Director of Engineering & Maintenance

Korn Ferry; Kenosha (WI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry Group is seeking a Director of Engineering for a premier Wisconsin food-manufacturing facility. You will lead plant engineering, maintenance, and capital projects, driving reliability, capacity, and regulatory compliance across a multi-phase growth program.

You will develop technical teams, manage automation and controls initiatives, and partner with Operations, Quality, and senior leadership to scale production while optimizing costs and safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or related engineering field.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering leadership in food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods manufacturing.
• Proven track record leading major capital projects and facility expansions.
• Hands-on plant leadership with reliability and process improvement focus.

Responsibilities

• Lead plant engineering, maintenance, and capital project execution for a large-scale food manufacturing operation.
• Oversee facility expansion projects, new production lines, warehousing, and related infrastructure.
• Develop and execute a capital investment strategy aligned with long-term growth.
• Drive equipment reliability, process efficiency, throughput, and waste reduction.
• Scale production capacity in collaboration with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and senior leadership.
• Lead and develop process, project, controls engineers and maintenance staff.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, workplace safety, and environmental regulations.
• Lead vendor selection, contractor management, and engineering standards.
• Implement preventive and predictive maintenance and advance automation.
• Advance high-volume production capabilities and controls.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Capital project management

Process manufacturing

Regulatory compliance

Automation & controls

Team development

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, or Industrial Engineering

Job description

A well-established food manufacturer is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead plant engineering, maintenance, capital projects, and technical operations at an expanding Wisconsin facility.

Position Overview

The Director of Engineering will lead plant engineering, maintenance, capital project execution, and technical operations for a large-scale food manufacturing operation. This role will support significant multi-phase growth, including facility expansion, increased production capacity, and enhanced process capabilities.

The successful candidate will combine strategic capital planning with hands‑on plant leadership, developing technical teams and improving reliability, throughput, cost, automation, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead plant engineering, maintenance, and capital project execution for a large-scale food manufacturing operation.
• Oversee facility expansion projects that may include new production lines, warehousing, high-bay storage, silos, and seed-processing infrastructure.
• Develop and execute a capital investment strategy aligned with long-term growth plans.
• Drive continuous improvement in equipment reliability and uptime, process efficiency and throughput, cost optimization, and waste reduction.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and senior leadership to scale production capacity and meet customer demand.
• Lead, develop, and organize process, project, and controls engineers as well as maintenance and technical personnel.
• Ensure compliance with applicable food safety, workplace safety, and environmental regulations.
• Lead vendor selection, contractor management, and the development of engineering standards.
• Implement preventive and predictive maintenance practices.
• Advance automation, controls, and high-volume production capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or a related engineering discipline.
• At least 10 years of progressive engineering leadership experience in food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods manufacturing.
• Proven experience leading major capital projects and facility expansions.
• Strong process-manufacturing experience; liquids, batching, mixing, and packaging experience is highly preferred.
• Experience leading plant engineering, maintenance, and reliability programs.
• Working knowledge of regulatory requirements in food manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated success leading in a hands‑on, plant‑based environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with condiments, sauces, or similar food-processing operations.
• Exposure to private-label and contract-manufacturing environments.
• Background in automation, controls, and high-volume production systems.
• Experience supporting multi-phase greenfield or brownfield expansions.

Why Consider This Opportunity

• Join a stable, established manufacturing organization with a long-term strategic focus.
• Play a central role in a significant, multi-phase growth and expansion initiative.
• Take on a high-visibility leadership position with direct impact on plant performance and scalability.
• Shape the future of a vertically integrated food manufacturing operation.
• Build engineering, maintenance, reliability, automation, and capital-project capabilities for continued growth.