Senior Director of Engineering Excellence, Innovation & Automation

About the role

Shearer's Foods is seeking a Senior Director of Engineering Excellence, Innovation & Automation to transform engineering into a scalable operating system that drives enterprise-wide reliability, process standardization, and automation-led performance improvement. You will lead the identification, development, and deployment of engineering standards, advanced technologies (automation, AI, digital), and innovation initiatives to unlock capacity, reduce cost, and improve operational consistency across all manufacturing sites.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Excellence & Standardization: Define and deploy enterprise engineering standards across processing, packaging, and utilities; establish "gold standard" designs, process conditions, and control philosophies; drive consistency in equipment design, controls architecture, and documentation; own governance of engineering specifications, capital design standards, and technical practices; ensure all capital projects align with enterprise standards and scalability requirements.
• Automation, AI & Digital Strategy: Build and execute a portfolio-driven automation roadmap aligned to business priorities; scale proven solutions (vision systems, ML detection, edge computing, digital monitoring) across plants; standardize controls, data architecture, and integration across sites; lead development of the Digital Factory strategy (real-time monitoring, predictive systems, analytics enablement); partner with Operations to deploy automation that directly improves labor productivity, throughput, and reliability.
• Innovation & Capacity Unlock: Lead identification and incubation of high-impact innovation opportunities (process, equipment, materials); establish structured pipeline for ideation → pilot → validation → scale; partner with external suppliers, OEMs, and integrators to accelerate innovation; focus innovation on de-staffing/labor reduction, yield and waste reduction, and throughput and capacity unlocking; ensure innovation is tied to measurable business outcomes and capital discipline.
• Reliability & Predictive Capability Enablement: Enable enterprise shift from reactive to predictive maintenance and operations; deploy early detection systems (condition monitoring, AI-based failure prediction); support integration of automation with reliability systems (CMMS, Redzone, digital tools); partner with Reliability leadership to improve uptime, MTTR, and OEE performance.
• Operating Model & Governance: Establish clear stage-gate processes for innovation and automation investments; embed engineering into the operating model as the governor of performance and standards; define KPIs and scorecards to track adoption, ROI, and performance impact; ensure alignment between Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain leadership.
• Organization & Capability Building: Build and lead a high-performing team focused on Controls & Automation, Digital/AI/Data Engineering, Process & Design Standards, and Innovation Pipeline Management; develop technical capability across the organization (plants + corporate); establish Centers of Excellence (COEs) for automation and engineering excellence; create bench strength and future technical leadership pipeline.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, or related); advanced degree preferred
• 12–15+ years of progressive operations, engineering and CI leadership in manufacturing (CPG/food strongly preferred)
• Proven experience leading automation and controls strategy, large-scale capital project deployment, and engineering standardization across multiple sites
• Strong knowledge of processing and packaging systems; industrial automation (PLC, SCADA, MES, vision systems); and digital/AI applications in manufacturing
• Demonstrated ability to drive enterprise transformation
• Action-oriented, results-driven leader with strong bias for execution
• Thinks in systems (enterprise vs site optimization)
• Drives accountability and performance through metrics and governance
• Skilled at influencing senior leadership and cross-functional teams
• Balances innovation with capital discipline and ROI