Director of Engineering

We are searching for a Director of Engineering within our engineering team to support our bedding business. With a legacy dating back to 1883—including the original patent on a spiral steel coil bed spring—we are an industry leader dedicated to ensuring people worldwide enjoy better sleep and comfort.

About the Role

As a Director of Engineering, you will serve as a player-coach, enhancing equipment performance, building engineering capability, establishing practical engineering standards, strengthening project discipline, and creating a more effective bridge between Product Development, Quality, Manufacturing, internal engineering teams, key branches, and external or affiliated engineering partners. Your contributions will directly impact the business by strengthening engineering and manufacturing execution across business unit operations.

This role provides leadership for capital planning, machinery development, industrial and process engineering, controls, automation, electrical engineering, technical documentation, and the transition of new products into stable manufacturing performance. A relocation opportunity is available if you are not local to Carthage, MO.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Leadership & Capability Development
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a multi-disciplinary engineering organization spanning machinery development, industrial and process engineering, controls, automation, electrical engineering, and drafting.
  • Establish and reinforce clear engineering standards, documentation expectations, design rigor, decision rights, and project discipline across all supported sites.
• New Product Introduction & Manufacturing Readiness
  • Own the transition from new product development to stable, capable, and mature manufacturing performance through the product development stage gate process—from early concept through sample runs, beta runs, PPAP, validation, launch, ramp-up, and post-launch stabilization.
  • Ensure Design for Manufacturability (DFM), process capability, control plans, equipment readiness, tooling, documentation, training, and service/support requirements are addressed early to prevent launch friction.
• Project & Program Management
  • Provide disciplined project leadership with respect to timing, resources, cost, scope, risk, and cross-functional accountability for engineering and manufacturing readiness initiatives.
  • Establish project plans with visible milestones, owners, constraints, decision points, and escalation paths to manage launch and capital work proactively.
  • Maintain clear communication around project status, tradeoffs, risks, cost impacts, and expected business outcomes.
• Manufacturing Engagement & Technical Leadership
  • Maintain a regular presence in manufacturing operations to understand equipment, process flow, quality, reliability, and operator challenges firsthand.
  • Provide hands-on technical leadership on high-impact equipment, process, tooling, automation, and control issues where experience and judgment are critical.
  • Partner with manufacturing and maintenance leaders to improve equipment reliability, maintainability, operational stability, and responsiveness to production needs.
  • Support and sustain Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) strategies that reduce downtime, extend asset life, and improve overall equipment effectiveness.
• Accelerating Competitive Excellence, Automation, and Process Improvement
  • Drive continuous improvement using Lean manufacturing principles, value stream thinking, level loading, practical material flow improvements, and structured problem solving.
  • Apply SPC, process capability analysis, root-cause analysis, and disciplined experimentation to improve quality, consistency, and predictability.
  • Lead automation and manufacturing technology initiatives that deliver measurable operational, quality, safety, and financial benefits.
  • Use ACE principles to make continuous improvement part of daily work, reinforce common language and methodology, and build capability through real business problems.
• Capital Projects & Asset Leadership
  • Lead and review major capital projects, ensuring strong project rigor, schedule discipline, resource planning, cost control, and return on investment.
  • Support capital planning and prioritization, including project justification, execution oversight, commissioning, and post-implementation review.
  • Ensure engineering standards, specifications, spare parts planning, and technical documentation support long-term asset performance, maintainability, safety, and lifecycle cost.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Manufacturing, or related discipline).
• 12-15+ years of progressive engineering experience in a manufacturing environment, including meaningful leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated success leading engineering teams, machinery development, automation, manufacturing process improvement, and launch readiness activities.
• Strong project/program management capability with demonstrated ownership of schedules, resources, cost, risk management, cross-functional alignment, and stakeholder communication.
• Working knowledge of Lean manufacturing, value stream mapping, TPM, capital project execution, SPC, Six Sigma, PFMEA, PPAP, and structured root-cause problem solving.
• Ability to work effectively across operations, quality, product development, engineering partners, suppliers, and multiple manufacturing sites.
• Proven ability to balance hands-on technical involvement with leadership, coaching, organizational development, and disciplined execution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional education and/or certifications.

Our Values

• Put People First: Commitment to safety, care, learning, development, and creating an inclusive environment of mutual respect, empathy, and belonging.
• Do the Right Thing: Acting with honesty and integrity, delivering results the right way, taking pride in work, and speaking the truth—good or bad.
• Do Great Work…Together: Engaging without hierarchy, collaborating as a team, embracing challenges, and working for the good of all.
• Take Ownership and Raise the Bar: Responsibility to add value, challenge the status quo, foster innovation, explore new perspectives, and embrace change.