Machine Rebuild & Technical Capability Specialist

Caterpillar•East Peoria, IL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Machine Rebuild & Technical Capability Specialist is a hands-on technical leadership role on the Facilities Team within Caterpillar’s Integrated Drivetrain Energy Solutions (IDES) division. The role leads complex machine rebuilds and field-based technical work, mentors technicians, coordinates vendors and suppliers, and improves the long-term reliability of critical manufacturing assets. It supports major equipment rebuilds from planning through startup and stabilization, working with production equipment, maintenance technicians, engineering resources, vendors, OEMs, suppliers, and internal customers to ensure work is performed safely and effectively with strong technical discipline. The specialist spends significant time on the shop floor and directly engaged with equipment, problem-solving, startup activities, and technician development. The position leads rebuild planning, scope development, execution, commissioning, and post-rebuild stabilization; performs hands-on work through teardown, inspection, repair, rebuild, installation, and troubleshooting; and coordinates work across mechanical, electrical, controls, hydraulic, pneumatic, automation, tooling, guarding, and safety systems. It develops work plans, schedules, checklists, risk assessments, and execution strategies, and supports decisions about whether assets should be repaired, rebuilt, replaced, or retired. As technical lead for complex rebuilds, major repairs, and critical troubleshooting, the specialist guides technicians and other resources, provides direction when conditions or scope change, and works alongside maintenance teams, vendors, contractors, suppliers, and OEM personnel. The role also builds internal technical capability by mentoring technicians and converting rebuild knowledge into standards, procedures, training materials, inspection guidance, startup checklists, best practices, and lessons learned. The specialist identifies failure modes, reliability risks, maintainability concerns, and improvement opportunities; leads or supports root-cause investigations; and applies rebuild findings to maintenance strategies, spare-parts planning, reliability plans, and capital recommendations. The role partners with operations, maintenance, engineering, reliability, leadership, and production customers, while representing the company technically in work with vendors, suppliers, OEMs, contractors, and service providers. The position is onsite five days a week in East Peoria, Illinois (Building KK). It may require less than 10% travel. Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship are not available. The posting closes at 11:59 p.m. on October 30, 2026. The stated pay range is $97,530 to $146,290.

Requirements

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience, is desired.
Accuracy and attention to detail.
Ability to collaborate constructively with a variety of individuals and groups.
Decision-making and critical-thinking skills, including analyzing situations and reaching informed decisions.
Effective written and verbal communication skills.
Knowledge of plant facilities management and the ability to manage and maintain physical facilities and infrastructure.
Problem-solving skills and ability to resolve organizational, operational, or process problems.
Project-management knowledge and ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects and resources.
Technical troubleshooting knowledge and ability to anticipate, recognize, and resolve technical issues.

Nice To Haves

Experience with machine rebuilds, major equipment overhauls, or asset restoration projects.
Working knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, controls, automation, hydraulics, pneumatics, lubrication, alignment, machine guarding, and machine safety.
Experience in heavy manufacturing, machining, heat treat, forging, fabrication, assembly, or other industrial production environments.
Root-cause analysis, failure analysis, reliability improvement, or maintenance strategy experience.
Experience working directly with OEMs, suppliers, contractors, and maintenance service providers.
Experience mentoring technicians or leading technical teams.
Project leadership or project-management experience.
Lean manufacturing or continuous-improvement experience.

Responsibilities

Lead machine rebuild planning, scope development, execution, startup, and post-rebuild stabilization.
Perform hands-on teardown, inspection, repair, rebuild, installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting work.
Coordinate rebuild activities across mechanical, electrical, controls, hydraulic, pneumatic, automation, tooling, guarding, and safety systems.
Develop rebuild work plans, technical checklists, schedules, risk assessments, and execution strategies.
Support lifecycle decisions about repairing, rebuilding, replacing, or retiring assets.
Ensure rebuild work meets safety, production, quality, reliability, and customer needs.
Serve as technical lead during complex equipment rebuilds, major repairs, and critical troubleshooting events.
Guide technicians and technical resources through complex machine problems and provide direction when conditions or scope change.
Work alongside maintenance teams, vendor resources, contractors, suppliers, and OEM support personnel.
Mentor technicians and maintenance resources through hands-on rebuild work.
Convert machine-specific knowledge into standards, procedures, training materials, and lessons learned.
Develop rebuild standards, technical documentation, inspection guidance, startup checklists, and best practices.
Build internal troubleshooting, commissioning, reliability, and machine-specific technical capability, and support knowledge transfer.
Identify recurring failure modes, reliability risks, maintainability concerns, and improvement opportunities.
Lead or support root-cause investigations related to equipment failures and rebuild findings.
Use rebuild activity to improve maintenance strategies, spare-parts planning, reliability plans, and capital recommendations.
Partner with operations, maintenance, engineering, reliability, and leadership teams to improve equipment performance and supportability.
Represent the technical function in rebuild work with vendors, suppliers, OEMs, contractors, and service providers.
Communicate technical expectations, project status, risks, needs, and decisions to internal and external stakeholders.
Coordinate vendor and supplier support while retaining internal ownership of technical direction, equipment knowledge, and rebuild standards.
Work with production customers to understand operational needs, timing constraints, restart expectations, and equipment performance requirements.