Production Engineer CAT Pigment & Veneer

If you are passionate about manufacturing excellence, motivated by solving real production challenges, and eager to make a tangible impact, we offer you a meaningful role in a global, values-driven company — where your ideas are valued, and where the aim is always to “create a better everyday life for the many people.”

About IKEA

One brand, many companies, and many, many people – that’s us in a nutshell. Spread all over the world, we have a passion for home furnishing and an inspiring shared vision: to create a better everyday life for the many people. This, together with our straightforward business idea, shared values, and a culture based on the spirit of togetherness, guides us in everything we do.

To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low, that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. To meet the needs of our customers we have a unique business model and value chain. It includes product development, design, supply, manufacture and sales. And of course, it starts and ends with our customers.

https://www.inter.ikea.com/

IKEA Supply is responsible for securing that the product offer is produced and delivered to our customers. We lead the supply agenda across many functions and work together with all business areas, different business units, but also retail markets to secure customer availability in all markets and sales channels at lowest total cost.

As Purchasing Development, we purchase the materials and the production capacity to produce both home furnishing products and food. We have more than 1,200 co-workers global wide and operates in 27 locations, this includes 6 category areas and Wood Supply & Forestry.

IKEA Purchasing Services (Czech Republic) spol. s r.o. is a purchasing organization that cooperates with furniture and home furnishing manufacturers located in Europe on producing furniture with perfect design and quality for many people and ensures distribution into IKEA retail stores worldwide. We are a team of about 150 co-workers of over 20 nationalities.

At IKEA, we see things a little differently. We onboard our suppliers as partners with whom we create long-term relationships. We want them to grow with us, become more efficient, and achieve affordable sustainability.

IKEA Purchasing Services (Czech Republic) spol. s r.o.

A few perks of being one of us:

• We believe in you – You’ll get the privilege and responsibility to lead suppliers and co-create innovative and efficient production setups that drive results for IKEA and our customers.
• We trust you – You’ll have the confidence and freedom to organize your time. Your well-being is our priority. You’ll be part of rewarding work, while keeping balance with hobbies and family.
• We grow with you – Through regular feedback and dialogue with your manager, you’ll explore development and career opportunities. We embrace making mistakes and learning from them – it's how we grow.

As a Production Engineer in our Pigment & Veneer team, Category Area Wood, you will be a key member of a 3-person micro-team, working alongside a Business Developer, who leads price negotiations and manages the overall commercial relationship with the supplier, and a Supply Planner, who secures logistics and supply flow. Together, you form an agile, cross-functional team responsible for the entire supplier performance and development.

Your primary focus will be on wood veneer furniture products, working hands-on with suppliers to develop and secure the running production range, implement process improvements, and ensure our products consistently meet IKEA quality, cost, and sustainability standards. You will take the lead in optimizing production flows, supporting the launch of new and improved products, and driving continuous improvement in quality, efficiency, and cost. By building strong partnerships with suppliers, you will help deliver products that meet customer needs—at the right price, with the right quality, and in a sustainable way.

Your main assignments will be:

• Evaluate supplier production capabilities and quality systems.
• Secure the implementation of specifications and product requirements at suppliers.
• Conduct or support audits and implement gap-closing actions.
• Act on deviations – lead root cause analysis and preventive actions for quality issues and claims.
• Continuously challenge and improve supplier processes using lean tools (FMEA, 5 Whys, fishbone, etc.).
• Support product development and implementation (News, Moves, Improves).
• Collaborate with suppliers to co-create action plans and develop long-term capabilities.
• Manage technical communication and information flow between IKEA and suppliers.
• Contribute to cost-out activities and efficiency improvements.

• A university degree in engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience in a manufacturing or process engineering environment.
• Strong knowledge of production technologies, process control, and quality tools.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing principles.
• Capability to lead root cause analysis and implement improvements.
• Good understanding of product requirements (Drawings) and customer expectations – CTQ (Critical-to-quality).
• Preferred previous experience:  work with wood or wood furniture products.
• Structured and analytical mindset with attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.
• Patience and good communication to help you find common ground with suppliers of different nationalities and to meet IKEA’s business demands.
• Motivation to build long-term partnerships and act with a holistic IKEA view.
• Ability to engage and inspire people, both internally and externally.
• Being an active driver (driving licence B) - travelling is a part of the assignment since our engineers work closely with our suppliers. 

• This position will be based in Prague, the Czech Republic.
• Travelling is a part of the assignment since our Production Engineers work closely with our suppliers (approx. 20-40%, but subject to change depending on suppliers and business needs).
• The selection process will take place continuously, so please send in your application in English as soon as possible but latest December 8, 2025.
• If you have questions about the position, please contact hiring manager Josef Nelson at josef.nelson@inter.ikea.com. If you have questions about the recruitment process, please contact People & Culture Lucie Drastilová at lucie.drastilova1@inter.ikea.com or Maria Leszczyńska maria.leszczynska@inter.ikea.com.