Director - Plant Engineering (Midwest)

Position Summary

The Director of Plant Engineering is responsible for the leadership, management, and strategic direction of all engineering, maintenance, utilities, reliability, and capital project activities within a high-volume pork processing facility. This position ensures the reliability, efficiency, and continuous improvement of plant assets while maintaining compliance with food safety, employee safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

The Director of Plant Engineering partners closely with Operations, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Human Resources, and Corporate Engineering teams to maximize production performance, optimize asset utilization, and support business growth initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering & Technical Leadership

• Lead all plant engineering activities to support safe, reliable, and efficient pork processing operations.
• Develop and execute engineering strategies that improve operational performance, product quality, and asset reliability.
• Provide technical leadership for equipment design, process optimization, automation, and facility improvements.
• Establish engineering standards, specifications, and best practices throughout the facility.
• Support production departments with technical troubleshooting and continuous improvement initiatives.

Maintenance & Reliability Management

• Direct all maintenance operations, including preventive, predictive, corrective, and emergency maintenance programs.
• Implement reliability-centered maintenance strategies to improve equipment uptime and reduce failures.
• Ensure effective utilization of CMMS systems for work order management, planning, scheduling, and asset tracking.
• Lead root cause failure analysis efforts and implement corrective actions.
• Monitor and improve key maintenance metrics including:
  • Equipment uptime
  • Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
  • Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
  • Maintenance cost per pound produced
  • Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Capital Projects Management

• Develop and manage the annual capital expenditure plan.
• Lead capital projects from concept through commissioning, including budgeting, design, procurement, installation, startup, and validation.
• Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, and within budget.
• Manage engineering contractors, consultants, and equipment suppliers.
• Support facility expansion and modernization initiatives.

Utilities & Infrastructure

• Oversee the operation and reliability of critical utility systems, including:
  • Ammonia refrigeration systems
  • Boilers and steam systems
  • Electrical distribution systems
  • Water treatment systems
  • Wastewater treatment operations
  • Compressed air systems
  • Facility infrastructure and building systems
• Drive energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives.

Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure engineering and maintenance practices support USDA, HACCP, SQF, and company food safety standards.
• Maintain compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Support internal and external audits and regulatory inspections.
• Ensure maintenance procedures minimize food safety and product quality risks.

Safety Leadership

• Champion a culture of safety throughout the engineering and maintenance organization.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations and company safety policies.
• Oversee programs related to:
  • Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
  • Electrical safety
  • Machine guarding
  • Confined space entry
  • Contractor safety management
  • Process safety management for ammonia refrigeration systems
• Lead incident investigations and corrective action programs.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to reduce downtime, improve throughput, and optimize labor utilization.
• Drive automation and digital transformation projects.
• Benchmark performance and implement industry best practices.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and develop a team of engineering, maintenance, reliability, and utility professionals.
• Establish performance expectations and accountability measures.
• Develop succession plans and technical training programs.
• Recruit, mentor, and retain high-performing technical talent.

Qualifications

Education

Required:

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related engineering discipline.

Preferred:

• Master's Degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or Operations Management.

Experience

Required:

• 10+ years of engineering and maintenance leadership experience within manufacturing environments.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience managing engineering and maintenance teams.
• Experience managing capital projects and maintenance budgets.

Preferred:

• Experience within pork processing, meat processing, food manufacturing, poultry, or protein processing industries.
• Experience with industrial refrigeration systems and USDA-regulated facilities.
• Experience leading operations within a facility exceeding 1,000 employees.

Technical Skills

• Asset Reliability Programs
• Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
• CMMS Systems
• PLC and Industrial Automation Systems
• Ammonia Refrigeration Systems
• Utility System Management
• Root Cause Analysis
• Lean Manufacturing
• Six Sigma Methodologies
• Capital Project Management
• USDA and Food Safety Compliance
• OSHA Regulatory Compliance

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Equipment Uptime
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Downtime Reduction
• MTBF Improvement
• MTTR Reduction
• Maintenance Budget Performance
• Capital Project Delivery
• Safety Performance Metrics
• Regulatory Compliance Results
• Utility Cost Reduction
• Energy Efficiency Improvements

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Results Orientation
• Change Management
• Operational Excellence
• Financial Acumen
• Team Development
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Communication and Influence