Plant Engineering Director

Plant Engineering Director

Company: Confidential - food manufacturer
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Compensation: $160,000 - $210,000 + bonus
Employment Type: Full-time

About the Company

Our client operates a large, fast-paced manufacturing operation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where safety, food safety, environmental and quality standards are central to the work.

The Role

This is a senior plant leadership role responsible for Engineering and Maintenance, covering equipment reliability, maintenance strategy, capital projects, engineering, continuous improvement and team development. You will advance preventive and predictive maintenance, TPM and operational efficiency while maintaining safety, food safety, environmental and quality standards, and you will influence capital investment and the long-term technical direction of the facility.

What You Will Do

• Provide overall leadership for the plant's Engineering and Maintenance functions, focused on reliability, safety, productivity and continuous improvement.
• Lead major capital projects from concept through commissioning, safely, on schedule, within budget and with minimal disruption to production.
• Develop and execute maintenance and reliability strategies, including preventive and predictive maintenance, TPM and equipment reliability programs.
• Identify recurring equipment and operational issues, determine root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Establish and monitor KPIs including equipment reliability, downtime, supplier performance, maintenance effectiveness and OEE.
• Lead resource planning and engineering initiatives across mechanical, electrical, controls, instrumentation and automation systems.
• Provide technical leadership in troubleshooting complex plant and equipment problems.
• Lead, coach and develop engineering and maintenance leaders and their teams.
• Partner with Operations, HR, Safety, Quality and other plant functions on production objectives and long-term facility improvements.

What You Bring

• Meat processing experience in a food manufacturing plant (required)
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business or a related field and 10+ years of engineering/maintenance experience including significant engineering management, or a Master's degree and 8+ years of relevant experience
• At least 5 years of leadership experience, including team development and performance management
• Experience leading engineering and maintenance within a large manufacturing environment
• Strong knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, including PLCs, instrumentation and controls
• Strong knowledge of preventive/predictive maintenance, TPM, work-order systems and reliability programs
• Experience managing capital projects and capital budgets
• Working knowledge of SAP and Microsoft Office
• Excellent communication skills, including explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Flexibility to support plant operations outside standard business hours