Engineering Director: Manufacturing & Automation

L&P Bedding Group; Carthage, Northern (MO, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Leggett & Platt Inc. is seeking a Director of Engineering in Carthage, MO to lead a multi-disciplinary engineering organization across machinery development, automation, and process improvement.

You will establish standards, drive project discipline, and partner with Product Development, Quality, and Manufacturing to ensure smooth transitions from concept to production. The role emphasizes hands-on technical leadership, capital project execution, and TPM-driven reliability improvements, with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Manufacturing, or related).
• 12-15+ years of progressive engineering experience in manufacturing with leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading engineering teams in machinery development, automation, and launch readiness.
• Strong project management with scheduling, resources, cost, risk, and cross-functional alignment.
• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, value stream mapping, TPM, capital project execution, SPC, Six Sigma, PFMEA, PPAP.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi-disciplinary engineering organization spanning machinery development, industrial and process engineering, controls, automation, and electrical engineering.
• Establish engineering standards, documentation, design rigor, and project discipline across sites.
• Oversee transition from product development to stable manufacturing performance with PPAP readiness.
• Provide disciplined project leadership with clear milestones, ownership, and escalation paths.
• Maintain regular presence in manufacturing to understand equipment, process flow, quality, reliability, and operator challenges.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation initiatives to deliver measurable benefits.
• Lead major capital projects with rigorous cost control, scheduling, and ROI evaluation.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Lean manufacturing

TPM

SPC

Six Sigma

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering

Tools

TPM

PPAP

Job description

Leggett & Platt Inc. is seeking a Director of Engineering in Carthage, MO to lead a multi-disciplinary engineering organization across machinery development, automation, and process improvement.

You will establish standards, drive project discipline, and partner with Product Development, Quality, and Manufacturing to ensure smooth transitions from concept to production. The role emphasizes hands-on technical leadership, capital project execution, and TPM-driven reliability improvements, with