Engineering Manager

Caterpillar Inc.•Mapleton, IL

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Engineering Manager will play a vital role within the Quality Organization, serving as a key leader for the metallurgical lab team supporting both the foundry and machine shop operations. This position will be responsible for owning metallurgical processes, overseeing materials testing, and advancing enterprise-level foundry expertise. This role is crucial to maintaining the high-quality standards expected by our customers and ensuring the strength of our customer relationships.

Requirements

A Bachelor's degree in accredited Metallurgy, Material Science, or Engineering or curriculum.
Planning: Tactical, Strategic: Extensive knowledge of effective planning techniques and ability to contribute to operational (short term), tactical (1-2 years) and strategic (3-5 years) planning in support of the overall business plan.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Extensive knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Effective Communications: Extensive knowledge and understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
Technical Excellence: Extensive knowledge of a given technology and various application methods; ability to develop and provide solutions to significant technical challenges.
Customer/Market Focus: Extensive knowledge and understanding of the importance of remaining aware of shifting market priorities and ability to respond to internal and external customer needs in a manner that consistently adds value.
Managing People: Extensive knowledge of processes involved in managing people; ability to lead successful teams and diligently address issues related to performance and conflicts at the workplace.
Collaborating Globally: Working knowledge of effective collaboration techniques and ability to build networks with people from different countries and cultures, think and work with them to bring positive impact and flourishing business results.
Project Management: Extensive knowledge of effective project management strategies and tactics; ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects, ensuring efficient utilization of technical and administrative resources to achieve project objectives.

Nice To Haves

Metallurgical testing and lab management expertise
Foundry process knowledge
Progressive leadership experience

Responsibilities

Oversee metallurgical laboratory safety, capacity planning, and workflow velocity to ensure efficient and compliant operations.
Lead strategic workforce planning.
Develop, mentor, and support team members to build technical expertise and foster a high‑performance culture.
Drive quality process development, including implementation, optimization, and management of lab equipment and testing procedures.
Perform and oversee characterization of quality defects to identify root causes and support corrective action initiatives.
Own and manage metallurgical processes, including inoculation treatment, magnesium treatment, thermal analysis, non‑destructive testing (NDT), heat treatment, charge recipes, and material specifications.
Lead salvage processes and certification activities to ensure material integrity and compliance with customer and industry standards.
Build and maintain enterprise‑wide metallurgical relationships to strengthen foundry expertise and support cross‑functional collaboration.