Position Summary

The Mechanical Designer/Operations Specialist supports Harrell Ag Products by helping bridge the gap between engineering, production, and day-to-day operations. This position is intended for a highly capable, mechanically minded individual who can take ownership of varied technical and operational assignments and drive them through completion.

This is not a formal supervisory role. However, the position will require regular coordination with production employees, management, vendors, and other departments to keep projects and priorities moving forward.

The ideal candidate is someone who can be given a problem, project, drawing update, fixture need, production issue, or improvement idea and be trusted to figure out the next steps, communicate clearly, follow up consistently, and get the work completed without constant direction.

The duties of this role will fluctuate based on business needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Create, update, review, and organize drawings, layouts, part details, and other technical documentation as needed.
• Support product design, fixture design, tooling improvements, and other practical manufacturing solutions.
• Assist with project coordination from initial assignment through completion, including gathering information, identifying next steps, tracking open items, and communicating status.
• Work with production personnel to understand manufacturing issues, identify practical solutions, and help implement corrective actions or improvements.
• Support production flow by helping resolve missing information, unclear drawings, material issues, work order questions, and process gaps.
• Assist with scheduling, work order readiness, material coordination, and general communication between office and shop personnel.
• Help identify and address production bottlenecks, recurring issues, layout concerns, equipment needs, and process inefficiencies.
• Coordinate with vendors, suppliers, maintenance resources, and internal personnel as needed to move assigned projects forward.
• Assist with the development or improvement of jigs, fixtures, tooling, templates, shop aids, and other production support items.
• Follow up on assigned tasks until they are complete rather than simply passing information along.
• Serve as a flexible technical and operational resource for management, engineering, and production.
• Perform other related duties as assigned based on business and production needs.

Required Qualifications

• Strong mechanical aptitude and practical problem-solving ability.
• Experience in a manufacturing, fabrication, agricultural equipment, industrial equipment, or similar environment.
• Ability to read and understand drawings, parts, assemblies, and basic manufacturing documentation.
• Ability to take general direction and work independently once the desired outcome is understood.
• Strong follow-through and ability to manage multiple open items at one time.
• Ability to communicate effectively with management, production employees, vendors, and technical personnel.
• Comfortable working in both an office environment and on the production floor.
• Ability to organize tasks, track details, identify priorities, and keep work moving without constant reminders.
• Willingness to take ownership of varied assignments that may not always fit neatly into one job function.

Preferred Qualifications

• CAD or drafting experience, such as Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, or similar software.
• Experience with fabrication, welding, machining, assembly, maintenance, or equipment troubleshooting.
• Experience designing or improving jigs, fixtures, tooling, or production processes.
• Experience coordinating technical or manufacturing-related projects.
• ERP, work order, or production system experience.
• Technical training, associate degree, or degree in engineering, drafting, manufacturing, industrial technology, or a related field is a plus, but not required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Practical mechanical understanding.
• Strong organizational skills.
• High level of personal accountability.
• Ability to work through ambiguity and determine next steps.
• Ability to communicate across departments.
• Ability to balance office-based technical work with hands-on shop-floor support.
• Ability to recognize when additional information, approval, or resources are needed.
• Ability to follow through until work is completed.
• Willingness to learn new systems, processes, equipment, and products.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in a manufacturing environment.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, reach, climb, and move throughout the production facility as needed.
• Ability to occasionally lift or move materials, parts, tools, or equipment within reasonable limits.
• Ability to view computer screens, drawings, parts, assemblies, and equipment for extended periods as needed.
• Ability to safely work around fabrication, welding, assembly, material handling, and other manufacturing operations.

Work Environment

This position will work in both an office and manufacturing environment. The role will require time spent on the shop floor around equipment, tools, welding, fabrication, assembly, material handling, noise, dust, and other normal manufacturing conditions.

Success Factors

Success in this role will be measured by the ability to complete assigned work, remove roadblocks, support production, improve follow-through, and reduce the number of technical and operational items that stall due to unclear ownership.

A successful Technical Operations Specialist will become a dependable resource who can be trusted to take assignments from management or engineering and move them forward with limited hand-holding.

Pay: $50,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Autodesk Inventor: 3 years (Required)
• Project management: 1 year (Required)
• Manufacturing engineering: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: In person