Director Engineering

Maker's Pride Talent Acquisition Team•Downers Grove, IL

3d•$141,436 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

The Engineering Director leads the execution of capital projects across manufacturing and packaging facilities, ensuring delivery against scope, timing, cost, and performance expectations. This role is accountable for driving engineering excellence while ensuring full compliance with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) and Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) standards, maintaining zero regulatory violations. The role also supports enterprise asset reliability programs, partnering with site leadership to elevate equipment performance and move facilities toward world-class reliability practices. The Engineering Director builds organizational capability, ensures standardization of the engineering processes, and drives continuous improvement across systems, people, and technology. Travel: 40%-60% annually. This is a remote home based role, but individual will reside local to the McComb, OH, Chicagoland area or Grand Rapids, MI.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Chemical, or related field) or equivalent technical experience
10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including leadership in food manufacturing or cGMP environments
Proven experience leading capital projects ($10MM–$35MM range preferred)
Demonstrated success in engineering, maintenance, and reliability program leadership
Experience managing cross-functional teams and driving results through influence
Background in vendor management, contract negotiation, and procurement processes
Capital planning and execution
Sustainable Cost Reduction Projects
Asset reliability and maintenance strategies (PM, PdM, TPM)
Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies
Failure Modes Effects & Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
Engineering design, process optimization, and industrial engineering techniques
ERP/MRP systems (SAP)
CMMS systems (MVP one or similar)
Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio)
AutoCAD
Strong leadership, coaching, and organizational development capabilities
Excellent communication and executive-level presentation skills
Ability to influence across multiple levels and functions in a matrixed environment
Advanced problem-solving and analytical skills, including root cause analysis
Strong project management and prioritization capabilities
Financial acumen including capital planning, forecasting, and cost control
Negotiation and contract management expertise

Responsibilities

Lead development and execution of site-level capital plans and budgets
Ensure all capital projects are delivered on time, within scope, and meet financial and operational targets
Partner with Finance to develop robust business cases, including ROI, IRR, and payback analysis
Establish and execute audit processes to validate project outcomes and realized savings
Provide weekly and monthly reporting on project performance, financials, and key metrics
Travel to project sites on a regular basis to ensure adherence to budget, schedule and deliverables
Drive consistent implementation of engineering programs, standards, and best practices across assigned sites
Develop and deploy engineering policies and procedures aligned with enterprise strategy
Evaluate and implement new and emerging technologies in partnership with the central engineering team to enhance operational performance
Ensure alignment with Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Food Safety, and Maintenance stakeholders
Support and advance enterprise reliability strategy to improve asset availability, performance, and lifecycle management
Identify and close gaps in equipment capability and reliability across production lines
Collaborate with the maintenance excellence team and the maintenance teams to improve preventative, predictive, and TPM strategies
Support asset tracking, transfers, utilization, and disposition across the network
Lead root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives following equipment or system failures
Contribute to enterprise risk management plans related to operational and reliability risks
Lead, coach, and develop Project Managers, Engineers, and Maintenance Leaders regarding project execution and technical practices
Build organizational capability through performance management, succession planning, and ongoing development
Promote a high-performance, collaborative culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement
Mentor teams on project management best practices and engineering standards
Partner with Supply Chain Leadership and plant teams to ensure seamless execution of engineering initiatives
Collaborate with EH&S and FSQA to ensure full regulatory compliance
Influence stakeholders across functions and geographies to drive alignment and execution
Travel regularly to sites to ensure adherence to project timelines, budgets, and standards