Director of Manufacturing Engineering & Reliability

Steffes•Dickinson, ND

About The Position

This position provides senior leadership for manufacturing engineering, facilities, and maintenance functions, ensuring safe, compliant, and highly reliable operations. This role defines and executes enterprise OEE, reliability, and automation strategies aligned with Steffes’ corporate growth objectives, while driving Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and technology advancement. The Director partners cross-functionally to enable scalable production, optimize asset performance, manage capital investments, and develop high-performing teams that support long-term operational excellence and business continuity. Steffes Core Values Trust: We promote growth and long-term success by making wise decisions with trust as an essential component. Respect: We unleash creative talents of our diverse workforce by treating each other the way we would like to be treated. Teamwork: We believe people achieve much more by working together. Integrity: We follow through and keep our word while being open, honest, ethical, and fair. Safety: We view our co-workers as family members of our business and strive to ensure safety for all. Humility: We recognize and appreciate strengths and contributions beyond oneself. We are modest, genuine, and authentic.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing engineering, reliability, or maintenance within an industrial manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated expertise in OEE improvement, reliability-centered maintenance, and asset lifecycle management.
Proven experience leading automation, advanced manufacturing technologies, and data-driven operational improvements.
Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and change leadership.
Experience managing capital investments, departmental budgets, and delivering ROI-driven projects.
Working knowledge of applicable regulatory and industry standards (e.g., ISO, API, ASME, OSHA).
Proven ability to build, develop, and lead high-performing technical teams in a complex, cross-functional organization.
Represents Steffes in the community or through relevant professional networks to promotes the company's goodwill and interest, as applicable.
Ability to travel up to 15%, or as required.

Responsibilities

Define and execute enterprise OEE, reliability, and manufacturing automation strategies aligned with Steffes’ corporate growth objectives.
Provide senior leadership for manufacturing engineering, facilities, and maintenance functions to ensure operational excellence and scalability.
Lead reliability-centered, preventative, and predictive maintenance programs to maximize asset performance and uptime.
Oversee equipment selection, lifecycle planning and capital investments, ensuring budget discipline and targeted ROI>
Drive Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, capacity expansion, and successful new product introduction.
Establish and monitor departmental performance through KPIs, dashboards, and data-driven decision making.
Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory, safety, and industry standards (API, ISO, ASME, OSHA, UL, DOT, SHARP).
Lead technology advancement through automation, AI, data systems, and ERP-enabled manufacturing solutions.
Build, develop, and retain high-performing teams while leading succession planning and modeling senior leadership behaviors.
Serve as a senior cross-functional partner to operations, quality, supply chain, customers, and suppliers.
Perform other duties as assigned.