Manufacturing Engineering Director

Manufacturing Engineering Director at Winland Foods

Winland Foods is a leading manufacturer of high‑quality food products trusted by households and food service partners across North America. Grounded in our values and driven by our One Winland mindset, we are transforming how we operate—from the plant floor to the executive level—to deliver exceptional value to our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve. We foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and innovation.

If you are energized by building high‑performing teams, creating sustainable systems, and shaping the future of manufacturing excellence, we’d love to meet you.

As Director of Engineering, you will lead the development and execution of Winland Foods’ manufacturing engineering strategy, driving capital investment and process optimization across our 11 pasta/dry‑dinner manufacturing facilities. You will guide a team of engineers and collaborate with Operations, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Quality, EHS, and Finance to ensure best‑in‑class performance in safety, cost per pound, service, quality, and sustainability.

• Define and execute the engineering strategy aligned to business objectives.
• Advance a continuous improvement culture to improve cost per pound and productivity while enhancing quality and service.
• Drive standardization of processes and best practices across sites.
• Lead capital planning and execution to optimize capacity, technology upgrades, cost savings, and facility expansions.
• Develop and manage the 3‑year CAPEX plan for the Pasta Plant network.
• Lead and support project development and the presentation of capital authorization documents that are complete, concise, and reflect thorough due diligence.
• Evaluate emerging technologies that enhance automation, sustainability, and throughput.
• Partner with procurement and vendors to manage equipment selection, installation, commissioning, and training. Drive capital supplier negotiations to optimize cost‑benefits.
• Lead and support projects through ideation, stage‑gating, scoping, approval, final engineering/design, equipment selection and procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, and validation.
• Develop business‑case screening scopes and cost estimates to give the business team a directional view of a project and its robustness.
• Build, mentor, and inspire a high‑performing, diverse engineering team.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and accountability.
• Directly engage with plant teams to support capability‑building and performance coaching.
• Lead engineering efforts related to processing, packaging, and automation to improve efficiency and reliability.
• Partner closely with Operations, Quality, and Maintenance to reduce downtime and improve equipment life cycles.
• Ensure safety—both food safety and employee safety—remains a non‑negotiable priority in all engineering work.
• Provide leadership, resources, and on‑site troubleshooting to support resolution of plant‑related technical issues.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, or related).
• 10+ years of manufacturing engineering experience; with at least 5 years in a multi‑site environment.
• Proven track record in capital planning and execution and project management.
• Demonstrated leadership by building and developing high‑performing engineering teams.
• Strong ability to collaborate cross‑functionally and influence at all organizational levels.
• Working knowledge of sanitary equipment design, Good Manufacturing Practices and Government regulations as they apply to food manufacturing operations (OSHA, EPA, FDA).
• Proficiency in MS 365 and MS Project.

• Food or consumer packaged goods (CPG) experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with AutoCAD and SAP.
• Experience with automation, industrial control systems, and IIoT technologies.
• Formal project management training or certification.

• Medical, Dental, Vision
• 401(k) with match
• STD/LTD/AD&D/Life
• HSA, FSA
• EAP, Hospital indemnity, Accident Insurance
• Identity and Fraud Protection Plan, Legal, and Critical Illness

Winland Foods seeks to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool, and as a global company we believe our success is enhanced by fostering equity and inclusion in the workplace. Therefore, Winland Foods is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.