Director Of Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence

The Manager, Engineering & Operational Excellence is responsible for leading the Engineering Department while driving operational excellence initiatives across manufacturing operations. This role oversees process engineering, capital projects, automation, continuous improvement, technical services, and manufacturing excellence programs to improve productivity, quality, safety, and profitability.
The incumbent provides technical leadership to engineering staff and works closely with Operations, Quality, R&D, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Leadership teams to support strategic growth initiatives.
Key ResponsibilitiesEngineering Leadership
Lead and develop the Engineering Department.
Establish departmental objectives, budgets, and engineering priorities.
Coach and mentor engineers and technical staff.
Ensure engineering resources are aligned with operational and strategic business needs.
Develop succession plans and technical expertise within the team.
Manufacturing Engineering
Oversee manufacturing process design, optimization, and troubleshooting.
Drive process standardization and operational consistency.
Improve equipment reliability and manufacturing performance.
Support product transfers, scale‑up activities, and process validations.
Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
Lead Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence programs.
Manage Kaizen initiatives and productivity improvement projects.
Develop and implement improvement roadmaps across all manufacturing areas.
Capital Projects Management
Lead capital expenditure projects from concept to implementation.
Prepare business cases and ROI analyses.
Ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Automation & Industry 4.0
Develop automation strategies supporting future growth.
Lead robotics, digital manufacturing, data acquisition, and process control initiatives.
Identify opportunities to improve productivity through technology and automation.
Quality & Regulatory Support
Partner with Quality to improve product and process performance.
Support ISO programs and audit readiness.
Utilize engineering and quality tools including:
Six Sigma
SPC
FMEA
MSA
PPAP
CAPA
Lead technical investigations and root cause analysis efforts.
Strategic Leadership
Support plant expansion and capacity planning.
Participate in annual budgeting and long-range planning.
Recommend investments that improve operational efficiency and profitability.
Serve as a key technical advisor to senior leadership.
The Ideal Candidate Would Have
Engineering degree (Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing)
10+ years in manufacturing/process industries
Experience leading engineering teams
Strong Lean/Six Sigma background
Capital project management experience
Automation and Industry 4.0 exposure
Experience in plastics, packaging, chemicals, polymers, industrial manufacturing, or food processing
Ability to bridge Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Leadership teams
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