Plant Engineering Manager
Location: Sumter, South Carolina
Employment Type: Full-Time
Ideal Candidate
Must possess a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
Must have 7–10+ years of engineering and manufacturing experience within a manufacturing environment.
Must have 3–5+ years of leadership experience managing engineering managers, engineers, or technical teams.
Must possess strong experience in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Reliability Engineering, Asset Care, Automation, Process Engineering, and Operational Excellence.
Must have demonstrated experience driving Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC) performance improvements.
Must have experience leading engineering strategy deployment, capital projects, automation initiatives, equipment reliability improvements, and manufacturing process optimization.
Must possess strong leadership skills with experience coaching engineering teams, developing technical talent, and driving organizational capability.
Experience with Client Excellence, Toyota Production System (TPS), Danaher Business System (DBS), Client Operating System (HOS), PPI, or other Lean operating systems is highly preferred.
Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification is preferred.
The Plant Engineering Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for the site's Engineering organization, including Automation, Process Engineering, Reliability Engineering, and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
This leadership role is responsible for developing engineering strategy aligned with the site master plan while driving world-class performance in Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC). The position partners closely with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, and Continuous Improvement teams to improve equipment reliability, operational excellence, manufacturing capability, and engineering performance.
The successful candidate will lead engineering teams, oversee capital investments, develop future engineering leaders, and establish a culture of continuous improvement throughout the manufacturing operation.
Key Responsibilities
Lead the Plant Engineering organization and engineering strategy deployment.
Develop and execute engineering roadmap aligned with site master plan.
Drive Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC) improvements.
Lead Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
Implement Zero Loss mindset and Cost-to-Win (CtW) initiatives.
Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), reliability, and manufacturing performance.
Lead engineering support for automation, process engineering, and equipment optimization.
Support preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
Lead capital projects, capacity expansion, and automation initiatives.
Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, EHS, and Operations leadership.
Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities.
Ensure compliance with quality systems, engineering standards, and regulatory requirements.
Develop engineering talent through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and capability development.
Drive Root Cause Analysis, Kaizen events, A3 problem-solving, Tier Management, and Visual Management practices.
Build a culture of accountability, servant leadership, and continuous improvement.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or related discipline.
Minimum 7 years of Engineering and Manufacturing experience.
Minimum 3 years of Engineering Leadership experience managing engineering teams or managers.
Strong experience with:
Lean Manufacturing
Continuous Improvement
Reliability Engineering
Asset Care
Automation
Process Engineering
Experience improving:
OEE
Equipment Reliability
Manufacturing Performance
Cost Reduction
Operational Excellence
Experience leading:
Capital Projects
Engineering Strategy
Technical Teams
Continuous Improvement Programs
Strong Root Cause Analysis and Problem-Solving skills.
Excellent leadership, coaching, communication, and organizational skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt Certification.
Experience with Client Excellence or similar Lean Operating Systems.
Medical Device or FDA-regulated manufacturing experience.
TPM (Total Productive Maintenance).
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).
Predictive Maintenance.
Automation and Digital Manufacturing.
Manufacturing Strategy Deployment.
Factory Blueprint implementation.
Experience supporting New Product Introductions (NPI).
Experience leading Kaizen, A3, and Focused Improvement events.