Director of Process Engineering

Consumer Products Manufacturing

Location: State College, PA (on-site)

Compensation: $180,000 – $200,000 base salary

Position Type: Newly Created | Full-Time

Position Overview

This is a newly created leadership role with a well-established, growing consumer products manufacturer. The company operates three manufacturing plants in the region (two located on the same campus) and is investing in expansion and operational stability.

The Director of Process Engineering will initially operate as a hands-on individual contributor with enterprise-level influence. As the role matures, this leader will build and oversee a team of Process Engineering Managers and Engineers.

The core mission is to stabilize, standardize, and continuously improve process engineering capabilities across all three plants, driving performance, reliability, and scalability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead process engineering strategy across three manufacturing facilities
• Assess, streamline, and stabilize existing process engineering systems and workflows
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, throughput, and process reliability
• Partner with Plant Leadership, Operations, Maintenance, and Quality to implement sustainable improvements
• Lead capital and process-related projects as needed
• Establish engineering best practices, standards, and metrics
• Use data and analysis to identify gaps, measure performance, and guide decision-making
• Coach, mentor, and develop engineering talent as the team is built out
• Gradually assume formal people leadership responsibility over Managers and Engineers

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (required)
• Extensive background in Process Engineering within:
• Consumer products manufacturing or
• High-speed, high-volume manufacturing environments
• Strong hands-on engineering background with the ability to operate at both plant and strategic levels
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing engineers (formal or informal leadership required)
• Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma certification (minimum Green Belt) required
• Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to coach, mentor, and build technical teams
• Paper industry experience is a plus, but not required

Ideal background:

Someone who started their career as a Process Engineer and progressed into engineering leadership. Candidates currently at a Director level may be a fit if comfortable stepping into a role that initially has no direct reports.

Why This Role

• Newly created position with significant influence and visibility
• Opportunity to shape and build the process engineering function
• Company is growing and investing in its operations
• Strong culture and long-term stability
• Clear path to building and leading a multi-site engineering organization

Location Note

State College, PA is a rural location. Candidates should be comfortable with a smaller community setting. The company offers strong culture, stability, and growth opportunities but is not in a major metro area.