Engineering Manager

Austin Powder; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Austin Powder's Red Diamond Plant in McArthur, OH is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead a multi‑disciplinary team of controls, process, mechanical, and project engineers. You will own the site engineering portfolio, develop capital plans, and ensure projects meet safety, reliability, and cost objectives.

The role oversees capital spending around $10 million annually, drives process safety improvements, and partners with Operations, Maintenance, and SHES to deliver value through capital

Qualifications

• Background in high‑hazard manufacturing with PSM, MOC, PHA, and LOPA experience.
• Proven leadership of multi‑discipline engineering teams and capital projects.
• Strong ability to develop and justify capital plans and budgets.
• Effective communicator with cross‑functional stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the site engineering project portfolio and prioritize work to meet objectives.
• Lead capital planning, reviews, and governance for 10–20 active projects.
• Ensure projects deliver safely, on schedule, and within budget.
• Drive safety, reliability, quality, and cost improvements across the site.
• Develop engineering personnel and build succession planning.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Capital budgeting

Process Safety Management

MOC

PHA

LOPA

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Reliability improvement

Team development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Join the Family - Come work for an exciting company offering great benefits, challenging opportunities, and colleagues who feel more like family.

Job Summary Overview The Engineering Manager is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and oversight of all engineering activities at the Red Diamond Plant. This role is accountable for the development of engineering personnel, execution of the site's capital portfolio, implementation of engineering standards, and delivery of continuous improvement initiatives aligned with the site's strategic objectives. The Engineering Manager leads a multi-disciplinary team including Controls, Process, Mechanical, and Project Engineers and is responsible for ensuring resources are effectively prioritized and utilized to support plant safety, reliability, productivity, quality, and cost objectives. The Engineering Manager is responsible for identifying, prioritizing, justifying, and executing capital and improvement projects that support the site's strategic goals. This role maintains ownership of the site engineering project portfolio, typically consisting of 10-20 active projects and approximately $10MM in annual capital spending.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Capex Program

• Own the site capital project portfolio, ensuring projects are prioritized and aligned with business objectives and strategic plans.
• Lead the site capital planning, review, and prioritization process.
• Develop and maintain short and long-term capital improvement roadmaps.
• Provide engineering input and realistic cost estimates to support business cases and capital requests.
• Ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and achieve expected business benefits.
• Monitor capital spending, committed costs, and forecast accuracy throughout the year.
• Establish project management standards, templates, and governance processes.
• Conduct routine project portfolio reviews and communicate project status, risks, resource constraints, and mitigation plans to site leadership.
• Work closely with the Site Manager to develop annual and long-range capital plans.
• Approve engineering aspects of capital requests prior to submission.

Safety, Health, and Environment

• Ensure engineering compliance with all applicable Process Safety Management requirements.
• Serve as a key stakeholder in the site's Management of Change (MOC) process and ensure engineering-owned actions are completed on time.
• Participate in Process Hazard Analyses (PHA), Hazard Reviews, and Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) studies.
• Ensure engineering standards, safeguards, and risk reduction measures are properly implemented and maintained.
• Drive closure of engineering-related PHA, audit, incident investigation, and compliance actions.
• Support the development and maintenance of safe operating envelopes, process safety information, and engineering documentation.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, and SHES teams to identify and reduce process safety risks.

Engineering Integrity

• Implement and maintain APHC engineering standards for all plant equipment and installations, ensuring these standards are complied with.
• Ensure that APHC SHES standards are implemented in all aspects of engineering.
• Check that all necessary engineering controls are implemented and working as required.
• Continually implement an Austin engineering audit program and ensure compliance.
• Provide necessary recruitment and training of engineering personnel and complete engineering audits to ensure compliance.

Project Management

• Own the site engineering project portfolio and ensure projects align with business objectives and strategic priorities.
• Responsible for maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the Project Management System at Red Diamond.
• Identify, prioritize, justify, and execute capital and improvement projects that support the site's strategic objectives.
• Lead the planning and execution of a capital portfolio consisting of multiple concurrent projects and approximately $10 million in annual capital spending.
• Responsible for approval and sign-off of engineering aspects of all capital submissions.
• Ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and achieve expected business benefits.
• Conduct regular project portfolio reviews and maintain visibility of project status, schedule, budget, resource requirements, risks, and expected outcomes.
• Ensure engineering resources are appropriately prioritized and allocated across the project portfolio.
• Develop competent Project Managers through selection, training, mentoring, coaching, and performance management.
• Perform project, design, and constructability reviews to ensure compliance with engineering and business requirements.
• Ensure project management activities comply with APHC Project Management, SHES, and regulatory requirements.
• Validate project benefits and return on investment following project completion.
• Other duties as assigned.

Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a multi-disciplinary engineering organization consisting of Controls Engineers, Process Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Project Engineers, Project Coordinators, and technical support personnel.
• Establish clear goals, priorities, performance expectations, and accountability measures for all engineering personnel.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year engineering and capital strategy aligned with site business objectives.
• Identify future opportunities for capacity expansion, cost reduction, process improvement, reliability enhancement, and risk reduction.
• Develop future engineering talent through coaching, mentoring, technical development, and career planning.
• Ensure engineering resources are effectively utilized and aligned with site priorities and strategic objectives.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, teamwork, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct hiring, onboarding, performance management, succession planning, and employee development activities.
• Hold engineering personnel accountable for project execution, deliverables, continuous improvement initiatives, and professional growth.
• Maintain and improve internship, co-op, and early-career engineering development programs.
• Drive continuous improvement efforts through the Process Engineering and Controls Engineering teams focused on safety, quality, reliability, throughput, automation, and cost reduction.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration between Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and SHES.
• Maintain visibility of all active engineering and capital projects and ensure effective communication of progress, risks, resource needs, and results.
• Develop succession plans and talent pipelines for critical engineering positions.
• Drive a strong safety culture and continuously challenge the organization to improve safety performance, compliance, and risk management.

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or related discipline required). Minimum 7-10 years of engineering experience in a high-hazard manufacturing environment. Minimum 3-5 years of leadership experience managing engineering teams, projects, or technical organizations. Experience managing multiple concurrent capital projects and annual capital spending exceeding $5 million. Proven experience in capital project development, justification, execution, and commissioning. Experience with Process Safety Management (PSM), Management of Change (MOC), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), and Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA). Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and developing technical talent. Experience supporting manufacturing operations, reliability improvement, and continuous improvement initiatives. Working knowledge of business, financial, and project management principles. Knowledge of engineering drawings, design standards, and engineering documentation systems. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Skills and Knowledge

Strong leadership, coaching, and talent development skills. Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate at all organizational levels. Ability to develop and execute strategic engineering plans aligned with business objectives. Strong project portfolio management and prioritization skills. Financial acumen including capital budgeting, forecasting, and project benefit analysis. Strong time management, planning, and organizational skills. Critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Knowledge of engineering, manufacturing, reliability, and process improvement principles. Ability to lead change and drive organizational improvement. Strong contractor and vendor management skills. Negotiation and influence skills. Ability to build effective cross-functional relationships. Conflict management and decision-making skills. Adaptability and resilience in a changing business environment. Effective presentation and facilitation skills. Data-driven decision-making and analytical capabilities.

Location

Red Diamond Plant in McArthur, OH

Work Environment

This role will be split between time in an office as well as time in our manufacturing buildings. This role will work around hazardous chemicals, outside elements, and a variety of chemical processing equipment. Travel to be less than 25%.

AUSTIN POWDER’s Mission

To improve the world we live in through the safe and responsible use of explosives.

AUSTIN POWDER’s Vision

We will be the global leader of explosive products, services and technologies as defined by our Customers, our Family and our Communities.

AUSTIN POWDER’s Values

Safety is our 1st priority; WE are customer focused; we leverage the Power of the Family; We treat everyone with respect.

Austin Powder is an Equal Opportunity and Affluent Action Employer and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Austin Powder is an Equal Opportunity and Affluent Action Employer and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Austin Powder is an Equal Opportunity and Affluent Action Employer and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing compensation. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

SINCE 1833, IMPROVING THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Austin Powder has been making explosives for over 190 years and we take great pride in improving the world we live in. In 1833, the Austin family created the company to produce black powder that would help break the rock, mine the minerals and build the canals and railroads to develop the frontier. Initially along the banks of the Cuyahoga River near Akron, Ohio, we grew as the country grew. Today, Austin Powder is a world leader in the industrial explosives industry with a passionate commitment towards safety, a relentless customer focus, a family culture work environment, and a demonstration of respect of towards all. As in our early years, our mission continues to be to improve the world we live in through the safe and responsible use of explosives. Our success has been based on our core values and this has proven to be universally true around the globe as the company has expanded to be one of the leading providers of industrial explosives and blasting services in the world.