Senior Director, Engineering - Technical Delivery

ConAgra Foods•Omaha, NE

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Engineering - Technical Delivery leads technical delivery for major, multi-year capital initiatives and manufacturing network redesign, from engineering design through startup, stabilization, and transition to Operations and Maintenance. Reporting to the Vice President of Engineering, this role provides enterprise technical leadership across process, packaging, equipment, facility, and network design. It challenges solutions to improve operability, maintainability, safety, quality, cost, and startup readiness. In partnership with Operations leadership, the role prepares plant teams to own and sustain new technology and provides direction when technical risk, readiness, or business outcomes require designs or execution plans to be paused or redirected. It also leads early management and technical readiness practices, ensures operating and maintenance teams are equipped for startup, and provides executives with fact-based assessments of design maturity, startup probability, organizational readiness, and critical risks. The position partners with plant and business leaders to deliver capital work in active manufacturing facilities while protecting safety, food safety, quality, service, cost, and ongoing operations. It establishes accountability across project teams, original equipment manufacturers, contractors, and functional partners; applies capital and project management discipline; and coaches engineering and cross-functional leaders to strengthen technical capability and improve future execution. The role may require visits to manufacturing facilities. The job posting notes that facility work may involve walking, climbing stairs or ladders, kneeling, repetitive tasks requiring hand-eye coordination, and lifting or carrying materials of varying weight and size. Manufacturing sites may have large moving equipment, high noise levels, and variable temperatures. Travel to manufacturing and project locations is required based on initiative needs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
12+ years of progressive experience in engineering, manufacturing, operations, maintenance, or a related technical discipline, including leadership of complex capital programs and major manufacturing startups.
Demonstrated expertise across process and packaging engineering, equipment and facility design, commissioning, startup, and transition to Operations and Maintenance.
Experience delivering large, complex capital initiatives in operating manufacturing facilities.
Strong knowledge of capital and project management, including scope, schedule, budget, risk, change control, vendor management, and startup governance.
Experience partnering with original equipment manufacturers and external engineering firms and challenging technical designs to improve reliability, maintainability, operability, and lifecycle performance.
Working knowledge of manufacturing operations and maintenance systems, capability requirements, training, and asset-care readiness.
Proven success influencing senior leaders and cross-functional teams, making difficult recommendations, and leading through ambiguity without relying solely on direct authority.
Strategic thinking, strong judgment, collaboration, change leadership, problem-solving, and executive communication skills.
Willingness to travel to manufacturing and project locations based on initiative needs.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Experience in food, consumer packaged goods, process, or high-speed packaging environments.

Responsibilities

Own technical delivery for assigned enterprise capital initiatives, integrating process, packaging, utilities, facilities, controls, maintenance, and operational requirements into executable solutions.
Lead technical design challenges and reviews with internal engineering teams, external engineering partners, and original equipment manufacturers; identify gaps, evaluate trade-offs, and resolve technical risks.
Establish and lead an early management approach that engages Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Safety, and other partners early enough to influence design, installation, commissioning, and startup outcomes.
Define technical readiness and transition plans covering engineering design, construction, commissioning, qualification, startup, stabilization, and handoff to Operations and Maintenance.
Ensure operating and maintenance teams have the standards, documentation, training, skills, spare parts, preventive maintenance strategies, and problem-solving capability needed to safely operate and sustain new technology at startup.
Provide fact-based assessments of design maturity, startup probability, organizational readiness, and critical risks to Engineering and Operations executives; recommend corrective actions, resource changes, or escalation when needed.
Partner with plant and business leaders to deliver major capital work within active manufacturing facilities while protecting safety, food safety, quality, service, cost, and ongoing operations.
Establish accountability across project teams, original equipment manufacturers, contractors, and functional partners for technical decisions, milestones, issue resolution, and committed outcomes.
Apply capital and project management discipline to scope, schedule, budget, risk, change control, and business-case delivery while focusing on long-term asset performance and network value.
Coach engineering and cross-functional leaders, strengthen technical capability, and advance ways of working that improve execution across future capital initiatives.
Perform other duties as assigned.