Company Summary
Our client is an established industrial machinery manufacturer that sells and services equipment for customers across its industry. Its technical support center is the first line of help for customers and for the company's own field service technicians. The company puts a premium on loyalty, retention, and long-term ownership, and it wants someone who is looking to build a career, not make a quick stop.
Job Summary
The company is hiring a Technical Support Manager to lead a team of about 10 technical support specialists. The team troubleshoots machine issues by phone using manuals, prints, drawings, bills of material, and service tickets. You will provide hands-on technical guidance to the team while rebuilding its culture, setting performance standards, and helping turn the function into a revenue-generating service. You will report directly to senior leadership.
Responsibilities
- Lead, coach, and develop a technical support team of about 10 people
- Provide hands-on technical guidance, coaching specialists through diagnosis and resolution of complex equipment issues
- Handle difficult or escalated customer and field technician calls
- Establish KPIs and reporting for call volume, resolution rates, wait times, and team performance, then use the data to drive improvements
- Set departmental goals and clear expectations, including the quality and consistency of service ticket documentation
- Evaluate and help implement call center and ticketing software
- Work closely with engineering, assembly, checkout, parts, and field service toward shared goals
- Rebuild trust and morale across the team and with other departments
- Introduce change thoughtfully with a long-tenured team, building credibility before pushing heavy changes
Requirements
- Experience managing or running a technical support center. Traditional call center management alone does not qualify
- Strong technical background across electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems
- Ability to troubleshoot complex equipment issues and coach others through them
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Proven ability to establish KPIs, identify operational improvements, and use data to improve a function
- Patient but firm, decisive, and confident making and defending decisions
Preferred Requirements
- Senior-level experience managing a technical support or service function.
- Experience with CNC machinery, heavy industrial equipment, or similar technical environments
- A history of taking ownership and building something for the long term
- SAP experience
- Experience with ticketing, CRM, or call center software
Compensation / Benefits
- Base salary: $95,000–$105,000, depending on technical capability and experience
- Bonus: 20% of base salary, paid in four installments
Location
Kankakee, Illinois. This is a fully on-site role.
