Director Engineering - Protein Manufacturing

CSG Talent; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

CSG Talent seeks an accomplished Director of Engineering to provide strategic and technical leadership across a protein manufacturing organization. Lead engineering strategy, CAPEX programs, reliability, automation, and facility improvements to maximize asset utilization and support growth.

You will oversee capital projects, develop technical standards, and guide a cross-functional team to deliver safe, compliant, and high-performance operations while driving cost reductions and productivity

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering; PE certification advantageous.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience with leadership responsibility in manufacturing.
• Experience leading engineering teams in complex, high-volume facilities or multi-site networks.
• Strong track record delivering large-scale CAPEX and plant improvement projects.
• Experience with food/protein processing equipment, automation, controls, refrigeration, utilities, packaging, and/or industrial systems.
• Strong understanding of reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, process optimization, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing significant capital budgets and multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including ROI and capital justification.
• Excellent leadership, communication, project management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to operate strategically while solving complex technical challenges.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the company's engineering strategy across manufacturing facilities.
• Lead planning, development, and execution of CAPEX projects through design, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Provide engineering leadership for plant expansions, equipment installations, process improvements, automation, and infrastructure projects.
• Establish and drive engineering standards, best practices, and technical specifications.
• Partner with Maintenance and Operations to improve equipment reliability, uptime, throughput, and OEE.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes through automation, controls, robotics, and process engineering.
• Manage engineering budgets, timelines, contractors, and external partners.
• Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and to regulatory standards.
• Develop long-term capital investment plans based on needs and growth.
• Provide technical leadership on major equipment failures and plant constraints.
• Support energy, water, waste, and sustainability initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, USDA, FDA, environmental, food safety, electrical, and building regs.
• Build and mentor a high-performing engineering team with clear objectives and accountability.
• Collaborate with leadership to evaluate new technologies and cost/productivity improvements.

Skills

Engineering leadership

CAPEX planning

Project management

Process optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Reliability engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

PE certification

Advanced degree in Engineering

Tools

CAPEX budgeting tools

Industrial automation systems

ERP systems

Project management software

Job description

We are partnering with a leading protein manufacturer to identify an experienced Director of Engineering to provide strategic and technical leadership across the organization's manufacturing operations.

This is a high-impact leadership position responsible for driving engineering strategy, capital projects, reliability, automation, facility improvements, and continuous improvement across a complex protein manufacturing environment. The successful candidate will work closely with Operations, Maintenance, Safety, Quality, Finance, and senior leadership to improve plant performance, maximize asset utilization, and support future growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the company's engineering strategy across manufacturing facilities, aligned with operational and business objectives.
• Lead the planning, development, and execution of CAPEX projects, from initial concept and business case through design, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Provide engineering leadership for plant expansions, equipment installations, process improvements, automation, utilities, and infrastructure projects.
• Establish and drive engineering standards, best practices, and technical specifications across the organization.
• Partner with Maintenance and Operations leadership to improve equipment reliability, uptime, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Identify opportunities to improve manufacturing processes through automation, controls, robotics, technology, and process engineering.
• Manage engineering budgets, project timelines, contractors, consultants, and external engineering partners.
• Ensure engineering projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and to the required technical and regulatory standards.
• Develop and maintain long-term capital investment plans based on operational needs, capacity requirements, and business growth.
• Provide technical leadership on major equipment failures, plant constraints, process challenges, and complex engineering issues.
• Support the development and implementation of energy, water, waste, and sustainability initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with applicable OSHA, USDA, FDA, environmental, food safety, electrical, and building regulations.
• Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing engineering team, establishing clear objectives, accountability, and professional development plans.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to evaluate new technologies and identify opportunities to improve cost, productivity, quality, safety, and capacity.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an accomplished engineering leader with significant experience within food, protein, meat, poultry, RTE, or another high-volume manufacturing environment.

You will ideally bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline; advanced degree or PE certification is advantageous.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, with significant leadership responsibility in a manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams within a complex, high-volume production facility or multi-site manufacturing network.
• Strong track record delivering large-scale CAPEX and plant improvement projects.
• Experience with food/protein processing equipment, automation, controls, refrigeration, utilities, packaging, and/or industrial systems.
• Strong understanding of reliability, preventative/predictive maintenance, process optimization, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing significant capital budgets and multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including project ROI and capital justification.
• Excellent leadership, communication, project management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining close enough to the operation to understand and solve complex technical challenges.

What the Role Offers

This is an excellent opportunity for an engineering leader to join a well-established and growing protein manufacturer and have significant influence over the organization's manufacturing footprint, capital strategy, technology roadmap, and operational performance.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to lead major investment projects, develop engineering capability, introduce new technologies, and directly contribute to the company's long-term growth.