Lead Manufacturing Engineer

Advastar, Inc. | Recruiting & Staffing; Sycamore (IL); On-site; USD 125,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health/Dental/Vision insurance

PTO (paid time off)

401K with match

Job summary

Advastar, Inc. is partnering with a long-established industrial manufacturer to hire a Manufacturing Engineering Lead who will run day-to-day technical leadership for the plant engineering team across four sites.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you coach engineers, manage capital and CI projects, and serve as the technical partner for the site's senior engineering leader. You will standardize project management practices, mentor engineers, and collaborate with Operations, Maintenance,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of manufacturing engineering experience.
• Proven track record leading capital equipment projects of $1M+ from concept through startup.
• Deep working knowledge of manufacturing processes, equipment, automation, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
• Track record influencing engineers and cross-functional teams without relying on formal authority.
• Multi-site manufacturing experience.
• Experience mentoring or developing engineers; Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma background.
• ERP/CMMS system experience.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day technical leadership and coaching for a team of plant manufacturing engineers.
• Keep capital and CI projects on schedule and within budget across four manufacturing sites.
• Review project scopes, timelines, risk, and resource needs before they become problems.
• Step in as technical lead during equipment failures, production disruptions, and major quality events.
• Standardize project management practices and engineering documentation across facilities.
• Mentor engineers—from junior to senior—on problem-solving, PM, and manufacturing decision-making.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Production to improve plant performance.
• Run post-project reviews and turn lessons learned into repeatable processes.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Project management

Mentoring engineers

Cross-functional collaboration

Root cause analysis

Lean Six Sigma

Manufacturing processes

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

ERP software

CMMS software

Job description

A long-established industrial manufacturer with multiple U.S. production facilities is hiring a Manufacturing Engineering Lead to run day-to-day technical leadership for its plant engineering team. This is a hands-on leadership seat: you'll coach engineers, keep capital and continuous improvement projects on track, and act as the go-to technical partner for the site's senior engineering leader. You'll have real authority over how projects get planned and executed across multiple plants, without the title yet carrying full people-management weight. Strong track record leading capital projects and developing engineers gets you a serious look.

• Anticipated $125K-$135K, based on experience
• Full suite of benefits: Health/Dental/Vision, PTO, 401K w/match

Overview

• Own day-to-day technical leadership and coaching for a team of plant manufacturing engineers
• Keep capital and continuous improvement projects on schedule and within budget across four manufacturing sites
• Review project scopes, timelines, risk, and resource needs before they become problems
• Step in as technical lead during equipment failures, production disruptions, and major quality events
• Standardize project management practices and engineering documentation across facilities
• Mentor engineers — from early-career through experienced — on problem-solving, project management, and manufacturing decision-making
• Partner directly with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Production to move plant performance
• Run post-project reviews and turn lessons learned into repeatable process

Preferred Skills/Experiences

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of manufacturing engineering experience
• Proven track record leading capital equipment projects of $1M+ from concept through startup
• Deep working knowledge of manufacturing processes, equipment, automation, maintenance, and continuous improvement
• Track record influencing engineers and cross-functional teams without relying on formal authority
• Multi-site manufacturing experience
• Experience mentoring or developing engineersLean Manufacturing or Six Sigma background
• ERP/CMMS system experience

KEYWORDS: manufacturing engineering, engineering leadership, capital projects, continuous improvement, CI projects, project management, plant engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, equipment reliability, root cause analysis, cross-functional leadership, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, ERP, CMMS, multi-site manufacturing, engineering mentorship, manufacturing operations, technical leadership, capital equipment startup, production support