Lead Mechanical Engineer

Advastar, Inc. | Recruiting & Staffing; Sycamore (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health/Dental/Vision

PTO

Job summary

Unknown seeks a Manufacturing Engineering Lead to run day-to-day technical leadership for its plant engineering team. This hands-on leadership role coaches engineers, tracks capital and CI projects across four sites, and acts as the technical partner for the site’s senior leader.

You will mentor engineers and influence cross-functional teams without formal authority, ensuring project success and engineering excellence across facilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing or related field.
• 5+ years of manufacturing engineering experience.
• Proven track record leading capital equipment projects of $1M+ from concept through startup.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma background and cross-functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day technical leadership for a team of plant manufacturing engineers.
• Keep capital and CI projects on schedule and within budget across four sites.
• Review project scopes, timelines, risk, and resources before issues arise.
• Serve as technical lead during equipment failures, disruptions and quality events.
• Standardize project management practices and engineering docs across facilities.
• Mentor engineers at all levels on problem-solving and project management.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Production to improve plant performance.
• Conduct post-project reviews and turn lessons learned into repeatable processes.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Problem-solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring engineers

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

ERP/CMMS systems

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 $110,000–$135,000, based on experience
• Full suite of benefits: Health/Dental/Vision, PTO

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 engineers
• Lean 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