The Vice President – Engineering and Plant Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the engineering, maintenance, utilities, capital projects, and day-to-day plant operations for food and beverage manufacturing facilities. This role ensures reliable production, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement in safety, quality, and efficiency. The VP will lead multi-site operations, engineering strategy, and execution of capital investment projects to support operational excellence and business growth.
Direct daily plant operations across one or multiple manufacturing sites, including production, maintenance, engineering, and utilities.
Ensure facilities operate in alignment with corporate goals related to safety, quality, throughput, and cost-efficiency.
Drive performance metrics such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), yield, downtime, and labor efficiency.
Lead long-term engineering strategies for manufacturing infrastructure, process automation, and plant upgrades.
Oversee capital project planning, budgeting, and execution, including expansion, new lines, and equipment modernization.
Ensure all projects follow industry best practices for food safety, design standards (3A, USDA), and sanitation protocols.
Oversee preventive and predictive maintenance programs for all production and utility systems.
Drive reliability engineering practices to reduce downtime and improve asset performance.
Implement CMMS tools, data analytics, and maintenance KPIs to monitor plant health.
Ensure efficient and sustainable operation of utilities including steam, chilled water, compressed air, and water treatment systems.
Lead energy management initiatives, including cost control, sustainability, and energy efficiency improvements.
Ensure full compliance with FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, and other food safety regulations.
Support quality assurance and sanitation teams with engineering improvements and process control systems.
Lead plant readiness for audits (regulatory, third-party, customer).
Champion Lean, Six Sigma, and CI methodologies to optimize production flow, reduce waste, and improve throughput.
Drive kaizen events, root cause analysis, and cross-functional collaboration to solve systemic issues.
Lead a team of plant managers, engineers, maintenance leaders, and support staff across facilities.
Develop and implement workforce training, succession planning, and organizational development programs.
Foster a culture of safety, accountability, technical excellence, and operational discipline.
Partner with Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, and Corporate Engineering to align on operational and growth priorities.
Act as a key voice in facility design, new product commercialization, and innovation execution.
Engineering Leadership: Plant infrastructure, packaging systems, sanitary piping, automation, and utility systems.
Operations Excellence: Production planning, inventory control, throughput improvement.
Compliance & Safety: OSHA, GMP, FDA/USDA, food plant sanitation standards.
Capital Execution: FEED studies, facility expansion, ROI analysis, contractor/vendor management.
Sustainability & Energy: Water reuse, waste management, carbon footprint reduction.
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, or Food Engineering (Master’s or MBA preferred).
Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in food or beverage manufacturing, with 5+ years in senior plant/engineering leadership.
Proven success leading multi-site operations or large-scale plant operations with complex product portfolios.
Strong knowledge of food manufacturing standards, regulatory requirements, and process equipment.
Experience with CMMS systems, SCADA, PLCs, and modern automation platforms.
Demonstrated capability in capital project management, vendor negotiation, and cost control.
Six Sigma Green or Black Belt
Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP)
Project Management Professional (PMP)
HACCP, PCQI, or SQF certifications