Plant Engineering Director

About the job Plant Engineering Director


Plant Engineering Director

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Compensation: $160,000-$225,000 base salary + bonus

The Opportunity

We are seeking an accomplished Plant Engineering Director to lead Engineering and Maintenance for a large, fast-paced manufacturing operation in Sioux Falls, SD.

This is a senior plant leadership role with responsibility for equipment reliability, maintenance strategy, capital projects, engineering, continuous improvement, and team development . The successful candidate will combine strong technical expertise with the leadership ability to build high-performing teams and improve plant performance.

You will play a critical role in advancing Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), equipment reliability, and operational efficiency while ensuring safety, food safety, environmental, and quality standards are maintained.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for the plant's Engineering and Maintenance functions , with a strong focus on reliability, safety, productivity, and continuous improvement.
• Lead major capital projects from concept through commissioning , ensuring projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and with minimal disruption to production.
• Develop and execute plant maintenance and reliability strategies, including Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, TPM, and equipment reliability programs .
• Identify recurring equipment and operational issues, determine root causes, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Improve plant performance by establishing and monitoring meaningful KPIs , including equipment reliability, downtime, supplier performance, maintenance effectiveness, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Lead resource planning and engineering initiatives across a complex manufacturing environment involving mechanical, electrical, controls, instrumentation, and automation systems.
• Provide technical leadership in troubleshooting complex plant and equipment problems.
• Lead, coach, and develop engineering and maintenance leaders and their teams, creating clear accountability and high performance.
• Partner with Operations, HR, Safety, Quality, and other plant functions to support production objectives and long-term facility improvements.
• Promote a culture centered on safety, accountability, collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement .

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field and 10+ years of engineering/maintenance experience, including significant engineering management experience; equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
• Candidates with a Master's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related discipline and 8+ years of relevant experience will also be considered.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience , including responsibility for team development and performance management.
• Strong technical knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems , including areas such as PLCs, instrumentation, controls, and mechanical engineering.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering and maintenance functions within a large manufacturing environment .
• Strong knowledge of Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, TPM, work-order systems, reliability programs, and maintenance best practices .
• Experience managing capital projects and capital budgets .
• Working knowledge of SAP and Microsoft Office .
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, troubleshooting, and root-cause problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong organizational, planning, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic manufacturing environment and build productive relationships across functions.
• Flexibility to support plant operations outside standard business hours when required.

Preferred Experience

Experience within food manufacturing, meat processing, pork processing, or another highly regulated continuous-production environment is strongly preferred.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of two of the most critical functions within a major manufacturing operation- Engineering and Maintenance -while influencing capital investment, equipment reliability, operational performance, and the long-term technical direction of the facility.

For an engineering leader who enjoys solving complex plant problems, developing strong teams, and turning maintenance and reliability into a competitive advantage, this is a role with significant scope and impact.