120 million cost avoidance over a three year period.

Product Engineer 1995 to 1996

New product design, development, test, and launch, focused on Nissan and Mazda. Continuous quality and cost improvements on all products. Direct communication with customers and suppliers. Utilized D.O.E., F.M.E.A, S.P.C., Concurrent Engineering.

Quality Systems Engineer 1991 to 1995

Division quality (four plants), TQM coordinator (assessment, training, team building), warranty administrator, quality cost, internal quality systems audit, FMEA subject matter expert, project tracking for cost reduction, quality improvement, customer concern closure.

With: Dayton Walther, Carrollton, KY (automotive supplier of machined brake and suspension components). Customers: Ford, Dana, Fruehauf, Navistar, U. S.-D.O.D.

Quality Engineer 1989 to 1991

Leadership of quality systems, supplier quality, gage control, training, D.O.E., manufacturing and project engineering responsibilities with CNC equipment.

With: Perfect Equipment Corporation, Murfreesboro, TN

(automotive supplier of injection molded and stamped components). Customers: General Motors, Ford, Chrysler/AMC, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc.

Supervisor of Engineering and Quality Control 1987 to 1989

Leadership of Product Engineering and Quality Systems; technical liaison to customers and suppliers. Promoted from Engineer April 1988.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from Tennessee

Technological University, 1986.

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS AND INTERESTS:

TRW's Chairman's Award for Innovation 1999 (Warranty Improvement)

Six Sigma Black Belt (DMAIC & IDOV)

Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) from ASQ, # 27704 (1992-2001)

Engineer-in-Training Certification 1986 (step toward P. E. Registration)

Skills in Leadership, Project Management, Presentation and Training,

S.P.C., D.O.E., F.M.E.A.,CAD/CAM, ISO9001, IATF16949, AS9100, ISO14001

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