Jobloria
Director of Industrial Engineering
Stratus Staffing
Location : Spring Grove, IL, 60081
Job Type : Full Time / Part Time
Date Posted : 1 December 2025
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
Mastery of MES, ERP systems, and simulation modeling tools is crucial for a Director of Industrial Engineering in Spring Grove. These platforms enable effective production scheduling, capacity analysis, and data-driven decision-making, aligning operational efforts with market demands in complex manufacturing settings.
By integrating continuous improvement methodologies and advanced analytics, a Director of Industrial Engineering streamlines production flow and optimizes resource allocation. This leadership fosters scalable growth that adapts to fluctuating customer orders and short lead times inherent in job-shop environments.
Exceptional communication, strategic foresight, and cross-functional collaboration distinguish effective Directors of Industrial Engineering. Their ability to mentor teams and lead change initiatives across multiple sites ensures operational excellence and responsiveness to evolving market dynamics.
Stratus Staffing emphasizes cross-site operational leadership and continuous improvement within a job-shop manufacturing context. The Director role uniquely blends strategic capacity planning with hands-on process optimization, tailored to meet the company’s dynamic production and client engagement needs.
Yes, managing diverse engineering teams and aligning manufacturing capabilities with fluctuating market demands in Spring Grove's competitive environment require nuanced leadership. Stratus Staffing's Directors must also drive adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies while fostering a culture of operational excellence.
Spring Grove's industrial sector has a moderate demand for seasoned Directors of Industrial Engineering, though competition remains keen due to the specialized skill set required. Candidates with proven expertise in lean manufacturing and cross-site leadership tend to stand out in this region.
Directors in this role typically earn between $120,000 and $160,000 annually in Spring Grove, reflecting the heavy manufacturing sector’s demand for advanced operational leadership combined with expertise in lean and six sigma methodologies.
This role uniquely balances strategic oversight with hands-on involvement in job routing and real-time scheduling to meet customer-specific orders. Unlike broader engineering director positions, it demands acute responsiveness to short lead times and complex production variables.
Certifications in Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and PMP are highly advantageous. Candidates with strong credentials in industrial engineering disciplines and applied project management are better positioned to lead operational excellence at Stratus Staffing.
Indeed, Stratus Staffing fosters growth through mentoring, cross-site knowledge sharing, and exposure to emerging manufacturing technologies. The company encourages continuous learning to build robust industrial engineering capabilities across its leadership teams.
Spring Grove, IL