Director of Engineering

Job Description

Job Description

We are seeking a hands-on, multi-disciplinary Head of Engineering to lead technical operations, product commercialization, and manufacturing innovation. This is an active, on-the-floor leadership role. You will bridge the gap between the lab and the production floor—owning everything from batch formulation scale-up and pilot trials to troubleshooting high-speed automated filling lines, slashing changeover times, and optimizing plant-wide OEE.

About the Role

We are seeking a hands-on, multi-disciplinary Head of Engineering to lead technical operations, product commercialization, and manufacturing innovation. This is an active, on-the-floor leadership role. You will bridge the gap between the lab and the production floor—owning everything from batch formulation scale-up and pilot trials to troubleshooting high-speed automated filling lines, slashing changeover times, and optimizing plant-wide OEE.

Responsibilities

• Production Line Optimization & Floor Support: Provide direct, hands-on mechanical and process troubleshooting across all discrete filling and packaging lines (liquid filling, capping, crimping, gassing, and packaging equipment). Optimize line throughput, yields, and equipment reliability (OEE).
• New Product Introduction (NPI) & Scale-Up: Partner with Product Development to transition a broad portfolio of liquids from bench-top prototypes through pilot trials, batch blending scale-up, validation, and full commercial production.
• CapEx & Continuous Improvement: Partner with the General Manager to design and execute capital improvement projects (automation, line modifications for rapid changeovers). Lead root-cause analysis and Lean initiatives to eliminate production bottlenecks and reduce inefficiency.
• Multi-Category Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all engineering, documentation (SOPs/specifications), and plant practices comply with applicable regulatory bodies across our product categories, including OSHA, EPA, FDA, DOT, CARB, and alcohol/beverage mandates. Lead engineering-related CAPAs and validation activities.
• Technical Team & Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the facility's technical authority. Support customer technical meetings regarding liquid/aerosol execution and collaborate daily with Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain.

Qualifications

• Required:
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering (or related technical field).
• Experience: 5–10+ years of progressive engineering leadership in consumer packaged goods (CPG) or contract manufacturing (Co-Man).
• Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of high-speed discrete fluid/chemical filling and packaging operations (e.g., bottle-filling, high-precision small containers, or canning).
• Scale-Up Success: Direct experience scaling diverse liquid formulations from batch blending through process validation and commercial launch.
• Cross-Functional Flexibility: Experience or strong familiarity handling a varied product mix (aerosols/BOV, unpressurized liquids, cosmetics, or beverage lines).
• Mindset: A strong desire to be out on the floor, getting your hands dirty in both lab and high-volume production environments.
• Preferred:
• Direct experience with aerosol/BOV filling or discrete manufacturing of cosmetics.
• Strong understanding of sanitization and quality protocols required for food/beverage or cosmetic grade manufacturing.
• Lean Six Sigma certification.
• Experience managing capital expenditure (CapEx) installations or facility expansions.