Director Of Engineering

Solina•Bolingbrook, IL

About The 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.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Chemical, or related field) required.
10+ years of progressive engineering, maintenance, and/or capital project leadership experience within food manufacturing or similarly regulated process manufacturing; multi-site experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience building CAPEX plans and executing capital projects from concept through commissioning while maintaining budget and schedule adherence.
Proven people leadership experience, including direct management of professional staff and functional leadership of site leaders.
Strong understanding of preventative maintenance, reliability fundamentals, and KPI-driven performance management in a manufacturing environment.
Working knowledge of electrical systems, industrial automation, PLCs, instrumentation, VFDs/servo drives, and SCADA concepts; ability to lead troubleshooting and partner effectively with integrators and controls specialists.
Strong sanitary design and hygienic engineering knowledge applicable to sauce/seasoning and food processing facilities.
Strong commitment to worker safety, food safety, quality systems, and environmental compliance; ability to lead by example and enforce standards.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create concise executive summaries and facilitate cross-functional alignment.
Proficient in AutoCad, Bluebeam Revu (or equivalent), MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook; comfortable with project tracking tools (e.g., MS Project or equivalent) and CMMS platforms.
Willingness and ability to travel regularly to all US sites as business needs require.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent formal project management training.
Experience implementing automation upgrades, line controls standardization, and/or data connectivity initiatives in a PLC/SCADA environment (Wonderware/AVEVA, Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or similar).