What are the responsibilities and job description for the Project Engineer position at Sterling Engineering?
Engineering / Project Manager
Location: Libertyville, IL
Salary: $110-125k
We’re partnering with a longstanding client of ours—a highly respected contract manufacturer known for its agility, customer-centric approach, and ability to execute complex builds across multiple industries. This is a stable, growing organization that has built its reputation on responsiveness, quality, and engineering-driven solutions.
This role is more than a typical Engineering Manager position—it’s a true “Swiss-army knife” opportunity with broad visibility across the entire operation. You’ll sit at the intersection of engineering, production, and leadership, playing a critical role in keeping projects moving, teams aligned, and performance on track.
Why This Opportunity Stands Out:
- Clear path to leadership succession
- High visibility across engineering, operations, and executive leadership
- Diverse, hands-on role with no siloed responsibilities
- Stable contract manufacturing environment with strong customer demand
- Opportunity to directly impact process improvement, delivery performance, and team development
Key Responsibilities:
- Direct and coordinate project-specific engineering support and scheduling activities
- Support engineering needs across all manufacturing value stream teams
- Provide hands-on technical guidance to manufacturing cells as needed
- Monitor productivity metrics and identify continuous improvement opportunities
- Lead Kaizen events to enhance manufacturing efficiency and workflow
- Ensure strong cross-functional communication between engineering, production, and quality
- Identify and remove operational bottlenecks impacting performance or delivery timelines
- Drive a strong focus on on-time delivery for both internal and external customers
- Provide leadership, coaching, and performance feedback to engineering team members
- Support team development and long-term succession planning initiatives
- Promote a safe, clean, and organized work environment
- Maintain adherence to quality standards and internal procedures
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Process Engineering
- 8 years of experience within a manufacturing environment
- Strong background in engineering management, Lean manufacturing, and production processes
- Experience in a metal fab environment
Salary : $100,000 - $125,000