Director of Plant Engineering

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Director of Plant Engineering

Location: Fayetteville, NC area

Hire Type: Direct-hire, Onsite

Target Salary: $180,000 - $200,000/year (plus $25,000+ target bonus)

Benefits: PTO, paid holidays, medical/dental/vision plans, 401(k), relocation assistance

Must-Have Skills:

• Leadership of large-scale maintenance/engineering teams (200+ employees)
• Capital project management in complex manufacturing environments
• Preventive/Predictive Maintenance & Total Productive Maintenance
• Mechanical & electrical systems (PLCs, automation, instrumentation)
• Experience with ammonia systems and industrial refrigeration
• SAP and Microsoft Office

Job Summary:

The Director of Plant Engineering leads all maintenance, engineering, and reliability functions for a large-scale food manufacturing facility (~1M sq. ft., 4,000+ employees, ~350 maintenance staff). This role is responsible for driving equipment reliability, executing capital projects, and leading a multi-layered organization in a high-volume production environment.

Job Duties:

• Lead all plant maintenance, engineering, and reliability operations
• Oversee capital projects from concept through completion (on time, on budget)
• Drive preventative and predictive maintenance, as well as total productive maintenance strategies to maximize uptime and efficiency
• Lead and develop a multi-layered team (direct and indirect reports)
• Own KPIs including overall equipment effectiveness, equipment reliability, and maintenance performance
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex equipment and operational issues
• Partner with operations and leadership to support production goals
• Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and regulatory standards

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 10+ years of plant engineering/maintenance experience
• Proven leadership of large teams (200+ employees, direct/indirect)
• Must have direct, on-site production plant experience
• Strong technical background in mechanical/electrical systems (PLCs, automation, etc.)
• Working knowledge of ammonia systems, refrigeration, and/or rendering operations.
• Experience with SAP and Microsoft Office
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills
• Experience in food, meat, or protein manufacturing is preferred.
• Experience in high-volume, complex production environments is preferred.
• Strong leadership presence with ability to manage large, diverse teams is preferred.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.