Mechanical Engineering Manager
Job Description
Employment Type: Full-Time
Relocation: Relocation assistance available
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of approximately 14 Mechanical Engineers.
- Provide technical direction while allowing experienced engineers ownership and autonomy.
- Coach engineers and strengthen the team's overall technical capabilities.
- Establish accountability, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
- Recruit and develop additional engineering talent as the organization grows.
- Provide technical leadership for custom automation, robotic systems, special-purpose machinery, tooling, fixtures, and automated manufacturing equipment.
- Perform and review mechanical engineering calculations.
- Lead complex design reviews and assist engineers with challenging technical problems.
- Establish consistent mechanical engineering standards and design practices.
- Improve engineering templates, design libraries, reusable solutions, and standard components.
- Promote DFM, DFA, GD&T, manufacturability, serviceability, and cost-effective design.
- Ensure drawings, BOMs, calculations, and engineering documentation meet established standards.
- Improve engineering processes to reduce rework and increase consistency.
- Establish stronger design-review processes and technical checkpoints.
- Partner with Electrical Engineering, Controls, Manufacturing, Project Management, Applications, and Operations.
- Support projects from concept and design through build, integration, testing, and customer delivery.
- Identify technical risks early and help develop practical solutions.
- Introduce improved engineering tools and processes without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Must Have: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline preferred, or equivalent applicable engineering experience.
- Must Have: Approximately 8+ years of mechanical engineering experience in custom automation, robotics, machine building, special-purpose machinery, or automated manufacturing equipment.
- Must Have: Strong 3D mechanical design and CAD experience.
- Must Have: Knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials, tolerancing, GD&T, DFM, and DFA.
- Highly Preferred: Engineering management, technical leadership, team lead, or project leadership experience.
- Highly Preferred: Experience mentoring and developing Mechanical Engineers.
- Highly Preferred: Experience improving engineering standards, processes, calculations, and design practices.
- Strong problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and engineering priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Lead an established mechanical engineering team.
- High-impact opportunity to influence engineering culture and technical standards.
- Remain hands-on technically while developing other engineers.
- Work on challenging custom automation and advanced manufacturing systems.
- Help modernize and scale an established engineering organization.
- Collaborative environment focused on empowerment rather than micromanagement.
- Relocation assistance available.
Meet Your Recruiter
Principal Recruiter
Steve Stabley is a Recruiter at Sterling Engineering with close to 30 years of technical recruiting experience, including more than 23 years with Sterling. Throughout his career, Steve has built deep expertise in the automation and manufacturing industries, helping clients identify and hire highly skilled engineering and technical talent.
Steve has successfully sourced and placed engineers and technicians with many of the leading automation companies throughout the greater Chicagoland area. His industry knowledge, long-standing relationships, and understanding of technical hiring needs allow him to connect qualified candidates with opportunities where they can make an immediate and lasting impact.