Director Of Engineering

Primary Location : Bolingbrook, Illinois, United States of America At Solina, our community of close to 5,000 people share a passion for food and live our entrepreneurial culture. We design customised savoury solutions for our clients operating in the food industry, food service, butchery and nutrition markets. With sustainability at the heart of our business model, we aim to produce food that is good in every sense of the word: delicious, nourishing, affordable, sustainable and convenient. Solina is a fast-growing business, with around 50 production sites and R&D laboratories present in more than 19 countries mainly in Europe and North America. By constantly rethinking culinary solutions, we make food matter for people and the planet . Solina USA, is a proud Solina Group company, specializing in the creation of customized seasonings and sauces. We take pride in our four strategically located production facilities across the United States which empower us to deliver high-quality, innovative flavor solutions efficiently to our customers. Our focus is on catering to Quick Service Restaurants, Fast casual, Casual dining, and food manufacturers, where our commitment lies in providing exceptional flavor solutions tailored to their unique needs. Solina USA has a proven national reputation of providing an exceptional customer experience by providing a high-quality product at a cost-competitive price point. We create dynamic relationships where our creativity can be visible through our customers culinary vision making "Food Matter.". SUMMARY OF POSITION The Director of Engineering is responsible for leading the engineering, capital project execution, and multi-site maintenance strategy across all Solina USA facilities. This role owns the development and delivery of the annual and multi-year capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan and ensures projects are executed safely, on schedule, and within approved budgets while supporting business growth, food safety, and operational excellence. This position provides functional leadership to site Maintenance Leaders, ensures preventative maintenance plans are executed consistently, and drives reliability performance through standardized KPIs, best practices, and strong technical support. The Director of Engineering also serves as a technical liaison to Operations, Quality/Food Safety, Sanitation, and EHS teams, and is a key resource for electrical, controls, and automation initiatives supporting Solina's future automation roadmap in the United States. The Director of Engineering partners closely with cross-functional leaders at each facility and at the corporate level to identify risks, align priorities, and deliver projects and improvements that are inclusive of all stakeholders. This role is expected to provide concise, executive-ready updates on performance, risks, and plans. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS This document in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying the position. CAPEX Planning, Governance, and Execution (Consolidated) Develops and owns the annual and multi-year CAPEX plan for all Solina USA facilities, including project identification, prioritization, business case development, ROI/risk justification, and alignment with safety, food safety, quality, capacity, and cost initiatives. Leads CAPEX governance and execution discipline across all projects, including scope definition, design review, budget development, procurement strategy, schedule management, change control, commissioning/start-up, turnover to site teams, and project closeout documentation. Ensures CAPEX budget adherence through forecasting, variance management, and timely escalation of risks, scope changes, and cost drivers to executive leadership. Project & Team Leadership Directly manages (1) Project Manager and provides coaching, prioritization, and accountability for project planning, execution, contractor management, and documentation standards across all sites. Maintenance & Reliability Leadership Provides functional leadership to Maintenance Leadership at each US site; ensures key maintenance KPIs are defined, measured, reviewed, and achieved (e.g., equipment uptime, PM completion, maintenance response time, reliability improvements, and contractor performance). Standardizes and continuously improves preventative and predictive maintenance programs across sites, including CMMS utilization, work order quality, equipment history, PM optimization, and reliability-centered maintenance practices. Establishes and maintains a multi-site spare parts strategy, including critical spares identification, min/max stocking levels, vendor/service agreements, inventory accuracy controls, and reduction of excessive stock-level variance while protecting uptime. Technical Leadership & Automation Acts as a technical liaison and escalation resour #J-18808-Ljbffr