Director of Manufacturing Engineering & Automation

Dixon Valve•,

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Manufacturing Engineering, Automation is responsible for leading the company’s manufacturing engineering strategy across multiple manufacturing facilities with a strong focus on process capability, automation and operational scalability. This role drives productivity, capacity expansion, standardization, and capital effectiveness while building a culture of disciplined problem-solving and measurable operational improvement. This leader partners closely with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance to ensure manufacturing systems support business growth, customer expectations, and long-term operational excellence. At The Dixon Group, we value the contributions of our Military Veterans and proudly employ our nation’s heroes. Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing engineering or operations, with a track record of increasing scope and impact.
Proven success leading multi-site manufacturing engineering or operations functions within complex, growth-oriented environments.
Deep expertise in automation strategy, advanced manufacturing technologies, process optimization, and capital project execution.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive large-scale organizational change initiatives.
Experience within industrial, engineered products, metal fabrication, or high-mix assembly manufacturing environments.
Strong financial acumen, including CapEx planning, ROI analysis, and operational cost management.
Track record of scaling manufacturing operations to support business growth, capacity expansion, and productivity improvements.
Strategic mindset with the ability to align manufacturing initiatives to broader business objectives
Strong operational problem-solving and root cause analysis skills
Change leadership with experience driving transformation and continuous improvement cultures
High level of process discipline and focus on standardization and best practices
Expertise in program and project management execution
Passion for developing and mentoring high-performing technical teams
Data-driven decision-making with proficiency in leveraging metrics and KPIs
Exceptional communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills
Continuous improvement mindset grounded in Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies

Nice To Haves

advanced degree preferred

Responsibilities

Lead manufacturing engineering strategy.
Drive improvements in process capability, manufacturing reliability, throughput, and overall operational performance.
Develop, implement and standardize manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling and engineering best practices.
Support manufacturing facilities to resolve complex technical issues through troubleshooting, root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
Lead initiatives to reduce downtime, waste, labor inefficiencies and production bottlenecks.
Lead engineering support for new product launches, manufacturing transfers and capacity expansions.
Develop and execute a multi-year automation strategy that supports business growth, operational efficiencies, safety, quality and workforce optimization.
Participate in CapEx project planning, justification, execution, and post-implementation evaluation to ensure achievement of business objectives.
Evaluate, select and implement advanced manufacturing and automation technologies to improve safety, quality, and productivity working with the operations team.
Ensure engineering and automation projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with defined performance and financial expectations.
Manage relationships with equipment suppliers, system integrators and external technical partners to support successful project execution and equipment integration.
Drive productivity, throughput, quality and cost-reduction initiatives that support annual business objectives.
Establish standardized performance metrics for manufacturing engineering initiatives and organize KPI reviews to track progress.
Set clear performance expectations, development objectives and accountability standards for engineering personnel.
Foster effective cross-functional collaboration between Operations, Quality, Supply Chain and Maintenance.
Promote a culture of operational discipline, standardization, innovation and employee engagement.
Ensure compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, quality and regulatory requirements while driving operational excellence