Senior Project Director

Chicago / Wisconsin / Tennessee | PE-Backed Manufacturing Platform

We are partnered with a rapidly growing, private-equity-backed flexible packaging manufacturing platform with multiple U.S. facilities across Chicago, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, and additional sites across North America. The company produces blown-film liners, medical and biohazard bags, and food-grade flexible packaging serving healthcare, protein, seafood, and industrial markets.

The platform operates 80+ extrusion and converting lines running 24/7 and is actively investing in capital equipment, automation, and standardized manufacturing processes as it scales through acquisitions and organic growth.

We are hiring a Manufacturing Transformation Project Leader to manage and deploy a team of Traveling Industrial Engineers focused on capital equipment performance and process optimization across the enterprise.

This role will serve as the driver of multi-site manufacturing transformation projects tied directly to equipment upgrades, operational efficiency, and scalable best practices.

This is not a traditional corporate CI or engineering manager role. This leader will be hands‑on, highly visible, and accountable for driving real operational change across multiple plants.

You will lead high‑impact projects involving new equipment installations line upgrades, automation, and performance improvement while building and managing a small elite engineering team that travels plant to plant executing these initiatives.

This role offers strong exposure to senior leadership, autonomy in shaping strategy, and a path into senior operations or Operational Excellence leadership as the platform grows.

• Leading and prioritizing capital equipment and process improvement projects across multiple facilities
• Managing and mentoring Traveling Industrial Engineers assigned to project‑based deployments
• Owning project roadmaps, timelines, and measurable performance outcomes
• Partnering with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Supply Chain leaders at each plant
• Overseeing installation, startup, and optimization of new capital equipment
• Driving improvements in uptime, OEE, throughput, and changeover performance
• Reducing scrap, defects, and process variation tied to equipment and workflows
• Establishing standardized machine settings, SOPs, and best practices across plants
• Building structured problem‑solving and CI culture across the manufacturing platform
• Tracking ROI and performance metrics tied to transformation initiatives
• Presenting progress and results to executive leadership and PE sponsors

• 7–12+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, or operations leadership
• Experience leading multi‑site manufacturing improvement or capital project initiatives
• Background in flexible packaging, plastics, extrusion, converting, or similar continuous manufacturing environments strongly preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, Manufacturing, or Materials Engineering
• Proven ability to manage engineers and project teams
• Strong expertise in capital equipment, automation, and process optimization
• Demonstrated success driving Lean, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence programs
• Comfortable operating on the plant floor and with data‑driven performance metrics
• Strong communication skills with operators, plant managers, and executive leadership

Remote‑flexible role with regular travel to manufacturing plants, primarily in the Chicago area with additional sites in Wisconsin and Tennessee. Travel will vary by project phase and business need.

• Competitive base salary + bonus
• Opportunity to grow into Director of Manufacturing Transformation, Operational Excellence Leader, or senior operations leadership roles as the platform continues to scale through acquisitions and capital investment.

• Own large, visible manufacturing transformation projects
• Lead teams that execute real change on the plant floor
• Work across multiple facilities instead of one site
• Be measured on results, not presentations
• Build scalable systems in a fast‑moving PE‑backed environment