Sustaining Engineer

Location: Vernon Hills, IL (Corporate Headquarters)

Reports To: Vice President of Engineering & Operational Excellence

Travel Requirement: Up to 10% global travel as required 

The Mission

Eastek International is seeking a hands-on Sustaining Engineer to serve as a corporate resource that supports customer products and global manufacturing operations throughout their lifecycle.

This role provides technical ownership of released products, supporting engineering changes, component lifecycle management, alternate material approvals, technical troubleshooting, and customer engineering needs across Eastek's global manufacturing footprint. The ideal candidate combines strong electrical engineering fundamentals, electronics manufacturing experience, and the ability to independently resolve complex technical challenges while building strong customer and cross-functional relationships. 

Why This Role Matters

As products mature, customer requirements evolve, and component availability changes. Organizations require strong technical ownership to maintain product quality, reliability, manufacturability, and continuity.

This position serves as a key engineering resource responsible for sustaining customer products, driving engineering decisions, supporting global manufacturing operations, and ensuring technical consistency across the organization. 

Core Responsibilities

Product Lifecycle Support

• Serve as the primary sustaining engineering resource for customer programs.
• Maintain technical ownership throughout the product lifecycle.
• Review schematics, bills of materials (BOMs), specifications, drawings, and engineering documentation.
• Support product improvements related to quality, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and supply continuity.
• Research historical product records, engineering documentation, and prior program decisions to understand and resolve current challenges.

Engineering Change Management

• Lead technical review and implementation of Engineering Change Orders (ECOs).
• Assess impacts to product performance, manufacturability, quality, inventory, and customer requirements.
• Maintain revision-controlled documentation including drawings, BOMs, specifications, and engineering records.
• Coordinate engineering changes across customers, suppliers, and global manufacturing sites.

Component & Alternate Material Management

• Evaluate alternate components and materials for form, fit, function, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Support component obsolescence and lifecycle management activities.
• Work with Supply Chain, suppliers, and customers to identify and approve replacement components.
• Support supply continuity and cost reduction initiatives through alternate sourcing recommendations.

Technical Troubleshooting & Root Cause Analysis

• Lead investigation of product, manufacturing, quality, and customer-related issues.
• Troubleshoot electrical problems at the component, board, and system levels.
• Analyze failure data, test results, and manufacturing information to determine root causes.
• Drive corrective and preventive actions through closure.

Customer & Global Engineering Support

• Serve as a technical liaison between Eastek and assigned customers.
• Support customer requests related to engineering changes, technical concerns, manufacturability, and component substitutions.
• Build strong customer relationships through responsiveness and technical expertise.
• Provide engineering support to global manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and operations teams.

Continuous Improvement

• Support initiatives that improve quality, reliability, manufacturability, delivery, and cost performance.
• Identify recurring issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Support standardization of engineering practices, documentation, and technical processes globally. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience supporting products in an Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS), Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), or related electronics manufacturing environment.
• Strong electrical engineering fundamentals including circuit analysis, schematic interpretation, and electronic troubleshooting.
• Experience with board-level design concepts and electronic component selection.
• Knowledge of electronics manufacturing processes including Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), Surface Mount Technology (SMT), Through-Hole Technology (THT) and related manufacturing technologies. • Working knowledge of mechanical engineering concepts
• Experience supporting engineering change management and revision-controlled documentation systems.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong customer-facing communication and relationship-building abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to investigate issues independently and drive solutions to completion.
• Experience with Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems
• Knowledge in work order router creation, review, and support

Measures of Success

Within the first 12 months, this individual will:

• Become the technical owner for sustaining customer products and programs.
• Successfully manage engineering changes, alternate component approvals, and technical investigations.
• Improve responsiveness and effectiveness in resolving customer and manufacturing issues.
• Strengthen documentation, revision control, and product support processes.
• Support component obsolescence mitigation and supply continuity initiatives.
• Become a trusted technical resource for customers and global manufacturing teams.