Engineering Manager - Mechanical Design

Equipment Application Engineering | Peoria, IL (In-Person) | Full-Time | Relocation Assistance Provided

Compensation: $125,000 – $160,000

Reports To: Director of Engineering

Great engineering teams don’t happen by accident. Someone has to set the technical bar, clear the obstacles, and build a team engineers want to be part of. If that’s the challenge you’re after, keep reading.

Rheo Engineering designs and builds the powder handling systems used to make life-saving medicine. Application Engineering is where a customer’s requirements become a real, manufacturable machine — every project different, most of them on a tight clock.

We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead that team: owning technical quality and on-time delivery, developing the engineers on it, and bridging customers, sales, manufacturing, and production.

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Application Engineering team — setting priorities, managing workload, and supporting hiring, performance management, and career growth
• Own the engineering workflow that translates customer requirements into manufacturable, applied product designs and solutions
• Manage engineering project prioritization and the on-time delivery of engineering deliverables
• Review and approve designs, calculations, and drawings for accuracy, manufacturability, and compliance with specifications
• Partner with Sales and Business Development to scope customer applications, assess feasibility, and provide technical input to quotes and proposals
• Interface with Project Managers and customers on technical requirements, design reviews, and problem resolution
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering and Production to keep designs producible and cost-effective
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, design processes, and documentation practices
• Own the engineering change process (ECOs) and design configuration control
• Ensure all engineering work complies with the quality system and applicable laws, standards, and regulations
• Serve as the senior technical authority and escalation point, personally owning design decisions on the most complex customer applications
• Drive continuous improvement in design tools, methods, and cycle time
• Track and report engineering metrics and team performance to the Director of Engineering
• Stay current on emerging design technology, materials, and methods, and apply the relevant advancements to Rheo’s processes
• Take on other duties as assigned by leadership

• Application engineering deliverables — designs, drawings, and technical proposals — are completed on time, to spec, and require minimal rework
• Customer applications are solved with designs that are manufacturable and cost-effective, winning and retaining business
• The engineering team is stable, developing, and performing — with workload managed, capability growing, and turnover low

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Design Engineering, or a related engineering field
• 7+ years of design or mechanical engineering experience
• 3+ years in a people leadership, team lead, or engineering management role
• Demonstrated experience translating customer or application requirements into manufacturable product designs

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)
• Proficiency in 3D CAD software (Autodesk Inventor preferred)
• Familiarity with an ERP system (Epicor Kinetic preferred)
• People Leadership — you develop engineers, set clear direction, and build a team people want to stay on
• Superb Communication — you get your ideas, instructions, and points across clearly and naturally, with customers and your team alike
• Extreme Ownership — you see a project through from beginning to end, no matter the obstacle
• Proactive Problem Solver — you don’t let problems sit; you find the root cause and drive it to resolution
• Customer Focus — you keep the customer’s application and outcome at the center of the team’s technical decisions
• Competitive Drive — an insatiable desire to build a better product than the competition

• Initiative: instinct for taking action to improve, solve, and deliver.
• Collaboration: proactive…