The posting
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.
What You’ll Do
Supervisory
- Lead, mentor, and develop the Application Engineering team — setting priorities, managing workload, and supporting hiring, performance management, and career growth
Non-Supervisory
- 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
What Success Looks Like
- 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
What We’re Looking For
Experience
- 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
Software
- 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)
Traits
- 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
Values Alignment is a Must
- Initiative: instinct for taking action to improve, solve, and deliver.
- Collaboration: proactive communication with your stakeholders.
- Competence: ability to do your job well.
- Reliability: persistent follow-through on commitments.
- Bold Humility: courage to speak, act, and listen without arrogance.
Preferred Qualifications
- 10–15 years of design engineering experience
- 5–10 years of people leadership or engineering management experience
- Experience in a customer-facing or applications engineering capacity
- Experience in pharmaceutical, food processing, medical device, or other highly regulated industries
- Familiarity with GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing)
Why Rheo
- Privately owned and operated for 30 years and counting
- Excellent benefits — see the section below
- A smaller team (~100 team members) with a strong, in-person work culture
- Lead a team doing unique, high-impact work — direct influence over the safe, efficient, and reliable production of medicine around the world
- Real ownership — you shape the technical direction, standards, and growth of the Application Engineering team
- Vertically integrated — watch what your team designs get built in the same building
- A growing company in a stable, regulated industry where precision engineering matters
Benefits
- Leading medical insurance — consistently low rates compared to other businesses in the area
- Health Savings Account with employer contributions (plan-dependent)
- Dental, vision, and life insurance
- Short-term and long-term disability
- Identity theft insurance
- 401(k) with 4% employer match
- Generous PTO
- Paid paternity and maternity leave
- Paid cell phone plan with stipend for a new phone every 2 years
- Employee referral program
Working Conditions
This is a fully onsite, office-based role at our Peoria, IL facility, with regular time on the manufacturing and production floor for design reviews, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration. You must be able to move about the office and production floor and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Appropriate PPE is required when on the manufacturing floor, where you will work in proximity to operating machinery and equipment. Travel is minimal — less than 5% of the time. Standard 8-hour workday; additional hours may be required to meet business and project deadlines. The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met to perform the essential functions of this role, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Rheo Engineering is an equal opportunity employer.
