Associate Director of Engineering

At Community Coffee , every cup tells a story. As America’s #1 family-owned and operated retail coffee brand , we blend cherished traditions with innovative thinking to create a dynamic, fast-paced environment that’s as energizing as our coffee. Here, you’ll thrive in a setting that challenges you to grow professionally while making a meaningful impact every day. Join our family and transform your passion for coffee into a rewarding career—where every day is an opportunity to craft exceptional experiences and build lasting connections. Position Overview The Associate Director of Engineering is responsible for leading a major capital project initiative focused on facility consolidation, operational transformation, and long-term manufacturing and distribution capability. This role serves as the primary project lead responsible for driving coordinated execution across all assigned project workstreams, including Engineering/Construction, Technology, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Safety, Quality, Change Management, and external partners. Reporting to the SVP, Operations & Supply Chain, this position provides direct leadership to project-based team members and workstream leaders assigned to the capital project. The Associate Director of Engineering owns the integrated project schedule, budget, milestone tracking, executive updates, risk management, vendor coordination, and overall project execution discipline. This role partners closely with Finance on budget tracking and financial alignment while maintaining accountability for project budget ownership. The capital project is expected to span multiple years, and this role will be critical to ensuring the project is delivered on time, within approved scope and budget, and with strong operational readiness. As the project progresses and future business needs evolve, this role may also lead or support additional capital, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, facility, and operational projects across Community Coffee. Success in this role requires an engineering degree, strong technical credibility, disciplined project leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to lead through complexity. The Associate Director of Engineering must be able to align cross-functional leaders, manage competing priorities, escalatǐ issues appropriately, and ensure project teams remain focused on execution, accountability, and business outcomes. Key Responsibilities Serve as the primary project lead for a major capital project initiative, accountable for coordinating execution across all assigned workstreams. Establish, lead, and maintain the project governance structure, including meeting cadence, decision forums, escalation paths, steering updates, risk reviews, and executive reporting. Provide direct leadership to project-based team members and workstream leaders assigned to the capital project. Cross-Functional Workstream Leadership Lead coordination across major project workstreams, including Engineering/Construction, Technology, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Safety, Quality, Change Management, and other assigned functional areas. Own capital project budget management in partnership with Finance, including capital tracking, cost visibility, forecasting inputs, variance review, and escalation of budget risks. Partner with Finance and project sponsors to ensure project financials are accurately tracked, communicated, and aligned to approved capital plans. Support vendor selection, proposal review, contract coordination, and vendor performance management during the capital project. Engineering, Construction & Operational Execution Lead engineering and project execution activities related to facility consolidation, construction coordination, equipment installation, utilities, commissioning, manufacturing readiness, distribution readiness, and operational start-up. Ensure technical plans, facility requirements, equipment needs, and operational impacts are reviewed and aligned with business and manufacturing objectives. Monitor construction, engineering, equipment, and operational readiness activities to identify timing conflicts, safety concerns, execution risks, or resource gaps. Develop and maintain project reporting tools, dashboards, action trackers, risk logs, meeting notes, and other documentation needed to manage project execution. Prepare and deliver clear project updates, executive summaries, risk reviews, decision points, and escalation items for the SVP, Operations & Supply Chain and other senior leaders. Track project performance against scope, schedule, budget, milestones, workstream deliverables, and readiness expectations. Lead risk identification, mitigation planning, issue resolution, and follow-up across all project phases. Future Project Support Following the capital project, lead or support additional capital, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, facility, and operational projects based on business needs. Apply lessons learned to strengthen future project governance, execution discipline, stakeholder alignment, and operational readiness. Support continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to improve project planning, execution, communication, and cross-functional coordination. Position Requirements Bachelor's degree in Engineering required; Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, Electrical, Civil, Construction Engineering, or related engineering discipline preferred. 10+ years of experience in project engineering, capital project execution, engineering project leadership, construction project management, manufacturing engineering, industrial operations, or related project execution roles. Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, complex, cross-functional projects with accountability for scope, schedule, budget, risk management, issue resolution, stakeholder alignment, and project delivery. Experience leading project teams, project-based direct reports, or cross-functional workstream leaders. Experience supporting vendor selection, contract coordination, vendor management, and external partner oversight. Strong working knowledge of manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, supply chain operations, utilities, equipment installation, commissioning, facility readiness, and operational start-up processes. Strong project leadership and project management skills, including integrated schedule management, milestone tracking, dependency management, risk mitigation, executive reporting, documentation, and stakeholder follow-up. Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, manage competing priorities, drive accountability, and make sound recommendations across multiple stakeholder groups. Ability to assess project risks, connect technical and business implications, and elevate issues with clear options and recommendations. Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex project information for technical teams, functional leaders, external partners, and senior leadership. Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools required. Experience supporting major capital projects, facility expansions, facility consolidations, manufacturing start-ups, distribution projects, technology‑enabled operational projects, or operational transformation initiatives preferred. Experience working with external engineering firms, contractors, vendors, consultants, or system integrators preferred. Experience with Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, SAP, WMS, or other project management platforms preferred. PMP, CAPM, Lean Six Sigma, or related project management certification preferred. Internal Only: Experience with Community Coffee, even if unrelated, may fulfill this requirement at the discretion of the hiring manager with approval from Human Resources. #J-18808-Ljbffr Community Coffee