Director, Manufacturing Engineering

About The Role

The Director of Engineering is responsible for leading all Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Test Engineering, Test Automation, NPI Engineering, and Customer TPM activities for the Texas manufacturing campus. This role drives factory performance, operational excellence, manufacturing readiness, automation, test strategy, and successful product launches in support of data center rack and integrated infrastructure manufacturing.

The Director serves as the senior engineering leader for the Texas site and is accountable for achieving site-level objectives related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer satisfaction. This role reports directly to the General Manager and is responsible for ensuring full compliance with global engineering standards, processes, governance, and operating models established by the Global Director of Engineering based in New Jersey.

The successful candidate will combine strategic leadership with hands-on execution to build a high-performing engineering organization capable of supporting rapid growth, operational excellence, and world-class manufacturing performance.

What You’ll Do

Site Engineering Leadership

Lead Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Test Engineering, Test Automation, NPI Engineering, and Customer TPM teams for the Texas campus.

Develop organizational capability, technical expertise, and engineering leadership within the site.

Support factory growth, capacity expansion, and operational scalability.

Create a culture of accountability, urgency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Manufacturing Excellence & Operational Performance

Drive improvements in:

First Pass Yield (FPY)

Rolled Throughput Yield (RTPY)

DPPM

Productivity

Throughput

Cycle Time

Labor Efficiency

Cost Performance

Optimize manufacturing processes and factory flows to maximize operational effectiveness.

Lead engineering support for daily production execution and factory performance reviews.

Ensure achievement of all site engineering and operational KPIs.

Automation & Test Engineering

Deploy factory automation strategies aligned with global engineering roadmaps.

Lead implementation of:

Robotics

Automated assembly solutions

Vision systems

Digital manufacturing tools

Test automation systems

Own site-level test engineering performance and deployment of standardized test platforms.

Drive improvements in manufacturing diagnostics, traceability, test coverage, and operational efficiency.

New Product Introduction (NPI)

Lead manufacturing readiness activities for all product introductions within the Texas facility.

Execute NPI phase-gate requirements and readiness reviews.

Ensure readiness of:

Manufacturing processes

Tooling

Equipment

Automation

Test systems

Capacity

Staffing

Lead pilot builds, process validation, launch readiness reviews, and production ramp activities.

Customer Engagement

Lead customer-facing TPM resources supporting Texas-based programs.

Participate in customer reviews, readiness assessments, escalation management, and operational reviews.

Ensure customer requirements are successfully translated into manufacturing execution plans.

Continuous Improvement

Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis, CAPA, and SPC methodologies.

Lead initiatives focused on:

Yield improvement

Cost reduction

Productivity gains

Waste elimination

Capacity improvements

Establish rigorous performance reviews and execution management systems.

Global Engineering Alignment

The Texas Director of Engineering is responsible for executing and sustaining the global engineering framework established by the New Jersey Global Director of Engineering, including:

Global engineering standards

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Manufacturing process standards

Test engineering standards

Automation architecture standards

NPI phase-gate processes

Engineering governance models

KPI review processes

Best-practice deployment

Continuous improvement methodologies

The Texas engineering organization is expected to drive local execution while maintaining global consistency and standardization across the manufacturing network.

Ownership & Interfaces

This Role Owns

Texas Manufacturing Engineering organization

Process Engineering

Industrial Engineering

Test Engineering

Test Automation

Manufacturing readiness

Factory readiness

Production launch execution

Site operational KPIs

Customer TPM resources

Continuous improvement execution

Global Director of Engineering (New Jersey) Owns

Global engineering strategy

Engineering governance

Global standards and SOPs

NPI framework

Global engineering best practices

Global automation strategy

Engineering operating model

Platform Engineering Owns

Product architecture

Product design ownership

Product specifications

DFM/DFA approval

Product validation and qualification

Reliability engineering

Design changes

Level 3 debugging and technical solution development

Key Metrics

FPY

RTPY

DPPM

OEE

Productivity

Labor efficiency

Manufacturing cycle time

On-Time Delivery (OTD)

Cost reduction

Automation deployment

NPI launch success

Customer satisfaction

Compliance to global engineering standards

What You Bring

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering required; Master's Degree preferred.

10+ years of engineering leadership experience in manufacturing environments.

Experience leading Manufacturing Engineering, Test Engineering, Automation, and NPI organizations.

Proven success driving operational excellence, productivity, quality, and manufacturing scale.

Strong customer-facing experience.

Experience in data center infrastructure, server, electronics, rack integration, or related manufacturing environments preferred.

Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.

Ideal Candidate

A strong factory-focused engineering leader who can deliver exceptional operational performance while successfully implementing global engineering standards. This individual excels at execution, talent development, continuous improvement, automation deployment, and manufacturing readiness, serving as the engineering leader for the Texas campus while partnering closely with the Global Director of Engineering to ensure consistency across the worldwide manufacturing network.

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About ZT Systems

At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, you’ll get to d