Senior Design Engineer - New Product Development

Senior Design Engineer – New Product Development New Product Development | Peoria, IL | Full-Time Compensation: $95,000 – $145,000 On New Product Development, you design the powder handling equipment that becomes Rheo's standard product line — the equipment pharmaceutical manufacturers rely on to make life-saving medicine. If that kind of ownership excites you, keep reading. Rheo Engineering builds advanced powder handling equipment for the pharmaceutical industry, designed and manufactured on-site to an exacting standard. New Product Development is where those products begin — where a concept becomes a validated, production-ready design that defines what Rheo brings to market. We're looking for a Senior Design Engineer to be the technical backbone of that work. You'll have your own product designs while overseeing the quality of other assigned NPD design engineer's output — leading design reviews, running the engineering change process, and mentoring the engineers around you. This is a technical leadership role with room to grow. What You'll Do Perform CAD modeling on moderate-to-complex assemblies and componentsServe as a technical point of contact on your products — communicating directly on technical matters and leading client training and webinarsOwn product maintenance, product testing and validation, and product family standardizationLead formal design reviews and drive decisions to closure, with accountability for FMEA execution, prototype testing, and approval submittal sign-offOwn the engineering change process — triage ECRs, verify and close out ECOs, and create basis-of-design documentationEnsure the accuracy and completeness of Design Engineer work across testing, FEA, component specification, customer drawings, and documentationCollaborate with controls & automation, fabrication, assembly, and manufacturing engineering to resolve design issues and ensure producibilitySource and qualify vendors alongside purchasing; review vendor drawings and conduct technical evaluationsMentor Design Engineers, build SME expertise, and provide performance-review input for team membersGenerate engineering standards and design calculators, and administer the CAD environmentResolve technical obstacles early, ensure standards are followed, and assign and distribute tasks across the teamParticipate in internal and external FATs, new-hire interviews, and feasibility assessments, and support system integration, quality activities (CAPAs/SCARs), sales, and CustomerCare What Success Looks Like Product designs under your oversight are thoroughly validated and transition smoothly from development into production with minimal issuesThe Design Engineers you mentor show measurable growth in technical capability, independence, and design quality over timeCross-functional teams — fabrication, assembly, controls & automation, purchasing, marketing — view you as a reliable, responsive technical partnerTechnical obstacles on your projects are identified and resolved early, avoiding downstream schedule or quality impacts What We're Looking For Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering disciplineSomeone who embodies Rheo's core values:Bold HumilityReliabilityCompetenceCollaborationInitiativeSignificant professional experience in mechanical design engineering, with demonstrated ownership of complex design work from concept through production releaseProficiency in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent 3D CADExperience with FEA software toolsProven track record of producing and reviewing engineering drawings, models, and calculations to a high standard of qualityExperience leading or facilitating design reviews and managing engineering change processes (ECR/ECO)History of mentoring junior engineers and contributing to team developmentExperience across the product development lifecycle — prototyping, testing, and validationTechnical ownership — you take personal accountability for engineering quality and see problems through to resolutionCross-functional leadership — you coordinate across engineering, fabrication, assembly, purchasing, marketing, and sales without needing formal authorityProficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) Preferred Qualifications Professional Engineer (PE) license or active progress toward licensureExperience in pharmaceutical, food processing, or other regulated manufacturing environmentsExperience with powder handling or process equipment designWorking knowledge of ASME codes, GD&T (ASME Y14.5), and fabrication processesKnowledge of GMP, cleanability (CIP/WIP), process containment, or OEL/OEB requirementsExperience with stage-gate product development processes Why Rheo Privately owned and operated for 30 years and countingExcellent benefits - see section belowSmaller team (~100 team members) with a strong, in-person work cultureHigh-impact work — the equipment you design helps make life-saving medicine, built to a standard you can be proud ofOwnership from concept to production — you'll see your designs go from a model on your screen to a finished system on the floorA growing company in a stable, regulated industry where precision engineering mattersVertically integrated - see what you design be built in the same building Benefits Leading medical insurance — consistently low rates compared to other businesses in the areaHealth Savings Account with employer contributions (plan-dependent)Dental, vision, and life insuranceShort-term and long-term disabilityIdentity theft insurance401(k) with 4% employer matchGenerous PTOPaid paternity and maternity leavePaid cell phone plan with stipend for a new phone every 2 yearsEmployee referral program Working Conditions Office-based with regular desk and computer work, plus periodic time on the manufacturing floor and at vendor and client sites. Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times and to bend/stoop, climb stairs and ladders, squat, kneel, and push/pull as needed. Appropriate PPE is required on the manufacturing floor and at vendor and client sites. Travel up to approximately 10% of the time. Standard 8-hour workday; overtime may be required upon supervisor request. 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.