Mechanical Reliability Engineer
Abbott · Abbott Park · $86,700–$173,300 (stated in the posting)
Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.JOB DESCRIPTION:
Working at Abbott
At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:
- Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
- Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
- An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution
- Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
- A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
- A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.
The Opportunity
This position works out of our Abbott Park, IL location within the GES Global Engineering Services division. This is an onsite position.
A results-driven engineering professional who applies mechanical engineering principles, reliability methodologies, analytical problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making to improve asset performance and support Maintenance Excellence initiatives. This role is responsible for optimizing the reliability, availability, maintainability, and lifecycle performance of manufacturing equipment and critical plant assets through all phases of the asset lifecycle, including design, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.
The Mechanical Reliability Engineer leads the development and continuous improvement of preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance programs to maximize equipment uptime, reduce total cost of ownership, and improve operational efficiency. This position utilizes failure analysis, condition monitoring, root cause investigations, and reliability engineering tools to identify and mitigate equipment risks, eliminate recurring failures, and enhance asset integrity.
Key responsibilities include managing maintenance engineering support activities, coordinating plant shutdown and turnaround execution, supporting maintenance and capital budgets, and providing technical leadership for equipment upgrades and capital improvement projects. The role works closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and external vendors to ensure equipment performance supports production objectives while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality, and compliance.
What You'll Work On:
- Quality Systems: Ensures the implementation, compliance, and continuous effectiveness of the site Quality Management System (QMS), while supporting operational excellence, equipment reliability, and process performance objectives.
- Project Management: Leads and coordinates maintenance and reliability engineering initiatives within the Maintenance Excellence program. Develops, executes, and monitors project plans to improve asset performance, equipment availability, and maintenance effectiveness. Coordinates cross-functional resources, including personnel, materials, budget, and schedules, to achieve project objectives. Participates in site assessments, capital planning activities, economic evaluations, and feasibility analyses, while supporting financial performance targets and business objectives.
- Mechanical Engineering & Reliability: Collects, analyzes, and interprets equipment maintenance and manufacturing performance data from systems such as Maximo and other asset management platforms. Identifies opportunities to improve equipment reliability, maintainability, and overall asset lifecycle performance. Develops engineering recommendations and action plans focused on cost reduction, maintenance optimization, and operational efficiency. Supports the implementation of Predictive Maintenance (PdM), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), and condition-based monitoring programs. Evaluates emerging technologies and industry best practices through internal and external benchmarking.
- Reliability Engineering & Root Cause Analysis: Provides strategic oversight of equipment performance, downtime trends, component failures, and changeover effectiveness across manufacturing operations. Utilizes data-driven methodologies to identify recurring failure modes, predict performance trends, and assess equipment robustness. Conducts and facilitates Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and reliability studies to improve equipment uptime and reduce maintenance costs. Develops and implements corrective and preventive actions that enhance operational reliability, asset utilization, and process efficiency.
- Technical Leadership & Collaboration: Serves as a technical resource and mentor to maintenance personnel, engineers, and operations teams by providing guidance, training, and knowledge sharing. Prepare technical reports, engineering assessments, and project documentation. Effectively communicates recommendations and implementation plans to stakeholders, including engineers, technicians, contractors, vendors, and leadership teams. Builds collaborative relationships that support maintenance, production, and reliability objectives while ensuring alignment across functional groups.
- Compliance & Engineering Governance: Ensures compliance with applicable quality standards, Environmental, Health, Safety, and Energy (EHS&E) requirements, corporate engineering standards, and regulatory expectations. Evaluates the impact of equipment, process, and maintenance changes on operational performance and compliance. Identifies and mitigates potential risks associated with asset integrity, equipment modifications, and maintenance activities.
- Additional Engineering Responsibilities: Develops and maintains engineering procedures, maintenance standards, and best practices for mechanical asset management. Provides technical direction to maintenance technicians, contractors, and external service providers. Oversees Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Predictive Maintenance (PdM) programs to maximize equipment reliability and production uptime. Interfaces directly with manufacturing teams to support production schedules and address asset performance issues. Leads capital improvement projects, equipment upgrades, and Operational Excellence (OpEx) initiatives. Develops, implements, and verifies the effectiveness of corrective actions resulting from reliability investigations, exception reports, and continuous improvement activities.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelors Degree (± 16 years) in Engineering, science, a Mechanical or Industrial Engineering or closely related discipline is preferred.
- Minimum 3 years and Significant engineering and/or operational experience
- Knowledge of applicable regulatory standards and requirements for division products.
- The skill set of this position requires a balance of industrial and mechanical engineering principles, data analysis, process improvement techniques, and problem-solving.
- Possesses a working technical knowledge of maintenance programs.
- Exercises judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action.
- Familiarity with “reliability centered maintenance’ is preferred.
- Candidate must successfully demonstrate/possess a strong work ethic, safety-conscious philosophy (i.e. zero incident mindset), strong customer service attitude, excellent communication skills, initiative, strong technical knowledge, planning and organizing, teamwork, attention to detail, strong problem solving skills and prior knowledge of computer systems (i.e. Windows desktop software).
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Interacts well with diverse groups within engineering and maintenance, and maintains strong working relationships with internal and external collaborators.
- Listens to and understands others’ points of view and articulates tactfully and respectfully one’s own perspective orally, in writing, and in presentations.
- Works well with others in a collaborative, fast-paced goal-driven environment.
- Possesses interpersonal skills to negotiate and reconcile differences.
- Has a technical background in health care, nutritional products, laboratory diagnostics, medical devices, pharmaceutical, or similar industries (preferred).
- Previous experience as a mechanic, electrician or instrument tech beneficial.
- Extensive experience in leading/managing projects or process improvement initiatives.
- Previous Lean Six Sigma training beneficial.
- Extensive experience in troubleshooting and resolving technical issues.
- Strong, proven leadership experience required with an emphasis on supervision of direct reports and influence senior leadership.
- Previous experience in generating and managing financial budgets. Ability to manage a department in the absence of the department manager.
Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:
Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.
Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter
The base pay for this position is
$86,700.00 – $173,300.00In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.