Director Engineering

Job Summary

The Engineering Director leads the execution of capital projects across manufacturing and packaging facilities, ensuring delivery against scope, timing, cost, and performance expectations. This role is accountable for driving engineering excellence while ensuring full compliance with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) and Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) standards, maintaining zero regulatory violations.

The role also supports enterprise asset reliability programs, partnering with site leadership to elevate equipment performance and move facilities toward world-class reliability practices. The Engineering Director builds organizational capability, ensures standardization of the engineering processes, and drives continuous improvement across systems, people, and technology.

Travel: 40%-60% annually

This is a remote home based role, but individual will reside local to the McComb, OH, Chicagoland area or Grand Rapids, MI. No relocation is available for this opportunity.

Key Responsibilities

Capital Project Leadership & Execution

• Lead development and execution of site-level capital plans and budgets
• Ensure all capital projects are delivered on time, within scope, and meet financial and operational targets
• Partner with Finance to develop robust business cases, including ROI, IRR, and payback analysis
• Establish and execute audit processes to validate project outcomes and realized savings
• Provide weekly and monthly reporting on project performance, financials, and key metrics
• Travel to project sites on a regular basis to ensure adherence to budget, schedule and deliverables

Engineering Program Leadership

• Drive consistent implementation of engineering programs, standards, and best practices across assigned sites
• Develop and deploy engineering policies and procedures aligned with enterprise strategy
• Evaluate and implement new and emerging technologies in partnership with the central engineering team to enhance operational performance
• Ensure alignment with Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Food Safety, and Maintenance stakeholders

Reliability & Asset Management

• Support and advance enterprise reliability strategy to improve asset availability, performance, and lifecycle management
• Identify and close gaps in equipment capability and reliability across production lines
• Collaborate with the maintenance excellence team and the maintenance teams to improve preventative, predictive, and TPM strategies
• Support asset tracking, transfers, utilization, and disposition across the network
• Lead root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives following equipment or system failures
• Contribute to enterprise risk management plans related to operational and reliability risks

People Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, coach, and develop Project Managers, Engineers, and Maintenance Leaders regarding project execution and technical practices
• Build organizational capability through performance management, succession planning, and ongoing development
• Promote a high-performance, collaborative culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement
• Mentor teams on project management best practices and engineering standards

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Governance

• Partner with Supply Chain Leadership and plant teams to ensure seamless execution of engineering initiatives
• Collaborate with EH&S and FSQA to ensure full regulatory compliance
• Influence stakeholders across functions and geographies to drive alignment and execution
• Travel regularly to sites to ensure adherence to project timelines, budgets, and standards

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Chemical, or related field) or equivalent technical experience

Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including leadership in food manufacturing or cGMP environments
• Proven experience leading capital projects ($10MM-$35MM range preferred)
• Demonstrated success in engineering, maintenance, and reliability program leadership
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and driving results through influence
• Background in vendor management, contract negotiation, and procurement processes
• Technical Skills:
• Capital planning and execution
• Sustainable Cost Reduction Projects
• Asset reliability and maintenance strategies (PM, PdM, TPM)
• Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies
• Failure Modes Effects & Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
• Engineering design, process optimization, and industrial engineering techniques
• ERP/MRP systems (SAP)
• CMMS systems (MVP one or similar)
• Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio)
• AutoCAD

Skills:

• Strong leadership, coaching, and organizational development capabilities
• Excellent communication and executive-level presentation skills
• Ability to influence across multiple levels and functions in a matrixed environment
• Advanced problem-solving and analytical skills, including root cause analysis
• Strong project management and prioritization capabilities
• Financial acumen including capital planning, forecasting, and cost control
• Negotiation and contract management expertise

The pay range for this full-time, salaried position is $141,436 - $180,000/year. Individual base pay depends on work location and additional factors such as experience, job-related skills, and relevant education or training. The position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive based on company and individual performance. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, 401k and wellness benefits beginning on the first day of employment.

This information is provided per the relevant state and local pay transparency laws for the location in which this position will be performed. Base pay information is based on market location.

Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position. It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure they are legally authorized to work in the location to which they apply.

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Maker's Pride is an Equal Opportunity Employer.