Director, Engineering (Distribution)

Novolex•Lake Forest, IL

12d•$180,000 - $220,000•Remote

About The Position

The BU Engineering Director is responsible for leading engineering activities across an assigned business unit and supporting operational performance, manufacturing readiness, reliability improvement, capital project execution, and adoption of enterprise engineering standards across manufacturing plants. This role leads Operating Unit Engineering teams within the business unit while partnering cross-functionally to drive engineering alignment, operational performance, technical issue resolution, and effective execution of prioritized capital initiatives across manufacturing operations.

Requirements

10+ years of manufacturing engineering, process engineering, reliability engineering, or technical operations experience.
5+ years of leadership or technical leadership experience supporting manufacturing operations.
Experience supporting high-volume manufacturing operations across 20+ plants.
Experience improving operational performance related to throughput, uptime, reliability, yield, scrap reduction, and process capability.
Experience supporting process troubleshooting, operational stabilization, and manufacturing readiness initiatives.
Experience supporting capital project planning, execution, startup, stabilization, and operational handoff within manufacturing environments.
Experience driving engineering standardization and best practice adoption across manufacturing operations.
Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and cross-functional coordination capability.
Ability to coach, mentor, and support engineering teams across 20+ plants.
Ability to operate effectively within matrixed manufacturing organizations.
Proficiency using common office technology and tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting packaging, plastics, injection molding, extrusion, thermoforming, molded fiber, paper, or related manufacturing operations.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Ensure compliance with company safety standards, engineering standards, and operational procedures.
Lead engineering activities across assigned business unit operations.
Provide leadership, coaching, technical support, and capability-building for Operating Unit Engineers within the business unit.
Drive process optimization, reliability improvement, and engineering performance across manufacturing sites, including uptime, throughput, yield, and scrap reduction.
Lead escalation management and support troubleshooting for complex operational, technical, process, and reliability issues across manufacturing sites.
Drive adoption and implementation of enterprise engineering standards, tools, governance, and best practices across manufacturing sites.
Support manufacturing readiness, startup stabilization, and operational performance improvement initiatives.
Lead prioritization and execution of capital projects within the business unit, ensuring alignment to operational needs, business priorities, engineering standards, scope, schedule, budget, and safety expectations.
Partner with Capital Project Engineering, Operations, and plant leadership to support project planning, readiness, execution, startup, stabilization, and benefits realization for approved capital initiatives.
Perform additional duties as assigned.

Benefits

401(k) plan with company match
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
Flexible spending and health savings accounts
Paid vacation, and sick days
Paid parental leave
Paid holidays
Wellness program
Constant opportunities for advancement
Skills development
Advanced education programs
Training and development programs and courses available through MyLearning
Company and industry training curricula
Support for formal education through the Tuition Reimbursement Program (Non-Union)
Learning Management System that supports and enhances employee skills at all levels of the organization