Jobloria
Director of Industrial Engineering
Career Development Partners
Location : Spring Grove, IL, 60081
Job Type : Full Time / Part Time
Date Posted : 1 December 2025
Director of Industrial Engineering
We are seeking a highly experienced
Director of Industrial Engineering
Department:Engineering / OperationsReports To:Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Direct Reports:TBD (Production Control, Process Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Corporate Managers, QA Segment Engineers, Flex Manager)
Position Summary
We are seeking a highly experiencedDirector of Industrial Engineeringto lead operational excellence, demand responsiveness, and scalable growth in a complex job-shop manufacturing environment. This role combines strategic foresight with hands-on leadership, ensuring production capabilities align with dynamic market demands while driving continuous improvement across multiple sites.
The Director will play a critical role in enhancing efficiency, cost effectiveness, and delivery performance by optimizing processes and integrating advanced manufacturing methodologies.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the evaluation, implementation, and maintenance of manufacturing systems (MES, ERP, simulation models, advanced analytics).
- Align operational capacity with market demand through data analytics, capacity models, and real-time scheduling.
- Ensure simulation and planning models reflect real operating conditions with validated data integrity.
- Optimize production flow and job routing to manage customer orders effectively while collaborating with Sales Leadership.
- Translate business strategy into actionable operational initiatives to enable scale, efficiency, and responsiveness.
- Stay ahead of industry trends in heavy manufacturing, evaluating emerging tools and technologies.
- Drive cross-site initiatives that improve enterprise-wide performance.
- Build and grow industrial engineering capabilities through mentoring, training, and knowledge-sharing.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, technical curiosity, and operational excellence.
- Partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Sales, and Plant Leadership to ensure alignment.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
- 10+ years of industrial engineering or operational leadership experience in heavy manufacturing or capital equipment.
- Expertise in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, capacity modeling, ERP/MES integrations.
- Experience with shop-floor simulation, scheduling, and data analytics platforms.
- Strong track record in continuous improvement and cross-functional leadership.
- Project management skills for scope development, timelines, and deliverables.
- Excellent communication skills with ability to lead change across multiple sites.
- Deep understanding of job shop dynamics, including short lead times and custom orders.
Freqently Asked Questions
Top candidates usually hold a bachelor's in industrial or mechanical engineering paired with over a decade in heavy manufacturing leadership. Mastery of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and ERP/MES systems is highly valued, especially for overseeing complex job-shop environments like those near Spring Grove.
Directors in industrial engineering uniquely balance strategic planning with hands-on operational oversight, focusing intensely on production flow, capacity modeling, and cross-site process improvements, contrasting with more product or software-centered engineering leadership roles.
Typical progression includes advancing to VP of Operations or Chief Engineering Officer roles, leveraging experience in cross-functional leadership and operational excellence, especially in manufacturing-heavy regions like Illinois where industrial engineering specialties are in demand.
While the job listing emphasizes experience, certifications like Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and PMP can enhance candidacy. Proficiency in ERP/MES integration and advanced analytics platforms aligns well with Career Development Partners’ focus on operational efficiency.
Spring Grove and surrounding areas have a moderate but specialized demand for experienced industrial engineering directors, driven by a strong manufacturing base. Candidates with proven operational leadership and advanced process optimization skills tend to stand out amid regional competition.
Based on current market data, salaries typically range between $130,000 and $170,000 annually, depending on company size, experience, and technical expertise, with additional incentives often tied to operational performance metrics in manufacturing sectors.
The director acts as a strategic partner to the CEO, steering multi-site manufacturing efficiency initiatives and translating business strategies into scalable operational improvements, thereby aligning engineering leadership tightly with company growth objectives.
Managing short lead times and custom orders demands agility in scheduling and simulation accuracy. The director must ensure manufacturing systems reflect real conditions, requiring close coordination with sales and plant leadership to maintain responsiveness and quality.
The area's heavy manufacturing environment requires this role to emphasize advanced analytics and capacity modeling to meet fluctuating market demands, while fostering continuous improvement to keep pace with evolving industry standards in a competitive regional setting.
Leveraging simulation models, ERP/MES integrations, and real-time scheduling platforms enables the director to predict capacity constraints, optimize production flow, and support data-driven decision-making critical for sustaining growth in complex manufacturing setups.
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