Engineering Manager

Cat-i Glass; South Elgin (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

Disability insurance

PTO & holidays

401(k) plan

Life insurance

Tuition assistance

Company events

Job summary

Cat-i Glass is seeking an Engineering Manager who owns both the factory floor and the maintenance department. You will lead a hands-on team on the shop floor, drive reliability, and prevent downtime by proactive PM.

You will walk the floor, speak with operators and millwrights, make real decisions, and build a resilient team that stays. Experience with root cause analysis, DOE, and SPC is valued, and a mechanical engineering degree is preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience turning root-cause analysis into actionable fixes.
• Ability to read technical drawings or specs without hand-holding.
• Familiarity with thermal or chemical tempering, lamination, and precision edge finishing.

Responsibilities

• Owns both the factory floor and the maintenance department.
• Walk the floor and engage with operators and millwrights.
• Make timely, decisive decisions rather than seeking approval.
• Build and sustain a high-performing, low-turnover team.
• Promote ownership of operations and maintenance.

Skills

Root cause analysis

DOE

SPC

Leadership

On-floor communication

Education

Mechanical Engineering

Materials Science

Industrial Engineering

Tools

ERP/MES systems

Job description

Job Details

Job Location: HQ Location - South Elgin, IL 60177

Salary Range: $120,000.00 - $140,000.00 Salary/year

Job Shift

Any

Cat-i Glass is looking for a Team Builder. We need an Engineering Manager who owns both the factory floor and the maintenance department.

Here's what that means:

• You understand that a machine down for two hours of proper PM beats a machine that fails for two days because nobody had time.
• You can walk the floor, talk to an operator and a millwright in the same ten minutes, and have both of them respect you.
• You make decisions — not committee decisions, not "let me circle back" decisions. Real ones.
• You know the difference between managing people and leading them. If you've read anything about "Good Boss, Bad Boss" dynamics, you already know which one you plan to be.
• You care more about building a team that stays than filling a seat that turns over in six months.

What you won't find here:

No corporate speak. No 14 layers of approval to buy a $200 part.

What you will find:

A company that wants to be an Employer of Choice — not because it sounds good on a careers page, but because we've figured out that retention beats recruiting every single time. We invest in people who invest in the plant. We give real authority to the person who takes real responsibility.

If you're the kind of leader who'd rather be respected than liked, who knows maintenance isn't a cost center — it's the thing standing between you and a shutdown — and who wants ownership of both sides of the operation.

What You Bring

• You've turned "why does this keep breaking" into an actual fix — using root cause analysis, DOE, or SPC, not just a gut call.
• Hand you a technical drawing or spec, and you know exactly what it's asking for. No hand-holding required.
• You understand thermal or chemical tempering, lamination, and precision edge finishing well enough to walk the floor and immediately tell what's normal and what's not.
• A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Industrial Engineering, or similar helps — but hands-on manufacturing experience that gets you to the same place works just as well.

Bonus Points

• Time spent in ceramics process or manufacturing engineering (3+ years).
• ERP/MES systems experience — if you haven't used ours, we'll get you there.

What We Have To Offer:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance — because a trip to the dentist or the eye doctor shouldn't be a financial decision.
• If you get hurt or sick, your paycheck doesn't stop. Short-term and long-term disability, so one bad injury doesn't turn into a financial crisis for your family.
• Time off that's actually yours. PTO plus floating holidays
• 401(k). Retirement isn't a "someday" problem. We help you build it starting now.
• Life insurance, on us. Company-paid, at no cost to you.
• We'll help pay for school. Tuition reimbursement if you want to keep growing — your future here isn't capped by the job you walked in with.
• This is a place you'll actually want to be. Friends & family events, a holiday party, and perks running all year long.

Compliance

Cat-i Glass participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility after hire.