Industrial Service Engineer

Industrial Service EngineerJob descriptionLocation: Chicago, IL Travel: 20-40%Position Overview:We are seeking an Industrial Service Engineer to support the continued development of our client's field service, equipment reliability, and product quality capabilities.This role is primarily based in the Greater Chicago area and will spend most of its time working within local manufacturing, production, engineering, and service environments. When needed, you will travel onsite to client locations to assist in diagnostics, break fix solutions, and issue resolution of the manufacturer's equipment. In this role, you will serve as an important connection point between engineering, quality, production, and field service. You will help identify equipment concerns before products reach the customer, investigate recurring field issues, support local testing and troubleshooting, and ensure lessons learned from customer sites are incorporated into future equipment builds and service procedures.This is a hands-on role for someone who is mechanically strong, customer-focused, safety-minded, and comfortable working across both manufacturing and customer environments. The right person enjoys diagnosing equipment issues, completing practical repairs, investigating why failures occur, documenting findings, and working with internal teams to improve equipment performance and reliability.The organization has historically relied on external maintenance and service support and is now building this capability internally. This person will play an important role in shaping service procedures, improving communication between engineering and the field, documenting recurring issues, strengthening product quality, and helping establish a scalable service and reliability function.Key Responsibilities:Inspect, test, troubleshoot, repair, and modify equipment during assembly, production, final inspection, or after it has been returned from the field.Serve as a connection point between engineering, quality, production, and field service by communicating customer issues and practical equipment feedback.Investigate recurring equipment concerns and help determine whether issues are related to design, components, assembly, installation, maintenance, or operating conditions.Support root cause investigations, corrective actions, warranty reviews, equipment improvements, and field-related quality concerns.Travel to customer sites to inspect, troubleshoot, service, maintain, and repair company equipment.Perform hands-on mechanical diagnostics and corrective maintenance in customer and manufacturing environments.Service mechanical components such as motors, radiators, bearings, belts, shafts, couplings, piping, fittings, fans, pumps, and related industrial components.Conduct equipment inspections, lubrication, alignment checks, tensioning, adjustments, functional testing, and performance checks.Support startup, commissioning, field modifications, scheduled maintenance, break-fix repairs, and warranty-related work.Perform basic electrical checks involving motor starters, wiring, sensors, switches, connections, and control panel components.Read and interpret mechanical drawings, equipment manuals, assembly prints, schematics, and technical documentation.Document service findings, completed repairs, photographs, parts used, recommended follow-up, and potential warranty or quality concerns.Communicate clearly with customers and internal teams regarding troubleshooting progress, repair needs, safety concerns, and next steps.Identify recurring equipment issues and recommend preventive maintenance, equipment improvements, or additional technical review.Help develop service procedures, inspection checklists, troubleshooting guides, repair instructions, and recommended spare-parts lists.Maintain organized service records, equipment histories, customer visit notes, and corrective-action documentation.Follow company and customer safety requirements, including LOTO, PPE, confined-space, fall-protection, and hot-work procedures.Represent the company professionally through preparation, responsiveness, technical credibility, and follow-throughHelp develop service procedures, inspection checklists, troubleshooting guides, recommended spare parts lists, and field service documentation.Support the buildout of an internal field service and reliability function as the company expands its service offering.Maintain organized service records, customer visit notes, equipment history, and recommended corrective actions.Follow all customer site safety requirements, including LOTO, PPE, confined space, fall protection, hot work, and other applicable procedures.Represent the company professionally at customer sites through preparation, responsiveness, technical credibility, and follow-through.Qualifications and Experience:5+ years of hands-on experience in industrial maintenance, reliability, field service, mechanical repair, manufacturing maintenance, or a related technical role preferred.Experience servicing industrial equipment, engineered products, mechanical systems, production equipment, pumps, motors, fans, or related components strongly preferred.Strong mechanical troubleshooting skills with the ability to diagnose equipment issues and complete practical repairs in the field.Comfortable working with mechanical systems, rotating equipment, fluid systems, piping, valves, motors, bearings, belts, and related components.Basic electrical knowledge required, including the ability to perform simple checks and recognize when an issue needs to be escalated.Experience using mechanical diagnostic tools such as torque wrenches, dial indicators, alignment tools, vibration meters, multimeters, pressure gauges, or infrared tools preferred.Ability to read and understand mechanical drawings, equipment manuals, technical documents, and service instructions.Experience working in manufacturing, industrial, commercial, mission-critical, or customer-site environments preferred.Familiarity with preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, equipment reliability, and field service documentation.Strong communication skills with the ability to work professionally with customers, internal teams, vendors, and site personnel.Organized and disciplined in documenting work, tracking issues, and following through on service recommendations.Comfortable working independently while knowing when to escalate technical questions or customer concerns.Valid driver's license required.Ability to lift equipment, tools, and parts as required for field service work.Willing and able to work in industrial environments, including customer plants, mechanical rooms, production areas, and active job sites.What Naturally Makes You a Good Fit:You enjoy solving mechanical problems with your hands.You like being the person customers can trust when equipment is down or needs attention.You can stay calm and practical when troubleshooting in the field.You care about safety and do not cut corners.You communicate clearly when there are risks, delays, or unknowns.You take pride in documenting what happened, what was fixed, and what should happen next.You are comfortable traveling and working in different customer environments.You enjoy learning how equipment works and why failures happen.You are willing to help build something new, not just perform a narrow set of tasks.You understand that strong field service protects customer relationships and strengthens the company's reputation.You are self-directed, dependable, and comfortable working without constant oversight.You value quality, ownership, and doing the right thing when no one is looking.Benefits of working with the team:Our client offers a competitive compensation package based on experience, technical background, travel expectations, and final scope of responsibility. Benefits may include medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) plan, life insurance, paid time off, company-sponsored benefits, and additional employee support programs.Travel Expectations:This is primarily a Greater Chicago-based role rather than a full-time traveling field service position. Most working time will be spent supporting local manufacturing, engineering, quality, testing, repair, and service-readiness activities.Occasional travel will be required for customer break-fix requests, scheduled maintenance, commissioning support, equipment inspections, warranty concerns, and field modifications. Travel will primarily be domestic, with limited international travel possible based on customer and business needs.