Director, Manufacturing Engineering

Key Responsibilities

• Direct manufacturing engineering activities involved in capital project development, equipment procurement, and project implementation.
• Cook up the development of plant layouts through collaboration with all internal disciplines.
• Define and execute a clear Lean Manufacturing vision, including strategies to drive lean culture, implement Lean/Six Sigma techniques, maintain an agile SFM process, train teams in problem-solving methods, strengthen workplace design, apply SMED, lead Kaizen events, and ensure capacity is managed through Takt and optimized line balancing.
• Work closely with Production and other departments to implement cost-reduction initiatives.
• Meet or exceed targets for Quality, Productivity, Uptime, On-Time Delivery, and Cost.
• Provide leadership and performance management to drive high employee engagement.
• Support continuous improvement efforts and contribute to achieving a world-class manufacturing environment through the Rittal Production System.
• Manage and develop vendor relationships for tooling, fixtures, and equipment.
• Deliver weekly updates on improvement projects and equipment initiatives.
• Own overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) performance for the facility, driving sustained improvements in availability, performance, and quality metrics.
• Provide direct leadership and accountability for the Maintenance function, including equipment reliability, preventive maintenance execution, and rapid response strategies for unplanned downtime.
• Lead root-cause analysis, corrective action development, and long-term reliability improvements to eliminate chronic equipment failures.
• Ensure maintenance planning, PM programs, and reliability engineering activities align with production goals and long-term capital plans.
• Promote and inspire a strong safety culture, ensuring a safe workplace aligned with organizational safety goals.
• Investigate, justify, and implement capital equipment and process changes to support operational needs.
• Lead efficient project meetings to communicate progress, track action items, and maintain cost, schedule, and quality expectations.
• Participate in or lead corrective action teams.
• Oversee development and implementation of work instructions and process routings to support production planning, process efficiency, estimating, and capacity planning.
• Actively participate in design reviews for Engineering Change Notices (ECN) and New Product Introductions (NPI).
• Support budget development and capacity-planning simulations.
• Engage with peers and management to foster a positive workplace culture.
• Continuously pursue skill growth and competency development for self and team.
• Lead and/or support 6S activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Industrial Engineering or similar, required.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including presenting to Executive Management.
• Strong background in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies.
• Strong analytical skills and work ethic.
• Thorough knowledge of sheet metal fabrication, welding, powder coating, and/or stamping.
• Proven leadership and strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.
• Ability to work within a matrixed environment.
• Ability to travel up to 15%.