Director, Manufacturing Engineering
ZT Systems
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Job summary
ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, seeks a Director of Engineering for our Texas campus to lead Manufacturing, Process, Industrial, Test, NPI, and Customer TPM activities. You will drive factory performance, automation, and readiness for rapid product launches while aligning with global standards.
The role requires 10+ years of engineering leadership in manufacturing environments, with a track record in data center infrastructure and rack integration. Onsite Texas facility.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering is required.
- Master’s degree is preferred.
- Experience leading manufacturing and test engineering teams.
- Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.
Responsibilities
- Lead Manufacturing, Process, Industrial, Test, and NPI engineering for the Texas campus.
- Drive factory performance, safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.
- Align with Global Director of Engineering on standards and governance.
- Deliver automation, test strategy, and readiness for product launches.
Skills
Education
Job description
The Director of Engineering is responsible for leading all Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Test Engineering, Test Automation, NPI Engineering, and Customer TPM activities for the Texas manufacturing campus. This role drives factory performance, operational excellence, manufacturing readiness, automation, test strategy, and successful product launches in support of data center rack and integrated infrastructure manufacturing.
The Director serves as the senior engineering leader for the Texas site and is accountable for achieving site-level objectives related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer satisfaction. This role reports directly to the General Manager and is responsible for ensuring full compliance with global engineering standards, processes, governance, and operating models established by the Global Director of Engineering based in New Jersey.
The successful candidate will combine strategic leadership with hands-on execution to build a high-performing engineering organization capable of supporting rapid growth, operational excellence, and world-class manufacturing performance.
- Lead Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Test Engineering, Test Automation, NPI Engineering, and Customer TPM teams for the Texas campus.
- Develop organizational capability, technical expertise, and engineering leadership within the site.
- Support factory growth, capacity expansion, and operational scalability.
- Create a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
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Drive improvements in:
- First Pass Yield (FPY)
- Rolled Throughput Yield (RTPY)
- DPPM
- Productivity
- Throughput
- Cycle Time
- Labor Efficiency
- Cost Performance
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Optimize manufacturing processes and factory flows to maximize operational effectiveness.
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Lead engineering support for daily production execution and factory performance reviews.
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Ensure achievement of all site engineering and operational KPIs.
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Deploy factory automation strategies aligned with global engineering roadmaps.
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Lead implementation of:
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- Robotics
- Automated assembly solutions
- Vision systems
- Digital manufacturing tools
- Test automation systems
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Own site-level test engineering performance and deployment of standardized test platforms.
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Drive improvements in manufacturing diagnostics, traceability, test coverage, and operational efficiency.
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Lead manufacturing readiness activities for all product introductions within the Texas facility.
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Execute NPI phase-gate requirements and readiness reviews.
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Ensure readiness of:
- Manufacturing processes
- Tooling
- Equipment
- Automation
- Test systems
- Capacity
- Staffing
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Lead pilot builds, process validation, launch readiness reviews, and production ramp activities.
- Lead customer-facing TPM resources supporting Texas-based programs.
- Participate in customer reviews, readiness assessments, escalation management, and operational reviews.
- Ensure customer requirements are successfully translated into manufacturing execution plans.
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Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis, CAPA, and SPC methodologies.
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Lead initiatives focused on:
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- Yield improvement
- Cost reduction
- Productivity gains
- Waste elimination
- Capacity improvements
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Establish rigorous performance reviews and execution management systems.
The Texas Director of Engineering is responsible for executing and sustaining the global engineering framework established by the New Jersey Global Director of Engineering, including:
- Global engineering standards
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Manufacturing process standards
- Test engineering standards
- Automation architecture standards
- NPI phase-gate processes
- Engineering governance models
- KPI review processes
- Best-practice deployment
- Continuous improvement methodologies
The Texas engineering organization is expected to drive local execution while maintaining global consistency and standardization across the manufacturing network.
- Texas Manufacturing Engineering organization
- Process Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Test Engineering
- Test Automation
- Manufacturing readiness
- Factory readiness
- Production launch execution
- Site operational KPIs
- Customer TPM resources
- Continuous improvement execution
- Global engineering strategy
- Engineering governance
- Global standards and SOPs
- NPI framework
- Global engineering best practices
- Global automation strategy
- Engineering operating model
- Product architecture
- Product design ownership
- Product specifications
- DFM/DFA approval
- Product validation and qualification
- Reliability engineering
- Design changes
- Level 3 debugging and technical solution development
- FPY
- RTPY
- DPPM
- OEE
- Productivity
- Labor efficiency
- Manufacturing cycle time
- On-Time Delivery (OTD)
- Cost reduction
- Automation deployment
- NPI launch success
- Customer satisfaction
- Compliance to global engineering standards
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering required; Master’s Degree preferred.
- 10+ years of engineering leadership experience in manufacturing environments.
- Experience leading Manufacturing Engineering, Test Engineering, Automation, and NPI organizations.
- Proven success driving operational excellence, productivity, quality, and manufacturing scale.
- Strong customer-facing experience.
- Experience in data center infrastructure, server, electronics, rack integration, or related manufacturing environments preferred.
- Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.
A strong factory-focused engineering leader who can deliver exceptional operational performance while successfully implementing global engineering standards. This individual excels at execution, talent development, continuous improvement, automation deployment, and manufacturing readiness, serving as the engineering leader for the Texas campus while partnering closely with the Global Director of Engineering to ensure consistency across the worldwide manufacturing network.
#LI-JC1 #LI-Onsite
At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, you’ll get to do work you are proud of alongside smart, passionate people. Every day, there are opportunities to collaborate with the best in the industry to design, build, and deliver impactful solutions to world-class customers. Along the way, you will gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment that’s challenging, rewarding, and career-defining.
A culture built around our values we work hard and think fast. We view challenges as opportunities—to do better, push harder, and be faster than we were the day before. When we fail, we learn from it and move on together. And when we succeed, we use the momentum to go even further. We create value with everything we do, building the foundation of today—and transforming the future of tomorrow.
Join ZT Systems and help us build technology infrastructure that connects the world.
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