Senior Mechanical Engineer

Sterling Engineering; Lake Zurich (IL); On-site; USD 135,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Engineering in Illinois seeks a hands-on Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead the design of engineered-to-order capital equipment and mentor the engineering team. The role combines hands-on design work, leadership, and a multi-year knowledge transfer with senior leadership.

The successful candidate will perform SolidWorks design, review drawings, and drive design reviews while collaborating with electrical, project management, and fabrication teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Typically 10+ years of progressively responsible mechanical-engineering experience.
• Experience designing complex industrial capital equipment in engineered-to-order environments.
• Advanced SolidWorks proficiency, including layouts, assemblies, drawings, and changes.
• Experience supporting equipment installation, commissioning, or service.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and customer interaction ability.
• Willingness to travel to supplier and customer locations.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design from requirements through production release, fabrication, installation, and field support.
• Perform SolidWorks design work for layouts, assemblies, drawings, components, and changes.
• Review and approve mechanical drawings and designs.
• Lead design reviews addressing performance, safety, manufacturability, serviceability, cost, and schedule.
• Integrate fabricated structures, burners, gas trains, and controls into complete systems.
• Provide technical direction, prioritize work, and develop the engineering team.
• Collaborate with electrical engineering, project management, purchasing, fabrication, field service, sales, suppliers, and customers.
• Resolve design, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and field problems via root-cause analysis.
• Identify risks early and communicate recommendations to senior leadership.
• Support customer sites, inspections, commissioning, and field troubleshooting.

Skills

Root-cause analysis

Technical leadership

Project leadership

Communication skills

Travel willingness

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

SolidWorks PDM

Allen-Bradley controls

Siemens controls

Job description

Senior Mechanical Engineer, Capital Equipment

Pay: $135-155k + Bonus

Work arrangement: on-site

Travel: Periodic travel to suppliers and customers as required

Position Summary

Our Client is seeking a hands-on Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead mechanical design and contribute to the long-term development of the company's engineering organization. The selected candidate will work closely with senior leadership and participate in a structured, multi-year transfer of product knowledge, technical authority, and engineering responsibility. This highly visible position combines engineered-to-order capital-equipment design, system integration, fabrication support, field problem-solving, and technical team leadership.

This is not a purely administrative management position. The selected candidate must remain technically engaged and capable of performing original design work, reviewing engineering work, resolving complex equipment problems, and improving engineering practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical design of engineered-to-order industrial equipment from initial requirements through production release, fabrication, installation, and field support.
• Perform hands-on SolidWorks design work involving equipment layouts, complex assemblies, production drawings, components, and engineering changes.
• Review and approve mechanical drawings and designs.
• Lead formal design reviews addressing equipment performance, safety, manufacturability, serviceability, cost, and schedule.
• Integrate fabricated structures, burners, gas trains, fans, ductwork, instrumentation, controls, and purchased components into complete operating systems.
• Provide day-to-day technical direction, work prioritization, coaching, and development for an established mechanical engineering team.
• Partner with electrical engineering, project management, purchasing, fabrication, field service, sales, suppliers, and customers.
• Resolve design, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and operating problems using disciplined root-cause analysis.
• Identify technical and project-execution risks early and communicate practical recommendations to senior leadership.
• Improve engineering standards, drawing quality, component standardization, revision control, and SolidWorks/PDM practices.
• Capture essential product and process knowledge as part of CPI's structured engineering-leadership transition.
• Support customer sites, suppliers, equipment inspections, installations, commissioning activities, and field troubleshooting as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Typically 10 or more years of progressively responsible mechanical-engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing complex industrial capital equipment, preferably in an engineered-to-order environment.
• Advanced and current SolidWorks proficiency, including original design, equipment layouts, complex assemblies, production drawings, design reviews, and engineering changes.
• Experience supporting mechanical designs through fabrication and assembly.
• Experience supporting equipment installation, commissioning, field troubleshooting, or aftermarket service.
• Experience integrating fabricated mechanical assemblies with purchased equipment, instrumentation, electrical systems, and controls.
• Demonstrated technical leadership through team supervision, project leadership, design authority, engineer mentoring, work assignment, or department-level responsibility.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve design, fabrication, installation, and field-performance problems using structured root-cause analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers, senior leaders, engineers, fabrication personnel, suppliers, and field technicians.
• Ability to travel to supplier and customer locations as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing thermal oxidizers, air-pollution-control equipment, industrial ovens, furnaces, burners, gas trains, boilers, process-heating systems, heat-recovery systems, or related thermal equipment.
• Working knowledge of industrial combustion and process-airflow systems.
• SolidWorks PDM experience.
• Experience supporting equipment using Allen-Bradley or Siemens controls.
• Familiarity with NFPA 86, applicable ASME practices, OSHA requirements, and industrial-equipment risk assessment.
• Experience improving drawing-release, revision-control, engineering-change, configuration-management, or design-standardization processes.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Set high standards for engineering quality, timeliness, and accountability.
• Remain technically engaged while leading and developing others.
• Make timely, evidence-based engineering decisions.
• Communicate concerns early and recommend practical solutions.
• Build productive relationships across engineering, operations, sales, project management, and service.
• Develop team capabilities through coaching, technical guidance, and constructive feedback.
• Balance customer requirements, technical risk, manufacturability, serviceability, cost, and schedule.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.