Manufacturing Engineering Leader: Automation & Growth

Ice Cream Company; Holland (MI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K with generous match

Vacation

Insurance (Health, Dental, Vision, Dis

Bonus Plan

Job summary

Hudsonville Ice Cream seeks an Engineering Manager to drive engineering excellence across our manufacturing network. You will lead a team of manufacturing & controls engineers, establish standards, oversee capital projects, and improve processes to support future growth.

As the technical leader for manufacturing engineering and automation, you will collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain to deliver safe, reliable systems and maximize production uptime.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, coaching, and technical direction to the engineering team while fostering accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Establish engineering priorities aligned with company objectives and operational needs.
• Develop the technical capabilities of the engineering team through mentoring, training, and performance development.
• Promote collaboration between Sales, Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain.
• Develop, implement, and maintain engineering standards for mechanical design, electrical systems, controls architecture, automation, documentation, and project execution.
• Standardize equipment specifications, preferred vendors, control philosophies, and engineering documentation across manufacturing operations.
• Ensure engineering drawings, equipment documentation, controls backups, and technical records are accurate and maintained.
• Drive consistency in engineering practices to improve equipment reliability, maintainability, and long-term asset performance.
• Manage contractors, engineering consultants, equipment suppliers, and installation teams.
• Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, within budget, and achieve expected operational results.
• Provide regular communication on project status, risks, and financial performance to leadership.
• Lead equipment and process improvement projects focused on reducing downtime, improving throughput, and minimizing waste.
• Apply Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement principles to eliminate process variation and improve operational performance.
• Provide technical oversight for plant automation systems including PLCs, HMIs, industrial networks, drives, and process control systems.
• Identify automation opportunities that improve productivity, operator effectiveness, safety, and product quality.
• Ensure manufacturing control systems remain reliable, scalable, and aligned with future business needs.
• Partner with Operations and Maintenance to improve equipment reliability and maximize production uptime.
• Provide engineering support during equipment failures, major repairs, and production challenges.
• Support new product introductions by evaluating manufacturing capabilities and identifying equipment or process modifications.
• Participate in strategic capacity planning and facility expansion initiatives.
• Ensure engineering activities comply with food safety, quality, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Develop and manage engineering and capital budgets.
• Support long-range manufacturing strategies by developing engineering roadmaps aligned with business growth.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Lean Six Sigma

Communication

GMP knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

SolidWorks

ERP

CMMS

MES

Microsoft Office

Project management software

Job description

Hudsonville Ice Cream seeks an Engineering Manager to drive engineering excellence across our manufacturing network. You will lead a team of manufacturing & controls engineers, establish standards, oversee capital projects, and improve processes to support future growth.

As the technical leader for manufacturing engineering and automation, you will collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain to deliver safe, reliable systems and maximize production uptime.