Manufacturing Engineering Director

Manufacturing Engineering Director

Winland Foods, a leading manufacturer of high‑quality food products across North America, is seeking a transformative leader to drive our manufacturing engineering strategy. The Director will guide a team of engineers and work closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Quality, EHS, and Finance to achieve excellence in safety, cost, service, quality, and sustainability.

Location: Remote (must reside in AZ, MO, KY, TX, IL, NY, SC, WI, PA, or ND)
Employee Type: Full time
Job Type: Engineering
Salary: $136k – $238k per year, plus bonus potential
Travel: Up to 75% (primarily 50‑65%)

• Strategic Leadership
  • Define and execute 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.
• Capital Management & Innovation
  • 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 presentation of capital authorization documents.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies that enhance automation, sustainability, and throughput.
  • Partner with procurement and vendors to manage equipment selection, installation, commissioning, and training.
  • Lead projects through ideation, stage gating, scoping, approval, final engineering/design, procurement, construction, commissioning, qualification, and validation.
  • Develop business case screening scopes and cost estimates to support decision making.
• Team & People Development
  • 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.
• Operations & Process Excellence
  • 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—employee and food safety—remains a non‑negotiable priority.
  • Provide leadership, resources, and on‑site troubleshooting to support resolution of plant‑related technical issues.
• What Great Looks Like
  • A proactive, visible leader who builds trust and alignment across teams.
  • A strategic thinker who also loves rolling up their sleeves on the plant floor.
  • Compelled by measurable results, sustainable standard work, and continuous improvement.
  • Strong communicator who energizes others and champions Winland Values across functions.

• Required
  • 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 (OSHA, EPA, FDA).
  • Proficiency in Microsoft 365 and MS Project.
• Preferred
  • 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.

• High‑impact leadership role with direct influence on enterprise transformation.
• Opportunity to shape engineering strategy and build a best‑in‑class technical organization.
• A culture committed to career development, collaboration, and innovation.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and growth opportunities.

• We Put People First
• We Deliver Excellence
• We Act with Integrity
• We Win Together – One Winland

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, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military or veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.