Director Operations Engineering

Graham Packaging Company•West Hempfield Township, PA

1d•$147,700 - $221,100•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Operations Engineering provides strategic and technical leadership across the plant network, driving operational excellence by improving operational flow, reliability, safety, cost, and sustainability. This leader directs an integrated engineering organization that supports planned projects and continuous improvement while responding rapidly to developing issues and operational emergencies to restore flow. The Director establishes priorities, governance, resource plans, and standard work for the Operations Engineering function. Using disciplined project management, structured problem solving, and data-based decision making, the organization delivers sustainable solutions, restores stable production, develops plant capability, and replicates proven practices across the network. The position reports to the Vice President of Engineering and partners closely with Operations, Plant Leadership, Safety, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Procurement, OEMs, and external technical resources.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline; Electrical or Plastics Engineering preferred.
Typically 12 or more years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, operations, reliability, maintenance, capital projects, or continuous improvement, including significant multi-site leadership experience.
Demonstrated success leading technical teams, complex project portfolios, plant recoveries, and cross-functional improvement initiatives.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing equipment, automation, utilities, material handling, maintenance and reliability systems, and industrial safety.
Proven ability to translate technical issues into business risk, priorities, recovery plans, investment decisions, and measurable results.
Experience managing capital and expense budgets, business cases, contractors, OEMs, schedules, and project governance.
Proficiency with structured problem solving, Lean or continuous-improvement methods, project-management tools, and data analysis.
Ability to travel extensively (up to 75%) and respond outside normal business hours when significant operational events require leadership support.

Nice To Haves

Six Sigma Black Belt certification is preferred, with Green Belt certification acceptable.

Responsibilities

Set the strategy, priorities, resources, and performance expectations for Operations Engineering across the plant network.
Lead and develop the Operations Engineering organization by aligning roles and resources, managing performance, building technical capability, and strengthening succession plans. Coach and mentor plant operational resources, and foster a culture of safety, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Act as a subject matter expert and technical authority for one or more of GPC’s critical processes.
Manage planned plant-support projects from scope of work through execution, startup, handoff, and benefits realization.
Drive maintenance standardization and continuous improvement to increase reliability and throughput, reduce downtime, and control maintenance costs.
Analyze SAP PM equipment and functional-location work history to identify predictive-maintenance and reliability opportunities.
Use SAP PM, Intelligent Factory, and quality data to track progress, verify improvements, and sustain results.
Partner with OEMs and third-party vendors to resolve persistent mechanical, quality, and process issues.
Validate corrective actions that improve availability and reliability and leverage successful solutions across plants and sites.
Direct engineering support during developing issues and operational emergencies to safely restore flow, correct root causes, and prevent recurrence.
Apply engineering fundamentals to develop scopes of work, prepare bid documents, and assemble and present business cases to GPC leadership.
Lead using structured problem-solving tools, including A3, 8D, and FMEA; Six Sigma Black Belt certification is preferred, with Green Belt certification acceptable.
Apply disciplined project management and structured problem solving while managing budgets, technical standards, risks, and communication with plant and cross-functional leaders.