Engineering Manager

Sterling Engineering; Rochester Hills (MI); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance available

Job summary

Sterling Engineering in Michigan is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Manager to lead and develop a team of about 14 Mechanical Engineers in custom automation and advanced manufacturing environments.

This hands-on player-coach role emphasizes mentoring, solving complex design problems, improving standards, and driving DFM, DFA, and GD&T while coordinating with Electrical, Controls, and Manufacturing teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Mechanical Engineering experience in custom automation or related fields.
• Strong hands-on mechanical design experience with automated machinery and robotics.
• Solid fundamentals in structural loading, shaft sizing, torque, pneumatics, tolerances, and safety factors.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of ~14 Mechanical Engineers.
• Provide technical direction while granting ownership and autonomy.
• Coach engineers to strengthen technical capabilities and drive continuous improvement.
• Establish accountability, knowledge sharing, and design standardization.
• Recruit and develop engineering talent as the organization grows.
• Lead design reviews and support challenging technical problems.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD proficiency

Leadership

DFM/DFA

GD&T

Education

Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Autodesk Inventor

Job description

Compensation

$130k-170k+ based on experience

Relocation

Relocation assistance available

About the Opportunity

A growing custom automation and advanced manufacturing company is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Manager to lead and develop an established team of Mechanical Engineers.

This is a hands-on player-coach leadership role for someone who can mentor engineers, provide technical direction, improve engineering standards and processes, and still step in to solve challenging mechanical design problems.

Must Have Experience

Must Have: 8+ years of Mechanical Engineering experience within custom automation, machine building, robotics, special-purpose machinery, automated equipment, or complex capital equipment.

Must Have: Strong hands-on mechanical design experience with automated machinery, mechanisms, tooling, fixtures, robotic systems, or material-handling equipment.

Must Have: Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals with the ability to perform or review engineering calculations including structural loading, shaft and bearing sizing, motor sizing, torque, force, pneumatics, stress, deflection, tolerances, and safety factors.

Highly Preferred: Previous experience leading, mentoring, or technically directing Mechanical Engineers.

Highly Preferred: Experience developing or implementing engineering standards, design standards, calculation methods, templates, or engineering best practices.

Highly Preferred: SolidWorks and/or Autodesk Inventor experience.

What You'll Do

Engineering Leadership

• 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.

Mechanical & Technical Leadership

• 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.

Process Improvement & Collaboration

• 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.

Qualifications

• 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.

Why Join

• 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.