Senior Manufacturing Engineer: Scale Heavy Fabrication

Sterling Engineering; Wood Dale (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Engineering in Illinois is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to drive the build-out of a new 250,000 sq ft facility and optimize production cells, workflows, and material flow across four sites.

You will lead continuous improvement initiatives, collaborating with fabrication and welding teams, and using AutoCAD to layout plants while advancing lean principles to maximize capacity, throughput, and efficiency. This role supports expansion and ongoing operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Manufacturing Engineering experience in heavy manufacturing, fabrication, or metalworking.
• Experience supporting fabrication, welding, sheet metal, and/or assembly operations.
• Strong understanding of lean manufacturing, manufacturing cells, workflow optimization, and value streams.
• Experience with A3 problem-solving, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement.
• Lean Green Belt or Black Belt certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Support the launch of a new 250,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, establishing efficient production workflows, manufacturing cells, and material flow.
• Evaluate and optimize manufacturing processes across four facilities to improve productivity, throughput, and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with fabrication, welding, and assembly operations to identify bottlenecks and improve production performance.
• Utilize AutoCAD to develop and modify plant layouts and manufacturing cell configurations.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Workflow optimization

A3 problem solving

Root cause analysis

Process improvement

Tools

AutoCAD

Excel

Job description

Sterling Engineering in Illinois is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to drive the build-out of a new 250,000 sq ft facility and optimize production cells, workflows, and material flow across four sites.

You will lead continuous improvement initiatives, collaborating with fabrication and welding teams, and using AutoCAD to layout plants while advancing lean principles to maximize capacity, throughput, and efficiency. This role supports expansion and ongoing operational excellence.