Engineering Manager

Summary

The Operations Engineering Manager will be both a strategic partner to production and a hands-on technical leader, driving engineering excellence across the platform. This role aligns engineering initiatives with business goals to improve equipment reliability, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability while overseeing capital projects from concept through execution. Working closely with production, maintenance, quality, automation, and corporate engineering, the manager will help shape plant-wide strategies that enhance performance, safety, and quality. They will also mentor and develop a high-performing engineering team, fostering a culture of data-driven decision making, proactive problem solving, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for all engineering functions, ensuring alignment with corporate and plant objectives for reliability, performance, and cost optimization.

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing engineering team, including Senior Engineers and technical staff.

• Own overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) for the assigned platform and drive performance improvement.

• Lead root cause analysis and implement sustainable corrective actions for significant downtime events.

• Identify, justify, and execute high-value capital projects, including ROI analysis, planning, execution, and post-project evaluation.

• Partner with Quality and Food Safety to ensure equipment designs and modifications comply with FDA and USDA requirements.

• Standardize machine centerlines, preventive maintenance schedules, and overhaul plans to reduce variability and maximize consistency across production lines.

• Lead site-wide initiatives in equipment reliability, Lean manufacturing, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

• Develop and maintain long-term asset health plans for fillers and packaging systems.

• Oversee major filler rebuilds, packaging equipment overhauls, and end-of-line modernization projects to reduce downtime and lifecycle costs.

• Direct FAT, commissioning, and qualification for new filler and packaging equipment installations, ensuring smooth transition to operations and maintenance.

• Advance changeover reduction (SMED) initiatives to increase line availability, flexibility, and throughput.

• Utilize data-driven performance monitoring to identify early warnings and drive predictive maintenance for fillers and packaging assets.

• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, automation, and corporate engineering to deliver integrated, sustainable solutions that enhance plant efficiency.

• Evaluate and deploy advanced automation and digital technologies to future-proof operations.

• Ensure full adherence to regulatory requirements, corporate standards, and industry best practices.

Requirements

• BS in Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering; MS or PE preferred.
• 6+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, including leadership roles.
• Proven ability to manage engineering teams and large-scale projects.
• Expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, and reliability engineering principles.
• Strong business acumen with experience in cost modeling and strategic planning.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to support 24/7 operations and respond to critical production issues as needed.
• Continuous improvement mindset with a passion for coaching and developing engineering talent.
• Ability to travel between plant sites and vendors as required. (Minimal Travel 5% and above)