Director of Engineering

Koppers Inc.; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Koppers Inc. seeks a senior leader to provide dedicated leadership and strategic direction for the Corporate Engineering function, aligning priorities with enterprise and business-unit needs.

The role coordinates engineering support across units to ensure high‑quality, timely delivery and compliance with safety and quality standards. You will lead a multidisciplinary team, drive capital planning and governance, partner with senior leadership on investments, and maintain enterprise‑wide

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering required; advanced degree a plus.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license and/or Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive engineering experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or chemical plant environment, including hands‑on capital project management.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience managing engineers, engineering managers, or cross‑functional technical teams.
• Experience operating within a matrixed organization, supporting multiple business units, sites, or regions.
• Experience partnering with enterprise strategy, finance, or transformation functions on capital planning and prioritization preferred.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with proven experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Deep technical knowledge across mechanical, electrical, chemical/process, or reliability engineering disciplines within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong understanding of capital project management, including FEL/FEED processes and stage‑gate governance.
• Ability to translate enterprise strategy into engineering priorities and actionable execution plans.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to partner effectively with senior leadership and business unit stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills across all levels of the organization.
• Knowledgeable in Koppers plant processes, or comparable chemical/industrial manufacturing processes.
• Proficient with relevant engineering and project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, AutoCAD, ChemCAD).
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as required.

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated leadership and strategic direction for the Corporate Engineering function, establishing clear engineering priorities aligned with enterprise and business unit needs.
• Coordinate and prioritize engineering support and resources across business units to ensure consistent, high-quality, and timely delivery of engineering services.
• Partner with the Chief Legal and Strategy Officer and enterprise leadership to align engineering investments with strategic priorities, capital planning, and risk management objectives.
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide engineering standards, governance, and best practices to ensure technical consistency, safety, and quality across sites.
• Lead, develop, and manage a multidisciplinary team of engineering managers and professionals.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, resource utilization, and service delivery models to improve responsiveness and value delivered to business units.
• Serve as a key partner to the Transformation Office, ensuring engineering‑related Catalyst initiatives are appropriately supported, resourced, and progressed through the initiative lifecycle.
• Manage engineering budgets and reporting on engineering KPIs, project performance, and capital deployment to enterprise leadership.
• Represent Corporate Engineering in cross‑functional forums, providing technical expertise and recommendations to support enterprise and business unit decision‑making.
• Communicate regularly with Business Unit Leaders, Operations Managers, Plant Managers, and Plant Support staff regarding engineering priorities, project progress, and resource needs.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Capital planning

Engineering knowledge

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

PE license

PMP certification

Tools

Microsoft Project

AutoCAD

ChemCAD

Job description

Job Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated leadership and strategic direction for the Corporate Engineering function, establishing clear engineering priorities aligned with enterprise and business unit needs.
• Coordinate and prioritize engineering support and resources across business units (RPS, KPC, CMC, UIP) to ensure consistent, high-quality, and timely delivery of engineering services.
• Partner with the Chief Legal and Strategy Officer and enterprise leadership to align engineering investments with strategic priorities, capital planning, and risk management objectives.
• Establish and maintain enterprise-wide engineering standards, governance, and best practices to ensure technical consistency, safety, and quality across sites.
• Lead, develop, and manage a multidisciplinary team of engineering managers and professionals, including mechanical, electrical, chemical/process, reliability, and project engineering staff.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, resource utilization, and service delivery models to improve responsiveness and value delivered to business units.
• Serve as a key partner to the Transformation Office, ensuring engineering‑related Catalyst initiatives are appropriately supported, resourced, and progressed through the initiative lifecycle.
• Manage engineering budgets and reporting on engineering KPIs, project performance, and capital deployment to enterprise leadership.
• Represent Corporate Engineering in cross‑functional forums, providing technical expertise and recommendations to support enterprise and business unit decision‑making.
• Communicate regularly with Business Unit Leaders, Operations Managers, Plant Managers, and Plant Support staff regarding engineering priorities, project progress, and resource needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or related discipline) required; advanced degree a plus.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license and/or Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive engineering experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or chemical plant environment, including hands‑on capital project management.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience managing engineers, engineering managers, or cross‑functional technical teams.
• Experience operating within a matrixed organization, supporting multiple business units, sites, or regions.
• Experience partnering with enterprise strategy, finance, or transformation functions on capital planning and prioritization preferred.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with proven experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Deep technical knowledge across mechanical, electrical, chemical/process, or reliability engineering disciplines within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong understanding of capital project management, including Front End Loading (FEL) / Front End Engineering Design (FEED) processes and stage‑gate project governance.
• Ability to translate enterprise strategy into engineering priorities and actionable execution plans.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to partner effectively with senior leadership and business unit stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills across all levels of the organization.
• Knowledgeable in Koppers plant processes, or comparable chemical/industrial manufacturing processes.
• Proficient with relevant engineering and project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, AutoCAD, ChemCAD).
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as required.

Koppers Inc. and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other category or characteristic protected by federal law, state or local law.