Dairy Farmers of America · 15 hours ago
Plant Engineering Director (Remote) - Minnesota
United States
Full-time
Remote
Director/Executive
$165K/yr - $195K/yr
10+ years expDairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a dairy marketing cooperative owned by over 12,500 family farmers, dedicated to delivering quality dairy products. The Plant Engineering Director will oversee engineering activities to support plant requirements and manage capital projects while collaborating with various departments to ensure operational efficiency.
AgricultureDairyDietary SupplementsFood Processing
Responsibilities
Serve as an internal expert on manufacturing engineering and design related issues or opportunities
Work cross-functionally with plant management and engineers to develop priorities that ensure direct alignment with manufacturing and division objectives
Continually strive to reduce facility and manufacturing operating costs by providing best option technical solutions and/or utilizing best method analyses towards improving internal systems; ensure facility operating systems achieve optimum manufacturing process efficiencies
Utilize best practices across locations to drive continuous improvement for equipment reliability and maintenance department cost controls; drive consistency and standardization
Assist in the direction and planning of capital budgets
Evaluate major capital projects to ensure the best approach and method is used to efficiently spend capital funds
Actively support plant management and engineers in the justification of projects, accurate development of project costs, and submission of capital projects
Lead and/or oversee the planning, design, procurement, installation, start-up, and training for all capital projects, especially for projects that span an entire division, group, or region
Complete preliminary and final design of production lines and new equipment
Develop preliminary cost estimates for production of new or modified products for marketing and sales teams
Professionally develop plant engineers and maintenance managers
Encourage positive cross-functional communication between production and engineering teams
Maintain current and broad knowledge to ensure accurate engineering support to management and plant staff
Ensure all plant environmental policies and procedures reflect current DFA guidelines and regulatory requirements and proper reporting is completed
Follow all DFA good manufacturing practices (GMP) and work in a manner consistent with all corporate regulatory, food safety, quality, and sanitation requirements
The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employee, but is not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Other duties may be assigned as required
Qualification
Required
Undergraduate degree in engineering or related curriculum or technical training in related mechanical or electrical studies (or equivalent combination of education and experience)
10 or more years of progressive engineering, maintenance, or related experience in a food manufacturing environment that includes team or project leadership experience, environmental compliance experience, PLC programming, and capital project and budget management experience
Certification and/or License - may be required during course of employment
Strong knowledge of architectural, mechanical, electrical, and process production engineering
Able to lead multiple and complex projects or initiatives
Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
Strong skill in critical thinking, analysis, mathematical calculations, and statistical evaluations
Able to consider both strategic and practical implications for proposed course of action
Able to communicate and translate complex technical topics into easy to understand concepts
Able to establish effective relationships and independently manage those relations with all levels of internal staff and external customers, business partners, and vendors
Able to handle challenging or conflict situations with tact and professionalism
Able to effectively lead others through change
Must be able to read, write and speak English
Preferred
The preferred candidate should reside in Minnesota
Benefits
Health and Welfare benefits begin 1st of the month after start date
401(k) with company contribution - 100% vested at day one of eligibility
Paid vacation and holidays
Career growth opportunities - we promote from within!
Comprehensive healthcare benefits
Service recognition and employee rewards
Employee referral program
Tuition reimbursement
Work for dairy farm families
Company
Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America is a milk marketing cooperative owned and served by farmers across the nation.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Dairy Farmers of America has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (6)
2023 (1)
2022 (2)
2021 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$45MKey Investors
U.S. Department of Agriculture
2022-09-15Grant· $45M
Leadership Team
Dennis Rodenbaugh
Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Jones
Division Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2025-12-15
Family Features
2025-11-04
Company data provided by crunchbase