Senior Engineering Manager - Automated Manufacturing Group

Flex•Buffalo Grove, IL

5d•$146,700 - $201,700

About The Position

The Senior Engineering Manager - Automated Manufacturing Group is a member of the Engineering leadership team, providing technical and organizational leadership across multiple engineering disciplines supporting manufacturing operations. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, the role leads Engineering Managers and technical teams responsible for factory engineering, equipment performance, mechanical systems, automation support, and capital equipment execution. The position is accountable for building high-performing engineering teams and ensuring the technical capability, engineering rigor, and execution discipline needed for current operations and future growth. This role calls for an engineering leader with deep mechanical aptitude and extensive hands-on experience designing complex automated manufacturing equipment, who has progressed from mechanical machine design into engineering management. The ideal background includes work with an OEM machine builder or equipment integrator serving demanding industries such as packaging, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or automotive, where reliability, precision, automation, throughput, and maintainability are critical. The Senior Engineering Manager provides technical leadership for the design, modification, integration, commissioning, and lifecycle support of complex automated equipment. The role partners with factory and functional leaders to improve equipment availability, throughput, quality, yield, and OEE; addresses chronic equipment and manufacturing issues; develops engineering leaders and teams; and establishes consistent engineering standards and processes. Success is measured by stronger engineering capability, improved equipment performance and OEE, faster resolution of chronic problems, and development of leaders who can support future manufacturing technology.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from an accredited institution is required.
At least 10 years of engineering experience involving the design, development, integration, and support of complex manufacturing equipment.
At least 3 years of direct management experience in a mechanical engineering or machine-design organization, including hire-fire staff management.
Extensive professional experience using 3D mechanical design/CAD systems to design production machinery, automation equipment, tooling, mechanisms, or related industrial systems.
Significant experience with an OEM machine builder, automation integrator, or custom equipment manufacturer supporting packaging, medical device, pharmaceutical, automotive, or similarly demanding manufacturing industries.
Strong understanding of mechanical machine design principles, including mechanisms, pneumatics, servo-driven motion, tooling, material handling, precision assemblies, machine guarding, and equipment maintainability.
Demonstrated progression from hands-on mechanical engineering and machine design into engineering leadership.
Ability to troubleshoot complex automated equipment and lead multidisciplinary teams through structured root-cause analysis.
Proven success managing and developing engineers and engineering managers and building high-performing technical teams.
Strong communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively from the manufacturing floor through senior leadership.
Working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, OEE, reliability engineering, and structured problem-solving methodologies.

Nice To Haves

Experience with high-speed automated assembly, packaging, precision manufacturing, robotics, vision systems (e.g. Cognex), servo motion, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
Experience operating within regulated manufacturing environments such as medical device, food and beverage, or pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Responsibilities

Lead and provide direction to Engineering Managers and multidisciplinary engineering teams supporting manufacturing operations.
Build a high-performing engineering organization with clear expectations for technical excellence, ownership, collaboration, accountability, and execution.
Coach and develop Engineering Managers, engineers, and technical leaders; build succession plans and strengthen the technical bench.
Establish consistent engineering standards, processes, and expectations across manufacturing areas.
Partner with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Reliability, Facilities, and other functional leaders to set priorities and deliver business results.
Promote proactive identification of opportunities and root-cause problem solving rather than repeated responses to symptoms.
Serve as a senior technical authority for mechanical equipment design, machine functionality, equipment performance, and engineering problem solving.
Provide technical leadership for the design, modification, integration, commissioning, and lifecycle support of complex automated manufacturing equipment.
Lead engineering reviews of machine concepts, mechanical designs, equipment modifications, and major technical solutions.
Ensure engineering solutions apply sound principles and address safety, manufacturability, reliability, maintainability, and lifecycle value.
Guide root-cause analysis of complex or chronic equipment failures involving mechanical, electrical, controls, process, and operational interactions.
Ensure solutions address underlying equipment and process limitations rather than relying on temporary countermeasures.
Support development of equipment specifications and technical requirements for internally developed and externally sourced manufacturing systems.
Partner with factory leadership to improve equipment availability, throughput, quality, yield, and OEE.
Set engineering priorities based on business impact, equipment performance data, chronic losses, and manufacturing constraints.
Lead engineering efforts addressing recurring equipment failures, bottlenecks, quality losses, and systemic manufacturing issues.
Promote disciplined problem-solving methods and data-driven engineering decisions.
Deploy engineering resources effectively against the highest-value operational opportunities.