Director, Manufacturing Engineering

Rittal LLC•Urbana, OH

About The Position

Proven Leadership, Hard Work and Innovation Alive and Well in North America Rittal North America has built a strong tradition of innovation and takes pride in a progressive approach to engineering. We design and manufacture the world’s leading industrial and IT enclosures, racks, and accessories, including high‑efficiency, high‑density power management, and climate control systems for industrial, data center, outdoor, and hybrid applications. The Director, Manufacturing Engineering is responsible for leading capital project development, Lean Manufacturing initiatives, equipment procurement, and continuous improvement strategies that elevate plant performance. This role partners closely with Production, Maintenance, and cross‑functional teams to optimize operations, strengthen safety culture, and support world-class manufacturing through the Rittal Production System.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Industrial Engineering or similar, required.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, including presenting to Executive Management.
Strong background in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies.
Strong analytical skills and work ethic.
Thorough knowledge of sheet metal fabrication, welding, powder coating, and/or stamping.
Proven leadership and strong interpersonal communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.
Ability to work within a matrixed environment.
Ability to travel up to 15%.

Responsibilities

Direct manufacturing engineering activities involved in capital project development, equipment procurement, and project implementation.
Coordinate the development of plant layouts through collaboration with all internal disciplines.
Define and execute a clear Lean Manufacturing vision, including strategies to drive lean culture, implement Lean/Six Sigma techniques, maintain an agile SFM process, train teams in problem‑solving methods, strengthen workplace design, apply SMED, lead Kaizen events, and ensure capacity is managed through Takt and optimized line balancing.
Work closely with Production and other departments to implement cost‑reduction initiatives.
Meet or exceed targets for Quality, Productivity, Uptime, On‑Time Delivery, and Cost.
Provide leadership and performance management to drive high employee engagement.
Support continuous improvement efforts and contribute to achieving a world‑class manufacturing environment through the Rittal Production System.
Manage and develop vendor relationships for tooling, fixtures, and equipment.
Deliver weekly updates on improvement projects and equipment initiatives.
Own overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) performance for the facility, driving sustained improvements in availability, performance, and quality metrics.
Provide direct leadership and accountability for the Maintenance function, including equipment reliability, preventive maintenance execution, and rapid response strategies for unplanned downtime.
Lead root‑cause analysis, corrective action development, and long-term reliability improvements to eliminate chronic equipment failures.
Ensure maintenance planning, PM programs, and reliability engineering activities align with production goals and long-term capital plans.
Promote and inspire a strong safety culture, ensuring a safe workplace aligned with organizational safety goals.
Investigate, justify, and implement capital equipment and process changes to support operational needs.
Lead efficient project meetings to communicate progress, track action items, and maintain cost, schedule, and quality expectations.
Participate in or lead corrective action teams.
Oversee development and implementation of work instructions and process routings to support production planning, process efficiency, estimating, and capacity planning.
Actively participate in design reviews for Engineering Change Notices (ECN) and New Product Introductions (NPI).
Support budget development and capacity‑planning simulations.
Engage with peers and management to foster a positive workplace culture.
Continuously pursue skill growth and competency development for self and team.
Lead and/or support 6S activities.