Engineering Manager

Adecco Portugal; Mason City (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High visibility in operations

Ownership of capital and reliability

Impact on uptime and efficiency

Job summary

Unknown Food Manufacturer is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead capital projects, drive equipment reliability, and oversee plant engineering improvements in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

You will own projects from concept to startup, partnering with maintenance, operations, safety, and plant leadership to boost uptime, safety, quality, and efficiency while ensuring compliance with food safety standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field.
• 8+ years in engineering, project, maintenance, reliability, or manufacturing.
• Experience managing capital projects within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of plant equipment, mechanical/electrical systems, automation, PLCs, and instrumentation.
• Experience with equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, CMMS, and TPM.

Responsibilities

• Lead capital engineering projects from concept through completion.
• Develop and execute projects to improve equipment reliability, plant capacity, safety, quality, and operating efficiency.
• Manage project schedules, contractors, equipment suppliers, resources and budgets while minimizing production disruption.
• Partner with maintenance and operations to identify recurring equipment issues and implement long-term engineering solutions.
• Support and improve preventive and predictive maintenance, TPM, and reliability programs.
• Analyze downtime, equipment performance, OEE, maintenance data, and operating trends to identify improvements.
• Provide technical support across mechanical, electrical, automation, PLC, instrumentation, and manufacturing systems.
• Lead root-cause analysis of equipment failures and recurring process issues.
• Develop equipment specifications, scopes of work, project documentation, and technical standards.
• Support equipment commissioning, validation, startup, and transition into production.
• Coordinate cross-functional project activities with Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, Quality, Safety, and outside contractors.
• Monitor KPIs and communicate progress, risks, and results to plant leadership.
• Support maintenance planning and resource prioritization for critical equipment and plant projects.
• Ensure engineering work and capital projects meet safety, food safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Capital projects

Equipment reliability

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Troubleshooting complex equipment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

CMMS/Work-order systems

PLC/Instrumentation

Automation systems

Job description

A well-established food manufacturing company is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead capital projects, equipment reliability initiatives, and plant engineering improvements within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

This role will own engineering projects from concept through implementation while partnering closely with maintenance, operations, safety, and plant leadership to improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and support long-term facility reliability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead capital engineering projects from concept through completion, including scope development, budgeting, vendor coordination, installation, startup, and project closeout.
• Develop and execute projects that improve equipment reliability, plant capacity, safety, quality, and operating efficiency.
• Manage project schedules, contractors, equipment suppliers, resources, and budgets while minimizing disruption to production.
• Partner with maintenance and operations to identify recurring equipment issues and implement long-term engineering solutions.
• Support and improve preventive and predictive maintenance, TPM, and reliability programs.
• Analyze downtime, equipment performance, OEE, maintenance data, and operating trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Provide technical support across mechanical, electrical, automation, PLC, instrumentation, and manufacturing systems.
• Lead root-cause analysis of equipment failures and recurring process issues.
• Develop equipment specifications, scopes of work, project documentation, and technical standards.
• Support equipment commissioning, validation, startup, and transition into production.
• Coordinate cross-functional project activities involving Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, Quality, Safety, and outside contractors.
• Monitor project and reliability KPIs and communicate progress, risks, and results to plant leadership.
• Support maintenance planning and resource prioritization for critical equipment and plant projects.
• Ensure engineering work and capital projects meet applicable safety, food safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 8+ years of engineering, project, maintenance, reliability, or manufacturing experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing capital projects within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of plant equipment, mechanical and electrical systems, automation, PLCs, and instrumentation.
• Experience with equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, CMMS/work-order systems, and TPM.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex equipment and manufacturing issues and develop sustainable corrective actions.
• Experience managing contractors, vendors, equipment installations, and project schedules.
• Strong project management, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively with maintenance technicians, operators, engineers, vendors, and plant leadership.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Background

• Food, beverage, consumer products, pharmaceutical, or other high-speed manufacturing experience.
• Experience with large equipment installations, facility upgrades, automation projects, or production-line expansions.
• Reliability engineering or maintenance-engineering experience.
• Project or team leadership experience.

What This Role Offers

• High visibility within plant operations and engineering.
• Ownership of meaningful capital and reliability projects.
• Opportunity to directly impact uptime, equipment performance, capacity, and manufacturing efficiency.