Tiffany & Co. Manufacturing Optimization Specialist

About Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co., the legendary New York jeweler founded in 1837, offers employees the opportunity to contribute to a house synonymous with timeless elegance, exceptional craftsmanship, and cultural influence. As an employer, Tiffany & Co. cultivates a refined, client-centric environment where creativity, precision, and service excellence are highly valued. Its teams span retail, design, manufacturing, merchandising, corporate functions, and sustainability, united by a commitment to innovation and responsible luxury. With the strength of a global maison and the heritage of an American icon, Tiffany & Co. provides a distinctive setting for professionals seeking to shape moments of beauty, celebration, and lasting meaning.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead technical assessments of legacy products to identify cost-reduction opportunities and improve manufacturability, productivity, and process consistency.
• Evaluate machining sequences, tooling, fixtures, workholding, tolerances, material usage, labor content, and process capability to identify root causes and improvement opportunities.
• Develop improved manufacturing concepts and requirements, particularly for machining, tooling, fixtures, workholding strategies, automation, and process optimization.
• Apply CNC machining, multi-axis manufacturing, cutting strategies, tooling selection, datum structures, tolerances, and process sequencing to solve complex manufacturing challenges.
• Provide hands-on technical support at supplier and internal manufacturing locations across the Tiffany & Co. supplier network.
• Support tooling development, manufacturing trials, troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, process validation and qualification, and production implementation.
• Confirm optimized methods are repeatable, scalable, appropriately controlled, and able to meet Engineering and Quality requirements.
• Review drawings, CAD data, specifications, inspection results, and manufacturing documentation to identify technical risks and validate proposed solutions.
• Lead technical workstreams from opportunity definition through trials, approval, documentation, and production implementation.
• Establish project plans, technical requirements, responsibilities, timelines, risks, and success criteria for each optimization initiative.
• Coordinate suppliers and internal partners, escalate barriers, and maintain momentum toward cost, quality, and timing objectives.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and introduce applicable best practices from jewelry, watchmaking, aerospace, medical device, automotive, and other precision-manufacturing industries.
• Act as the technical liaison between Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Strategic Sourcing, and external suppliers, translating optimization objectives into practical manufacturing solutions.
• Communicate technical findings, trade-offs, recommendations, risks, and validation results clearly to shop-floor teams and leadership.
• Create and maintain documentation for tooling, fixtures, manufacturing methods, process parameters, trials, approvals, and validated improvements.
• Build productive supplier relationships, constructively challenge existing manufacturing assumptions, and drive accountability for results.
• Follow safe work procedures and worksite safety requirements, and promptly report incidents and safety issues to a supervisor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Substantial experience in manufacturing engineering, automation, precision machining, tooling, or process development, including direct shop-floor problem-solving.
• Strong knowledge of CNC machining and multi-axis manufacturing, cutting tools, fixtures, workholding, machining strategy, tolerances, datum structures, GD&T, and metrology.
• Demonstrated experience developing or improving tooling and manufacturing processes and supporting trials, validation, qualification, and production implementation.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, CAD data, technical specifications, inspection results, and process documentation.
• Strong project-management, analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to work independently across multiple manufacturing sites and cultures and influence partners without direct authority.
• Fluency in English and willingness to travel regularly throughout Europe.
• Preferred: experience in jewelry, watchmaking, aerospace, medical devices, automotive, precision components, or another industry involving tight tolerances, complex geometry, and demanding surface-quality requirements.
• Preferred: working knowledge of CAD/CAM software and CNC programming sufficient to evaluate and challenge manufacturing strategies.
• Preferred: experience working with external suppliers and distributed, cross-functional teams.
• Preferred: proficiency in an additional European language.

Skills

Experience

Minimum 5 years; substantial experience in manufacturing engineering, automation, precision machining, tooling, or process development, including direct shop-floor problem-solving.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Culture

Tiffany & Co. fosters a refined, client-centric workplace where craftsmanship, creativity, and a deep respect for heritage shape the employee experience. As an employer, the Maison encourages collaboration, inclusivity, and excellence, offering teams the opportunity to contribute to moments of meaning within one of the world’s most iconic luxury brands.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.