Director of Engineering & Maintenance

Position Summary

The Director of Engineering & Maintenance is responsible for leading all engineering, maintenance, reliability, capital project, utilities, and facility management functions across pork production and processing operations. This role ensures maximum equipment uptime, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, food safety, employee safety, and asset reliability while supporting strategic business growth initiatives.

The Director will develop and execute engineering and maintenance strategies that drive operational excellence, reduce costs, improve production performance, and support continuous improvement initiatives throughout the organization.

Reporting Relationship

Reports To: Vice President of Operations / Chief Operations Officer

Direct Reports:

• Plant Engineering Managers
• Maintenance Managers
• Reliability Engineers
• Capital Project Managers
• Utilities Managers
• Controls & Automation Engineers

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership

• Develop and implement corporate engineering strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Lead engineering support for pork harvest, processing, packaging, rendering, cold storage, and distribution facilities.
• Standardize engineering practices, specifications, and technical procedures across multiple sites.
• Drive automation, digitalization, and manufacturing technology improvements.
• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to improve efficiency, yield, quality, and labor productivity.

Maintenance & Reliability

• Establish and maintain a world-class preventive and predictive maintenance program.
• Lead reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) initiatives to maximize asset performance.
• Develop maintenanceKPIs including:
  • Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
  • Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
  • Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
  • Maintenance cost per pound produced
  • Equipment uptime
• Ensure effective CMMS utilization and maintenance planning practices.
• Reduce unplanned downtime through root cause analysis and continuous improvement programs.

Capital Projects Management

• Develop and manage annual capital expenditure budgets.
• Lead facility expansions, equipment installations, process improvements, and modernization projects.
• Oversee project planning, design, procurement, contractor management, commissioning, and startup activities.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meet operational requirements.
• Manage engineering consultants, contractors, and equipment suppliers.

Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure all engineering and maintenance activities support food safety standards.
• Maintain compliance with:
  • USDA-FSIS regulations
  • OSHA requirements
  • EPA regulations
  • Local, state, and federal environmental requirements
  • Corporate food safety programs
• Support audit readiness and corrective action initiatives.

Safety Leadership

• Promote a strong safety culture across all engineering and maintenance teams.
• Ensure compliance with:
  • Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
  • Confined Space Entry
  • Machine Guarding
  • Electrical Safety
  • Process Safety Management principles where applicable
• Lead incident investigations and corrective action implementation.

Utilities & Infrastructure

• Oversee facility utilities including:
  • Refrigeration systems
  • Boilers and steam generation
  • Wastewater treatment systems
  • Electrical distribution
  • Compressed air systems
  • Water treatment systems
• Optimize utility efficiency and sustainability initiatives.

Financial Management

• Develop and manage maintenance and engineering budgets.
• Identify and execute cost-reduction opportunities.
• Evaluate ROI and business cases for capital investments.
• Monitor contractor and vendor performance to ensure cost effectiveness.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Build and develop high-performing engineering and maintenance teams.
• Establish succession planning and workforce development programs.
• Recruit, mentor, and retain technical talent.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Education

Required:

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

Preferred:

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

Experience

Required:

• 10+ years of progressive engineering and maintenance leadership experience.
• 5+ years in a senior management role within food manufacturing, meat processing, pork production, poultry, beef, or consumer packaged goods manufacturing.
• Proven experience managing multi-site engineering and maintenance operations.
• Demonstrated success leading capital projects exceeding $5 million.

Preferred:

• Experience in pork harvest and processing facilities.
• Experience with refrigeration systems, wastewater treatment, rendering operations, and food processing automation.

Technical Competencies

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

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Change Management
• Team Development
• Financial Acumen
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Executive Communication
• Results Orientation

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Equipment Uptime %
• OEE Improvement
• Maintenance Cost as % of Replacement Asset Value
• Capital Project Delivery Performance
• Safety Incident Rate
• Regulatory Compliance Performance
• Energy Consumption Reduction
• Downtime Reduction
• MTBF Improvement
• MTTR Reduction
• Budget Performance
• Employee Retention and Development Metrics